Business License/Tax Office
865-215-2083
This office handles business licenses, permits, and taxes.
State law requires that all businesses (with exceptions for professions, manufacturers, and certain disabled persons) inside the city of Knoxville have both city and county business licenses.
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.
The downtown Business Tax Office is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and is located in room 450 of the City County Building, 400 Main Street, in downtown Knoxville. Download our
Business Tax License Application [PDF].
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.