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

Chapter 6.04 (Business Taxes) sets the classification and appeal process that runs alongside the seven gross-receipts tax categories in section 6.04.310 (General Business, Manufacturing/Warehousing/Wholesaling, Contractors and Services, Professionals and Rental Units, Gasoline, Cannabis, and Automobile Dealership sales). Section 6.04.220 makes clear that deciding which category a tax-certificate holder or applicant belongs to "shall be an administrative function of the City," carried out by the Collector rather than by City Council vote.

A business that believes it was assigned the wrong classification "because of circumstances peculiar to it" may apply to the Collector for reclassification under section 6.04.230. The Collector investigates and assigns the classification that, in the Collector's opinion, most nearly fits the applicant's business; a successful reclassification is not retroactive and takes effect at the next regular tax calculation, and no business may be reclassified more than once a year. The Collector must notify the applicant of the decision by personal service or mail, and the applicant has ten working days after that notice to request a hearing before the City Council on the reclassification decision itself.

Separately, section 6.04.240 gives any applicant or certificate holder aggrieved by the business classification decision of the City the right to appeal to an impartial Hearing Officer under section 1.12.030. That appeal must be filed with the City Clerk within fifteen days of the notice of decision, as a written statement setting out the grounds for appeal; the City Clerk then sets a hearing within thirty days, and the Hearing Officer's ruling is final and conclusive, overriding the general Chapter 1.12 appeal process.