Portsmouth, VA Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)
Key Facts
- Assessing official
- Commissioner of the Revenue
- Retail sales rate
- $50 or $0.20/$100 receipts (§20-28)
- Financial/real estate/professional rate
- $50 or $0.58/$100 (§20-16)
- Wholesale merchant rate
- $50 for first $5,000 + $0.15/$100 (§20-32)
- Combined-business license rule
- same or highest rate applies (§20-3(a))
- No-license penalty
- Class 1 misdemeanor (§20-4(b))
Summary
Portsmouth's business license tax is assessed by classification under City Code Chapter 20, Article II: retail sales, personal services, financial and professional services, wholesale merchants and more each carry a distinct flat fee plus a rate per $100 of gross receipts, administered by the commissioner of the revenue.
A person engaged in two or more businesses or professions carried on at the same place of business may elect to obtain one license for all such businesses and professions if all of the following criteria are satisfied:(1)Each business or profession is licensable at the location...;(2)All of the businesses or professions are subject to the same tax rate, or, if subject to different tax rates, the licensee agrees to be taxed on all businesses and professions at the highest rate... Every person engaged-in financial, real estate or professional services shall pay a license tax of $50.00 or $0.58 on each $100.00 of gross receipts, whichever is greater.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 65).
Full Breakdown
Every person conducting a business, trade, profession, occupation or calling in Portsmouth must apply for a license under § 20-3(a), unless exempted by law. If someone operates two or more businesses from the same location, § 20-3(a) lets them elect a single combined license only if all of the businesses are licensable there and either subject to the same tax rate, or the licensee agrees to be taxed on everything at the highest applicable rate. The rate itself depends entirely on how Article II classifies the business.
00 of gross receipts, whichever is greater. 00. 00 under §§ 20-25 and 20-27. 00 under § 20-32. 00 under §§ 20-20 and 20-23. Section 20-2 defines 'gross receipts,' 'business,' and each classification term that drives which rate schedule applies, and § 20-5 assigns the situs of those gross receipts to the definite place of business where a contractor's work is performed, where a retailer solicits sales, or where rental property is managed, so a firm operating in several classifications or several jurisdictions is taxed only on the share attributable to Portsmouth.
Violations & Fines
Conducting business without first obtaining the required license, or continuing more than one month after a license lapses, is a Class 1 misdemeanor under § 20-4(b), with each day of default a separate offense; a conviction does not excuse payment of the tax owed. The commissioner of revenue can also seek injunctive relief to stop a continuing violation, and late applications or late payments draw a 10 percent penalty under § 20-3(e).
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Portsmouth decide my business license tax rate?
What if I run two different kinds of business from one office?
What happens if I never apply for a business license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Portsmouth
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