Redding, CA Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)
Key Facts
- Classification method
- Fee set per named profession/trade in Ch. 6.04
- Professional rate
- $90/yr per professional plus per-employee add-on
- Unlisted businesses
- Default to § 6.04.160 catchall rate
- Late payment penalty
- 10%/month, capped at 50% of fee
- No-license penalty
- 25% of fee due, 2-month grace period
- Violation classification
- Infraction under § 6.02.190
Summary
Redding taxes businesses under Municipal Code Chapter 6.04, which sets a separate license fee for each named profession, trade, occupation, or business type instead of one flat citywide rate. Professionals, contractors, manufacturers, and retailers each pay under their own fee formula, and any business type not specifically listed defaults to the catchall retail and wholesale rate in Section 6.04.160.
6.04.010 - Generally. The rates for licenses for the professions, trades, callings, occupations, or businesses named in this chapter are fixed and established according to the schedules contained in this chapter. The license fees shall be paid by every person engaged in, carrying on, or maintaining any such profession, trade, calling, occupation, or retail or wholesale business. ... 6.04.060 - Businesses not specified. Any person conducting a business or following an occupation within the city of a type or kind not specifically enumerated in Section 6.04.050 and by law subject to licensing by the city, whether it is conducted on a commission basis or otherwise, shall, except as otherwise provided, pay a license fee in accordance with Section 6.04.160.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 48).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 6.04 of the Redding Municipal Code fixes the license fee schedule referenced by the general business license requirement in Chapter 6.02, and it classifies businesses by naming dozens of specific professions, trades, and activities rather than applying a single business tax rate (RMC § 6.04.010). Professionals such as accountants, architects, attorneys, chiropractors, and property managers pay ninety dollars per year for each professional member of the firm, plus six dollars per year for each of the first eight employees and four dollars per year for each additional employee (§ 6.04.050).
Contractors and builders pay ninety dollars per year or thirty dollars per quarter (§ 6.04.070). Manufacturers and processors pay fifty dollars per year plus four dollars per employee for the first twenty-four employees and two dollars per year for each employee beyond that (§ 6.04.100). Any business conducted within the city of a type not specifically enumerated in Section 6.04.050 is classified under Section 6.04.160's catchall retail and wholesale rate of fifty dollars per year, plus eight dollars per year for each of the first four employees and four dollars per year for each additional employee (§§ 6.04.060, 6.04.160).
The chief of police and city police officers enforce the licensing scheme: they can enter business premises free of charge at any time a license is required and can demand the license be exhibited by anyone engaged in the business (§ 6.02.170). Section 6.02.190 makes any violation of Chapters 6.02 or 6.04 an infraction.
Violations & Fines
Operating without the required business license carries a penalty of twenty-five percent of the license fee due, though a new business gets a grace period of up to two months to obtain its license (§ 6.02.180(A)). An unpaid annual or quarterly fee accrues a ten percent penalty for each month it remains delinquent, capped at fifty percent of the fee total (§ 6.02.180(B)). Every violation of Chapters 6.02 and 6.04 is prosecuted as an infraction under Section 6.02.190.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Redding use one flat business tax rate?
What if my business isn't one of the types listed in Chapter 6.04?
What penalty applies for operating without a Redding business license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Redding
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