Changes in State Minimal Activity License Threshold to Affect Local Businesses

May 27, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Many business owners in DeKalb County and across the state will be affected by a change in requirements for obtaining a Minimal Activity or Standard Business License.

According to the Tennessee Department of Revenue, any business with annual gross receipts of more than $3,000 but less than $100,000 must obtain a Minimal Activity License. Previously, the requirement was for businesses with annual gross receipts of between $3,000 and $10,000. Any business with annual gross receipts in excess of $100,000 needs a Standard Business License. These changes apply to tax years ending on or after December 31, 2023.

These business licenses are to be obtained and renewed annually through the local county clerk’s office.

Business owners affected by the changes will be notified by letter from the Tennessee Department of Revenue that they will no longer be renewing by use of TN Tap, the department’s online payment platform.

“We have been told that the Department of Revenue will be analyzing all those TN Tap accounts in the fall and that they will be sending letters out to each of those account holders with gross receipts of between $3,000 to $100,000 to notify them that they will no longer be using TN Tap to renew but must do so with the County Clerk’s Office. For those businesses that still have sales and use tax accounts on TN Tap, they will retain that account and will continue to pay their sales and use tax through TN Tap,” said County Clerk James L. (Jimmy) Poss.

According to Poss, the changes announced by the Department of Revenue will create more activity in the county clerk’s office.

“Its going to increase the number of people we see locally and increase the number of transactions that we process locally in the office. Those numbers will go up because the majority of our accounts are standard business license accounts. We currently have very few minimal activity accounts,” said Poss.

For more information on the changes announced by the Tennessee Department of Revenue click the link below

https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/revenue/documents/notices/business/bus23-08.pdf

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