Any person doing business in Broward County, even a one-person company or home-based business owner, needs a Broward County Local Business Tax Receipt, unless you qualify for an exemption. You need one Local Business Tax Receipt for each location you are operating your business from, and one for each category of business you are conducting.
Fees are based on your type of business and range from $27 to $150. Some categories determine the fee by the number of employees, number of seats, number of merchandise machines, rooms, units, etc. Review the Classification Codes for Business Tax for a listing of categories and fees.
Upon presentation of all required documents, Local Business Tax Receipts are issued within minutes.
Depending on the type of business or profession and the location of your business, you may need State, Professional and City Licenses. All businesses should check with their municipality before applying for a Broward County Local Business Tax Receipt.
The County license is required to do business in Broward County. Because the business is under the city’s jurisdiction, it is also subject to the city’s ordinances and zoning requirements.
We recommend that you check with your city before attempting to obtain a Broward County Local Business Tax Receipt, especially if the business is home-based. In the event your city denies your application due to zoning or inspection requirements, your Local Business Tax Receipt is non-refundable.
If your business is located in Unincorporated Broward County, a Certificate of Use from Broward County’s Permitting, Licensing and Consumer Protection Division is required before a Broward County Local Business Tax Receipt can be issued. Certificates of Use may be applied for at Permitting, Licensing & Consumer Protection Division, Building Services Section, 1 N. University Drive, Plantation, or call 954-765-4400.
Most businesses can renew a Local Business Tax Receipt online (a phone number and email address are required).
Businesses that must submit current proof of certification each year cannot pay online until that documentation has been reviewed. You may submit the current certification by:
After the Tax Collector reviews the state license or other required certification, you can complete payment online.
You must transfer your existing Local Business Tax Receipt when you move to a new location, change the business name, or change ownership. The transfer fee is 10 percent of the base fee, not less than $3.00 and not more than $25.00. There is no fee for a change in mailing address only.
A Local Business Tax Receipt may not be transferred to a new owner if the new owner is an exempt business or is in the Individual Professional category.
To complete a transfer, provide the current Local Business Tax Receipt along with any required regulatory documents and the transfer fee. If you cannot provide the current receipt, you must complete an Affidavit to Transfer Broward County Local Business Tax Receipt (PDF 131 KB), obtain all required documents, and pay the required fees.
You need to obtain the Broward County Local Business Tax Receipt in order to do business in Broward County, UNLESS the business falls under the Contractors category, is State-certified and has a County Local Business Tax Receipt from your home county in Florida. In these cases, you may do business across the State of Florida without obtaining the Local Business Tax Receipt; however, some Broward County cities may require you to obtain the Local Business Tax Receipt to obtain permits.
If your business is locally certified by your County, you may contact the Broward County Central Examining Board or call 954-765-5108 to see if Broward County can reciprocate another county’s Certificate of Competency. Broward County does not reciprocate Local Business Tax Receipts.
What should I do if I go out of business, or close a business location?
Send notification of the closure of your business or business location, along with a copy of the license to be inactivated, to:
Office of Abbey Ajayi
Broward County Tax Collector
115 S. Andrews Ave.
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
If you advertise or conduct a “Going Out of Business/Fire Sale,” such that would reasonably cause the public to believe that upon disposal of the stock of goods, your business will cease operations, you must obtain a Going Out of Business/Fire Sale permit. Permits must be obtained for each location in which a sale will be held.