Business License Taxes
101 East Main Street, Suite 101
Jackson, TN 38301
(731) 425-8214

State law requires that all businesses (with exceptions for professions, manufacturers, and certain disabled persons) inside the city of Jackson have both city and county business licenses. Business License Applications are no longer handled by the City of Jackson. Please visit the State of Tennessee Site via this link.

Link for Business Tax Clearance Files

A simple form is completed on each business and a fee for the issue of the initial business license is levied. Business taxes, unlike property taxes, are not based on an assessment performed by a government agency. Business taxes are assessed against the gross receipts during a certain time period.

Each year, gross receipts reporting forms are sent to all licensed businesses in a specific class. The business owner must file gross receipts figures, take certain deductions allowed and figure the tax owed. The following are examples of businesses in each class of business license. This list is not exhaustive:

Class I (Jan. 1- Dec. 31)
Service stations (gasoline), grocery stores, food wholesalers, hardware stores, building materials suppliers, feed stores, food brokers, beer package stores, beer wholesalers, wholesale gasoline and diesel fuel suppliers.

Class II (April 1- March 31)
Advertising specialty dealers, automobile and motorcycle dealers, boat and camper dealers, department stores, florists and plant stores, home furnishing stores, appliance and electronic stores, restaurants, liquor stores, liquor wholesalers, and all businesses not enumerated elsewhere.

Class III (July 1- June 30)
Antique dealers, delicatessens, jewelry stores, card shops and book stores, pawn shops, beauty and barber shops, schools, architectural and artist supply stores, stores dealing in hearing aids, razors, luggage, optical and opthamological supplies, typewriters, sporting goods and business services.

Class IV (Oct. 1-Sept. 30)
General contractors, subcontractors and produce dealers. Business licenses expire on the due dates listed, but a 60-day grace period is allowed for reporting gross receipts, paying applicable taxes and purchasing a new license. Penalty and interest accrue as of the delinquent date.

Payments can be made by cash, personal check or money order. Arrangements are being made to allow electronic payments.

Financial information supplied to the city is confidential according to state law. The city cannot give this information to anyone other than the business owner or his/her authorized agent unless the records are under subpoena by a court.