Milpitas, CA Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)

Every person conducting business from a fixed location in the City of Milpitas pays a license fee set by the classification schedule in Municipal Code § III-1-17.01. Retail sales or service, manufacturing/wholesaling/processing, and general business or professional operations each start at a $35 basic annual rate, adding $5 per employee for the first 10 employees beyond the owner or manager, $1 per employee for the next 100, and $0.25 per employee after that (business and professional and real estate classifications drop the middle tier and charge $1 per employee past the first 10).

Barber shops and beauty salons follow the same $35 basic rate structure. General contractors and subcontractors pay a flat $50 per year, or a $35 minimum for a six-month rate, and out-of-city contractors pay the identical schedule. Apartments, hotels, motels and mobile home parks pay $30 annually for the first four units, rooms or spaces and $2 for each additional unit. Home occupations pay a flat $25 basic rate. Any business not otherwise classified defaults to the $35 basic rate. Businesses without a fixed location that deliver retail or wholesale goods into the city pay $50 annually plus $10 per vehicle beyond the first, capped at $110 plus identification tag fees.

Transient vendors soliciting door-to-door pay a flat $100 annual tax per individual. Licenses run on a calendar year, are due January 1, and any prorated new-business tax is never less than $35. Licenses must be posted at the fixed place of business or carried on the person of a mobile operator.