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

Section 6.04.220 of the National City Municipal Code gives the collector two rules for classification. First, the class is the one set forth in the business tax rate classification schedule designated in § 6.04.030(B). When a business type is not on that schedule, the collector assigns the class most closely matching the business's Standard Industrial Classification number from the most current manual published by the U.S. government, and a copy is kept on file in the collector's office. Second, a business classifiable under two or more schedules is classified by the class with the highest dollar volume of business. If the volumes are equal, the class producing the highest tax controls.

Section 6.04.230 applies classification to multiple activities. Tax is calculated separately for each business location and for each business name at one location, and separate licenses are issued. Similar businesses under one name at one location, the code's example being retail and wholesale auto parts, are taxed on total gross receipts using the schedule of the class with the highest receipts. Dissimilar businesses at one address, such as retail auto parts and automobile repair, or a restaurant and an amusement arcade, are classified separately and the taxes combined. A business with a principal office in National City that runs facilities elsewhere is taxed on its cost of doing business at that office as the measure of gross receipts.

Once classified, § 6.04.280 sets the tax from the classification schedule and the Gross Receipts Tax Table in Appendix B. A new business pays a first-year tax of $20, the minimum annual tax, prorated by quarter, and the second year is based on first-year gross receipts (§ 6.04.270). Annual taxes are due January 1 and delinquent March 1 (§ 6.04.290). Flat alternatives exist for vehicles ($25 per vehicle, or $75 for food vending), swap meets ($4,500 per year), pawnshops ($150) and amusement arcades ($100), each with a binding election for gross receipts (§§ 6.04.310, 6.04.330).

A person aggrieved by a classification or tax decision files a notice of appeal with the collector within 90 days of notification and pays the processing fee in the National City Fee Schedule. The city treasurer sets a hearing within 30 days of receiving the appeal, and the fee is refunded only if the appellant wins wholly (§ 6.04.160).