What a Long Beach Business License Costs: The 2026-27 Tax Table by Category

Long Beach’s license tax is a published table rather than a percentage of gross receipts. This page gives the table in force as of September 2026, the charges that sit on top of it, who is exempt, and what it costs to pay late or not at all. Where the city’s own pages disagree with each other, both versions are shown. Whether you need a license in the first place, and how to apply, are covered in the section pillar, How to Start a Business in Long Beach.

The short answer

The 2026-27 tax table

The city publishes one rate table for the license year that began on July 1, 2026¹. The tax page itself only says the rate “depends on the classification of your business”; the classification is assigned when you apply, and the table is what it maps to².

Source:¹ for every row.

The municipal code states the same taxes in year-2000 dollars (a home occupation is “one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00)” there) and adjusts them every July 1 by the Los Angeles-area consumer price index, which is why the table and the code never show the same numbers⁴. Plan from the table, not from the code.

Who counts as an employee. The application form defines one broadly: “every person engaged in the operation or conduct of any business in Long Beach, whether as owner, member of the owner’s family, partner, associate, agent, manager or solicitor”. The one exception is the owner of a sole proprietorship, who “shall not be deemed to be an ’employee'”⁶. On that definition, two partners with no staff would count as two employees; a sole proprietor with no staff counts none.

Rates that do not fit the table

The same table has separate sections for businesses charged by the vehicle, the stall or the machine, and for out-of-city and special-event licenses¹:

Vending machines are the one line in the table taxed on gross receipts. Landlords are also taxed differently: the code sets a per-parcel plus per-unit charge for residential rentals of four or more units, nothing for three or fewer, and a per-square-foot charge for non-residential rentals, which the current table prints as $0.038 per square foot¹⁴.

Good to know The FAQ’s figure for a 12-month out-of-city contractor license, $458.35, (with 3-month $114.59 and 6-month $229.17) is an older figure the FAQ does not date; the current table has no 12-month out-of-city option. Use the current table for a quote³¹.

What gets added on top

The state accessibility fee. Every application carries a fee that the state requires cities to collect for disability-access programs (SB 1186 and AB 1379). The 2026-27 rate table’s footer says all applications “ARE SUBJECT TO A $4 CA STATE MANDATED ADA FEE”¹.

Official pages disagree The city’s FAQ says the fee was “$4 for six years from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2023” and then “reverts to $1 beginning January 1, 2024”³. The rate table printed for July 2026 still says $4¹.

Business improvement districts. A business inside one of the city’s business improvement districts pays an additional annual assessment on top of the license tax³. The districts and what each charges are in Long Beach Business Improvement Districts.

Planning’s zoning review. Planning charges a “Business License Zoning Review” of $191.00, or $213.92 with the city’s surcharge, as of October 2026⁸. A home occupation has its own, cheaper review; see Running a Business From Home in Long Beach.

The stormwater form. The city requires every business to complete the Supplemental National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) / Senate Bill 205 form “prior to receiving a new or renewed business license”; regulated industrial businesses must also give their stormwater permit number⁷.

Permits that are not the license. Health permits for food businesses, fire inspections for places of assembly, sign permits and any building work are separate charges from separate departments. The license is the last step in the city’s own sequence, after the certificate of occupancy; the build-out costs are in The Commercial Build-Out Sequence in Long Beach.

When you pay, and what renewal costs

The first year’s tax is charged before the license is issued: “Taxes and fees for the first year of operation will be charged prior to receiving your business license”². The license is “valid for one (1) year from the date of issuance” and must be renewed each year⁶.

Renewal has no form. “Each year, the business will receive a bill for the business license taxes and fees. Once the bill is paid, the business license is renewed for the upcoming year”³. The city’s pages differ on when the bill arrives: the taxes-and-fees page says it is mailed “15 days prior to the license expiration date”, while the application form says “ten (10) days prior to the due date”²⁶.

A new application, and a new first-year charge, is required when the business changes entity type, when 50 percent or more of the ownership changes, when it moves, or when it adds an activity¹⁰. Each separate location in the city needs its own license³.

Exemptions

Exemption from the tax is not exemption from the license. The city’s words: “Businesses that are exempt from the business license tax are not exempt from applying for and obtaining a business license”⁵. Non-profits and certain veterans qualify for the tax exemption; a non-profit that runs a for-profit activity “must pay half the business license tax”⁵.

The one exemption from both the license and the tax is in section 3.80.327: a state-licensed family day care home caring for “fourteen (14) or fewer children” in the provider’s own home⁴. The chapter also excludes banks and insurers (section 3.80.310) and lifts the tax for some teaching and for minors’ yard work (section 3.80.323)⁴.

Penalties for paying late or not at all

The code is specific. Once a payment is more than 30 days late, a penalty of “twenty-five percent (25%) of the total amount” is added, and then “ten percent (10%) shall be added on the first day of each calendar month” until the penalty reaches “a maximum of one hundred percent (100%)” of the tax. The postmark date decides whether a payment is late⁴.

Operating without a license is costlier than the tax. The code makes the operator “liable for the amount of all taxes and penalties applicable from the date of commencement of the business”, and a violation is a misdemeanor “punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or by imprisonment for a period of not more than six (6) months”⁴. Separately, the city’s administrative citation program fines “$100”, “$200” and “$500” for a first, second and later violation of the same code section within a year, each day counting as a separate offense, and unpaid citations can lead to “suspension and/or revocation of any City permits, business licenses, or land use approvals”⁹.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a business license in Long Beach for a sole proprietor with no employees?

$488.81 a year for most categories and $299.54 for a home-based business, plus the state accessibility fee. The owner of a sole proprietorship does not count as an employee¹⁶.

Is the Long Beach business license tax based on gross receipts?

Not for ordinary businesses. The 2026-27 table sets a flat base by category plus a per-employee charge; only vending-machine operators are taxed on receipts, at $4.93 per $1,000 with a $104.40 minimum¹.

Do I need a separate license for each location?

Yes. The city’s FAQ states that “a business license is required for each separate location in the City”³.

Does a non-profit pay the tax?

A non-profit must still obtain the license but is exempt from the tax, unless it runs a for-profit activity, in which case it pays half⁵.

What happens if I renew late?

After 30 days a 25 percent penalty is added, then 10 percent more on the first of each month, up to 100 percent of the tax⁴.

Do I have to apply again every year?

No. Renewal is a bill mailed before the expiration date; paying it renews the license³².

How much does an out-of-city contractor pay?

A 3-month license is $122.10 plus $6.33 per employee, 6 months $244.21 plus $12.66, 9 months $366.31 plus $19.03¹.

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