Las Cruces, NM Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)

The Business Registration and Licensing article (ch. 16, art. IV) sorts every commercial operator into one of two tax classes. Anyone conducting business from a permanent location inside the city limits owes the $35 annual business registration fee under Sec. 16-127, paid in full and never prorated regardless of when the business opens. Sec. 16-128 exempts businesses with no physical location in the city, part-time artists earning under $1,000 a year from consignment art sales, and IRS-recognized nonprofits that file the notice required by Sec.

16-139 or 16-140. Businesses on the Sec. 16-170 license schedule pay a class-specific fee instead of the flat registration charge: pawnbrokers pay $100 a year, canvassers and peddlers pay $50 per solicitor every three months, food vending wagons and trucks pay $40 per vehicle, carnivals and circuses pay $100 a day, special-event sponsors pay $150 per event, and bicycle-share operators pay a $250 base permit plus $10 per bike and $500 per docking station. The city clerk reviews every application under Sec. 16-169 and the city manager may investigate how the business will affect neighbors, foot traffic and public safety before a license issues. Sec. 16-98 makes the specific license provision for a listed trade control over the general registration rules whenever the two conflict.