City of Tucson Business License and Tax Updates

Overview

Non-emergency offices of the City of Tucson will be closed on Friday, March 29th, in observance of the Cesar Chavez Day holiday.  This includes all teams of the Taxpayer Assistance Group.  We will be open again for our regular business hours on Monday, April 1st.

 

Contact Us

Location: County-City Public Works Building,201 N Stone Ave, Tucson, AZ, 85701

License team customer service email: License@tucsonaz.gov
License team customer service phone: (520) 791-4566 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Taxpayer Assistance Group fax: (520) 791-3114
Mailing Address: City of Tucson License Section, PO Box 27210, Tucson, AZ, 85726-7210

Investigations team customer service email: Tax-Investigations@tucsonaz.gov
Investigations team customer service phone: (520) 791-4247
Taxpayer Assistance Group fax: (520) 791-3114

Tax Audit team customer service email: Taxpayer-Education@tucsonaz.gov
Tax Audit team customer service phone: (520) 791-4681
Taxpayer Assistance Group fax:(520) 791-3114

 


 

2024 Annual Business License Renewals

The annual business license renewal fees for 2024 have been applied to City of Tucson license accounts, and the renewal bills are currently available electronically via our online portal at https://tucsonaz.igovservices.com.  Paper renewal bills are currently being mailed to the business address on record, and should be received by early December.  The business license renewal fee is due by the end of 2023 and will become delinquent if not paid before February 1st.  Unpaid business license renewal fees are assessed a 50% late penalty.

The online portal allows for payments using either e-checks or credit and debit cards.  You may create a customer account using the online portal and link your license(s) to this account using your license number(s) (now called PIDN(s) in the new system) and the Security Code found on your business license renewal.  The web address for the new portal is https://tucsonaz.igovservices.com and other instructions and information about the new portal can be found at Tax and License Online Services.

If you pay using the online portal and have any contact or mailing changes to inform us of, please email those changes to our office, to make sure we can enter them before your new license certificate is generated.  Be sure to include your PIDN/license number when emailing us.  Also, please note that you may still receive a paper renewal form.  If you pay online for a license renewal, please do not send another payment when you receive the paper renewal form.

If you wish to pay by mail, please mail your renewal form, along with your check or money order (payable to City of Tucson), in the return envelope you receive with your renewal form.  Be sure to enter the city business license number (PIDN) in the Memo field of the check or money order.

If you wish to pay in person, please bring your renewal form to the Cashier station at the County-City Public Works Center (see Office address above).  You will be able to pay using cash, check, money order, or credit card.

If you cease doing business prior to January 1, 2024, please do one of the following:

  1. Fill out the cancellation notice at the bottom of the front page of the renewal form and return to us without payment.
  2. Send an email to our office, stating the following:  your name, the name of the business, the PIDN/city license number, the effective date of the closure of the business, and a brief reason for the closure.  You will not have to return the renewal form.

If you have sold your business or are changing the ownership of your business (e.g., from sole proprietor to an LLC you have registered with the Arizona Corporation Commission), do not send payment for your renewal, but please contact the License Section to find out what you need to do next.

If you either paid your 2024 renewal or canceled your business license and still received a 2024 license renewal bill, you should not need to do anything else if you received either a receipt or confirmation of either of these activities.  You may log into the online portal or contact the License team if you wish to verify payments or cancellations.

If you have a question about your renewal that is not answered here, please feel free to contact the License Section using the contact information at the top of this page! 


Email Notifications Sent Out on 10/15

Almost 30,000 email notifications were sent out on October 15th, to inform taxpayers that their 2024 business license renewal bills are now available through our online portal.  The emails will display a "From" address of "admin@igovservices.com" and will have a subject reading "City of Tucson Invoice(s) Ready!".  They also list the invoice number, the PIDN/license number being referenced, and the name of your business or business entity.  You can find more information below regarding the 2024 business license renewals.  There is more information regarding the online portal to our tax and license system at Tax and License Online Services.


Changes Regarding Retail Tobacco Sales and Sales of "Vaping" Supplies

Recently, Mayor and Council passed Ordinances Nos. 11703 and 11720, which make big changes to Tucson City Code Chapter 7, Article XIX, dealing with Tobacco Retail Establishments. The biggest changes made by these ordinances are:

  1. The definition of “tobacco product” is changed to include devices and substances used for “vaping”
  2. The minimum legal sales age for tobacco products in the City of Tucson is increased from 18 to 21.
  3. The annual license fee for a tobacco retail license is increased to $300.

All of these changes are effective January 1, 2020. Information packages, including 2020 renewal forms for current tobacco retail licensees will be mailed the week of January 20th by the License Section.

Signs are being designed that satisfy the requirements of the tobacco retail code changes. After these have been printed, they will be mailed along with 2020 tobacco retail license certificates for tobacco retailers who have paid their renewal fees.

Businesses that have not previously fallen under the category of tobacco retail establishment, but which currently sell “vaping” supplies or other paraphernalia that are now classified as “tobacco products”, are now required to obtain a tobacco retail establishment license. The City of Tucson License Section will be reaching out to these businesses to help them come into compliance with the new law.

Ordinance #11703(PDF, 3MB)

Ordinance #11720(PDF, 692KB)

Refunds for Privilege Taxes and License Fees

If you have received an account statement from the City of Tucson, with a credit balance, non-filed returns, or outstanding balances, please contact the appropriate Taxpayer Assistance office at the phone number or email listed at the bottom of the front page of the statement.

For all other refund requests: Effective July 1, 2019, the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) administers all refund claims for Transaction Privilege (Sales) and Use Taxes for ALL taxing jurisdictions in the state of Arizona. See this link (https://azdor.gov/transaction-privilege-tax/tpt-refund) for instructions for submitting a refund claim through ADOR. All documents identified at this website, or any others requested by ADOR must be returned solely to ADOR.

Tax Rate Reminders

The City of Tucson tax rate increased effective July 1, 2017 from 2% to 2.5% for most business activities, and increased effective March 1, 2018 from 2.5% to 2.6% for those same business activities. This is especially important to note if you are an annual filer as the city tax rate has increased from the return filed for 2017.

Contracting Changes for 2019

Effective January 1, 2019, the definition of “alteration” for commercial projects will be changing. Senate Bill 1409 simplified the definition. Prior to January 2019, commercial projects that met the following three requirements were considered alteration: 1) the price of the job was less than or equal to $750,000, and 2) the project altered 40% or less of the original square footage of the structure and 3) no more than an additional 10% of the original square footage is added to the existing structure.

As of January 1, 2019, the only requirement for a commercial project to be considered an alteration is that the price of the project be less than or equal to $750,000. Commercial projects for more than $750,000 will be considered modifications and subject to the construction contracting section (19-415) of the Tucson Tax Code.

Contracts signed prior to January 1, 2019 will be subject to the three requirements listed above.

Businesses with Unfiled Returns or Underpayments

Businesses with unfiled City of Tucson returns or underpayments for periods prior to January 1, 2017 can call the Revenue Investigations Section at (520) 791-4247 for assistance with filing any missing returns during that time period and getting their account(s) up to date.

Speculative Builders and Owner Builders

Speculative builders and owner builders are potentially liable for city sales tax on new construction built and sold within the City. Please call Tax Audit at (520) 791-4681 to see if this could apply to you, and for more information on how to report the tax on these types of sales.

Other Tax Code Changes

For any changes to the City of Tucson tax code, check the link to Model City Tax Code at https://modelcitytaxcode.az.gov/