York County, VA Local Taxes & Fees: Business Tax Classification (2026)

Section 14-27 tells the commissioner of revenue how to classify a York County business for the license tax, working through detailed guidelines for contractors, retail sales, financial/real estate/professional services, and repair, personal, business and other services, with a catch-all class for anything not otherwise covered. Section 14-26 then sets the rate for each class once a business's gross receipts from the prior license year top $100,000: contractors pay sixteen cents per $100 of gross receipts, retail merchants pay twenty cents per $100, financial, real estate and professional service providers pay fifty-eight cents per $100, and every other repair, personal or business service pays thirty-six cents per $100.

Wholesale merchants instead pay five cents per $100 of gross purchases, and telephone, telegraph, heat, light, power, water and gas companies pay one-half of one percent of in-county gross receipts. Section 14-14.1 lets a taxpayer challenge the commissioner of revenue's classification or rate determination as an 'appealable event,' first through the commissioner and then, within 90 days of an adverse ruling, to the state Tax Commissioner. Section 14-15 makes it unlawful to conduct a business, profession, trade or occupation before procuring the required license, and license taxes must be paid by March 1 of the license year, or within 30 days of starting a new business after January 1.