Do you need a business license in Tennessee? Most businesses operating there do.
Businesses located in a Tennessee county or city with more than $3,000 a year of gross receipts there. Over $100,000, it's a standard licence with business tax. The counties and cities issue it to businesses located in them, so a company with no Tennessee location doesn't need one.
Checked by the BaseAcross team.
Tennessee at a glance
- General licence
- YesBusiness license
- Run from abroad
- Not neededOnly with a location there
- Sales tax
- YesSales and use tax registration
- Federal licence
- NoneOnly regulated activities
Business licences in Tennessee
What Tennessee asks of a business, and what that means for one run from abroad.
Business license Businesses located in a Tennessee county or city with more than $3,000 a year of gross receipts there. Over $100,000, it's a standard licence with business tax. $15 a year for a minimal activity licence; a standard licence brings business tax returns. Issued by the county clerk or city where the business is located. The official page.
If you run it from abroad. The counties and cities issue it to businesses located in them, so a company with no Tennessee location doesn't need one.
Sales tax. Sales and use tax registration, from the Tennessee Department of Revenue, once you have to collect Tennessee's sales tax. Register.
Cities and counties. In Tennessee the business licence itself is local, from the county clerk or city.
Regulated work. Alcohol, food, health, finance, transport and the licensed professions bring their own federal or state licences, wherever you're based. The lookup below lists them.
What does your company need?
Set to a company formed in Tennessee and run from abroad. Change any answer.
Your answer
Nothing to apply for right now.
Based on your answers, no licence is needed today. Below is what would change that, and what you can stop worrying about.
You'll need later, if this happens· 1
A licence in a state you sell into a lot
Only Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, West Virginia reach a seller with no presence. Every other state doesn't.
Alaska: Alaska expects a licence if any part of your business happens in Alaska, so check before you sell there regularly. Hawaii: You need one once you have $100,000 of sales or 200 transactions with Hawaii customers in a year, even with no presence there. Washington: You need one once you have more than $100,000 a year of sales to Washington customers, even with no presence there. West Virginia: You need one once you have to collect West Virginia's sales tax, which for a remote seller starts at its sales threshold.
You don't need· 5
A Business license (Tennessee)
The counties and cities issue it to businesses located in them, so a company with no Tennessee location doesn't need one.
A city licence where you have no office
City and county licences are for businesses located there. A company run from abroad isn't located in a US city.
A seller's permit before you have to collect sales tax
A seller's permit is a sales tax registration, not a licence to sell. You need one in a state once you have to collect its tax.
A licence to form your company
Forming an LLC or corporation is a filing, not a licence. Your EIN is a tax number, not a licence either.
A general federal business licence
There isn't one. The US licenses specific activities, such as alcohol, firearms and broadcasting, not businesses in general.
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Tennessee has a Business license, from the county clerk or city where the business is located. Businesses located in a Tennessee county or city with more than $3,000 a year of gross receipts there. Over $100,000, it's a standard licence with business tax. It costs $15 a year for a minimal activity licence; a standard licence brings business tax returns.
The counties and cities issue it to businesses located in them, so a company with no Tennessee location doesn't need one.
Only once you have to collect Tennessee's sales tax: when you have an office, staff or stock there, or your sales into Tennessee pass its threshold. It's called a sales and use tax registration, from the Tennessee Department of Revenue.
In Tennessee the business licence itself is local, from the county clerk or city. A company with no office or staff in Tennessee isn't located in any of them.
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