Mobile, AL Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)
Key Facts
- Classified by
- NAICS sector/subsector
- 2nd license triggers at
- 10% of gross receipts
- Rate scale
- 100% down to 20% by tier
- Police jurisdiction rate
- half of corporate-limits rate
Summary
Mobile classifies businesses by NAICS industry code on its adopted schedule of licenses, and requires a separate license per line of business once a second NAICS sector tops 10 percent of gross receipts.
License for each line of business. Every person engaged at one (1) location in more than one (1) line of business falling within separate North American Industrial Classification System ("NAICS") sectors or subsectors from which the taxpayer derives more than ten (10) percent of its gross receipts during the preceding license year shall take out and pay for a license for each line of business. Provided, however, that for each business license, the gross receipts which shall be taxed with regard to a business license shall, except as provided in subsection (b) and other provisions of state law, be only the gross receipts which arise within the line of business which is the subject of the license.(b)Nothing in this section shall be construed to exempt the gross receipts derived from one (1) or more additional lines of business of the taxpayer if those gross receipts do not exceed the required threshold for the purpose of a second or multiple business license. Instead, those gross receipts shall be included in the business license for the taxpayer's primary line of business. (Ord. No. 34-077, § 7, 12-9-97; Ord. No. 34-058-2007, 11-27-07; Ord. No. 34-048-2009, § 3, 12-15-09)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 67).
Full Breakdown
Mobile's business license tax runs on classification: Sec. 34-43 defines the "schedule of licenses" as the adopted list that sorts every business activity into NAICS sectors, subsectors, and industry groups, each carrying its own tax rate. Sec. 34-47 then requires a taxpayer operating at one location in more than one NAICS-classified line of business to obtain a separate license for each line once that second line produces over 10 percent of gross receipts. Rates themselves run on a sliding regression scale under Sec. 34-42(c), 100 percent of the scheduled rate on the first million dollars of gross receipts, stepping down to 20 percent above four million, and businesses operating only in the police jurisdiction pay half the corporate-limits rate.
Violations & Fines
Failing to obtain the license required for each qualifying NAICS line of business is treated as doing business without a license under Chapter 34, exposing the taxpayer to the city's enforcement and penalty provisions for unlicensed operation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Mobile decide my business license rate?
Do I need two licenses if I run two types of business?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mobile
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