Screen whether city, county, or other local taxes (local income, business, gross-receipts, or occupancy taxes) may apply to your business or income, and what to confirm.
Answer a few quick questions below. It is private - nothing is submitted or stored - and takes about a minute.
Informational screening only; not tax advice. Confirm local obligations with your CPA and the relevant city or county authority.
Here is what the checker asks and why each step matters. Prefer to talk it through? Contact us and we will help directly.
Local taxes almost always hinge on a physical foothold; a fixed location or local payroll is what pulls you into a city or county's tax base.
Use the interactive tool above to see how this applies to your situation.
Official guidance: Official state tax agency directory
A handful of states let cities and counties tax income directly - think Ohio's municipal net-profits taxes, Pennsylvania's local earned income and business privilege taxes, New York City, or Kentucky occupational license fees on wages and profits.
Register the business and any employer withholding accounts, and collect and remit the local income, wage, or net-profits tax at that location (municipal income tax enabling statutes, e.g., Ohio Rev. Code Chapter 718; Pennsylvania Local Tax Enabling Act, Act 511).
Official guidance: Official state tax agency directory
Gross-receipts regimes tax the top line regardless of margin, so even a break-even or loss year owes tax - Washington State B&O, San Francisco's gross-receipts tax, and Los Angeles's business tax are the classic examples.
Register for the local gross-receipts or business-license tax and track apportioned receipts; note that P.L. 86-272 shields only net-income taxes and gives no protection here (e.g., Washington B&O, RCW Chapter 82.04).
Official guidance: Official state tax agency directory
Beyond income and receipts, many localities levy transaction-specific taxes - hotel or transient-occupancy tax, prepared-meals tax, parking tax, or amusement tax - that you collect from the customer and remit, including on short-term rentals booked through platforms.
Register to collect and remit the local occupancy, meals, parking, or amusement tax as a trust-fund collector under the applicable local ordinance. Document why no separately imposed local tax applies at this location and monitor as you grow; a general business license may still be required.
Official guidance: Official state tax agency directory
A pure home-based or remote setup usually keeps you inside a single locality, but a home office can still trip a local business-license or home-occupation permit even when no separate storefront exists.
Screen the home city and county for a general business-license or home-occupation permit requirement even though no separate commercial premises exist. Map every city and county where you have people or property and screen each separately for local income, gross-receipts, occupancy, and license taxes (Complete Auto Transit, Inc. v. Brady, 430 U.S. 274 (1977)).
Official guidance: Official state tax agency directory
Send us your situation and one of our senior CPAs will review it with you - fixed fee, no surprises.
Contact Us