San Clemente, CA Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)
Key Facts
- Gross-receipts track
- Retail, wholesale, manufacturing, telephone, professions
- Flat-rate track
- Named trades listed in § 5.08.040
- Lowest gross-receipts bracket
- $50.00 for receipts up to $25,000
- Default flat fee
- $100.00 for any unnamed business
- Mixed-business rule
- Pay under gross receipts, never less than flat (§5.04.150)
Summary
San Clemente sorts every business license into one of two tax tracks: retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, telephone providers, and most professions pay under a graduated gross-receipts schedule set by § 5.08.030, while a fixed list of named trades and occupations instead pay a flat annual amount printed in § 5.08.040.
Every person having an established place of business within the City and who is engaged in manufacturing and selling any goods, wares or merchandise at retail or wholesale, or selling any goods, wares or merchandise at retail or wholesale, or providing telephone services, and not otherwise specifically taxed by other provisions of this chapter, shall pay an annual business license tax based upon the annual gross sales or receipts of such business in accordance with fee schedule Code 01 as follows: ... 0 to $25,000.00 . .$ 50.00 ... The provisions of this chapter notwithstanding, the following named businesses or occupations shall pay an annual (unless indicated otherwise) business license tax in the respective amount specified below in this section: ... Any other business not classified elsewhere in this chapter . .100.00
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Traffic: Supplement 30 | Code of Ordinances: Supplement 66 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
00 and climbs through higher brackets as receipts grow, up through businesses earning several million dollars a year. 030(B), are billed on the same gross-receipts model. 040 instead lists specific named trades and occupations, among them contractors, boarding houses, dance halls, billiard rooms, and pawnbrokers, that pay a flat annual amount set out business-by-business in that section regardless of how much revenue they earn. 00 license tax under the section's catch-all line. 150 requires the licensee to report total gross receipts for all the correlated or allied activities and pay under whichever gross-receipts schedule applies, so long as the total is never less than what the flat-rate section alone would charge.
Businesses that genuinely operate as separate, unrelated enterprises at the same location and under the same management still owe a separate license tax for each one; the License Collector decides whether activities are correlated or allied enough to combine into one filing.
Violations & Fines
Section 5.04.020 makes it unlawful to transact business in San Clemente without first procuring a license and paying the tax due under whichever classification applies. Under § 5.04.080, a delinquent renewal draws a 20 percent penalty or $5.00, whichever is greater, added on the first of each month it remains unpaid, capped at 100 percent of the tax, plus 6 percent simple interest, and the license itself becomes void 30 days after becoming delinquent.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does San Clemente decide whether my business pays flat or gross receipts?
What if my business does not fit any named category?
I run two different types of business from one location. How am I taxed?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Clemente
California rules heatmap·Compare San Clemente to another location·View the California local taxes & fees overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.
Business Tax Classification in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Orange County handle business tax classification.