Dalton Business License: Occupation Tax Not a License, $200 Administrative Fee Plus Per-Employee Rates
If you open or run a business in Dalton, Georgia, you will hear it called a Dalton GA business license. The City of Dalton does not issue one. The city levies an occupation tax and issues an occupational tax certificate, and the City Clerk's Office handles all of it. This guide covers what the certificate costs, how the per-employee formula works, which dates you need to confirm, and how to apply. Dalton here means Dalton, Georgia, in Whitfield County, not Dalton, Massachusetts.
Why Dalton calls it an occupation tax, not a license
Georgia has no general state business license. The Secretary of State issues none, and registering with the Department of Revenue for sales tax is not a business license either. A business in Georgia typically does three things: it registers its entity with the Secretary of State, it registers with the Department of Revenue through the Georgia Tax Center if it sells taxable goods or has employees, and it adds whatever licenses and permits its activity requires.
The local piece is the occupation tax certificate, which many people call a business license. It is authorized under O.C.G.A. Title 48, chapter 13. The city levies the tax and issues the certificate. When you call or visit, ask for the occupational tax certificate by that name, because it is the document the Clerk's Office issues.
Who issues the certificate: location, not mailing address
The issuer depends on where your premises sit, not where your mail goes. A business located inside Dalton city limits pays the city. A business outside the city limits should ask Whitfield County about its local requirements. The Dalton Clerk's Office handles only the city certificate, so a business outside the city should not expect this office to issue one.
Georgia has 159 counties and about 537 cities and towns, and each sets its own formula, deadlines and prerequisites. More than half of Georgians live outside any city, so for many people the county is the issuer. Confirm your location before you file anything.
The fee formula
The City Clerk's formula, taken from its FAQ and Ordinance 23-10, has two parts. The first is a $200 administrative fee levied each year on every occupational tax account. The second is a per-employee tax that drops as headcount rises. Each band of employees is charged at its own rate:
| Employees (full-time equivalent) | Per-employee tax |
|---|---|
| 1 to 25 | $20.00 |
| 26 to 50 | $18.00 |
| 51 to 100 | $16.00 |
| 101 to 200 | $14.00 |
| 201 to 500 | $13.00 |
| More than 500 | $12.00 |
Count employees on a full-time equivalent basis. Add up the part-time hours worked each week, divide the total by 40, and count the result as employees. The owner counts. Only employees at the Dalton location count, so staff at other locations are excluded.
The examples below are arithmetic from the published tiers, not official quotes. Confirm the final amount with the Clerk's Office before you pay.
| Employees | Calculation | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200 + (1 x $20.00) | $220 |
| 10 | $200 + (10 x $20.00) | $400 |
| 25 | $200 + (25 x $20.00) | $700 |
| 50 | $200 + (25 x $20.00) + (25 x $18.00) | $1,150 |
For renewals, the city's instructions use the lesser of the prior year's employee count and the current count. Follow the renewal form and its instructions line by line, because the form controls how the calculation is done.
Deadlines: confirm both dates with the Clerk
The certificate expires on December 31 each year, whatever date you bought it.
The city's own sources do not agree cleanly on filing and penalty dates, so do not treat any one date as final:
- The city's 2025 return says it is due in the Clerk's Office on or before November 15, and it warns of a penalty for failing to file by that date. The return asks for filing by November 15 for the following year.
- The Clerk's FAQ ties a 10% penalty plus 1.5% interest per month to payment made after April 1, and it describes penalties as starting after April 1.
Call the City Clerk's Office at 706-529-2490 or email [email protected] and ask which dates apply to your account for the coming year. Get the answer in writing if you can. Until you have it, do not assume that April 1 is the only deadline or that November 15 is the only one.
Professional occupations and the $400 ceiling
Some professions follow a different rule. Georgia law sets a $400 ceiling per licensed professional that a locality may choose to use, under O.C.G.A. 48-13-10(g). The $400 is a maximum a locality may set. It is not a flat fee for every licensed professional.
Only the professions listed in O.C.G.A. 48-13-9(c) qualify. That list includes lawyers, physicians, dentists, veterinarians, engineers, architects and public accountants, along with similar professions. Cosmetologists are not on the list. Whether the ceiling replaces the $200 administrative fee also differs by place, so ask the Clerk how it applies to your profession before you calculate anything.
How to apply
Gather these items before you visit or submit:
- The Occupational Tax Certificate return and its instruction sheet. A Spanish-language instruction sheet is also available.
- A SAVE affidavit, notarized, with a copy of a secure and verifiable document. Everyone signs this affidavit under O.C.G.A. 50-36-1.
- The private employer affidavit (E-Verify). Private employers with more than 10 employees must file it to receive the local certificate under O.C.G.A. 36-60-6.
Pay at the Clerk's Office or through the city's online portal. The office accepts cash, check and major cards. The same office handles alcohol licenses, so if you plan to sell beer, wine or liquor, ask about that during the same visit.
Before the city: state filings that come first
The city certificate applies to a business that already exists as a legal entity, so handle the state steps first.
An LLC's Articles of Organization and a corporation's Articles of Incorporation each cost $110 total, which is the $100 fee plus a $10 service charge. You can file online through the Secretary of State's eCorp portal at https://ecorp.sos.ga.gov/ or on paper. Online filings take about 7 to 10 business days, and paper filings about 15 business days. Expedited review costs $120 for 2 business days, $275 for same-day review if received by noon, or $1,200 for one hour on business days. A name can be reserved for 30 days for $35. Every Georgia entity must also keep a registered agent at a Georgia street address, and a P.O. box does not qualify.
Every entity also files an annual registration with the Secretary of State. Check the fee, filing window and late penalty on the Corporations Division page at https://sos.ga.gov/corporations-division, since those details change.
If you sell taxable goods or have employees, register with the Department of Revenue through the Georgia Tax Center at https://gtc.dor.ga.gov/. Registration is free. The state sales tax rate is 4%, and combined state and local rates vary by county and city, so confirm the rate for your address at https://dor.georgia.gov/. Georgia issues no separate resale permit. Resale purchases are documented with Form ST-5, the certificate of exemption.
If you operate under a name other than your legal name, file a trade name registration, also called a DBA. It is filed with the Clerk of Superior Court of the county where the business is chiefly carried on, which for Dalton is Whitfield County, not the Secretary of State. The clerk fee is about $165 plus newspaper publication once a week for two weeks. Confirm the current amounts with the Whitfield County Clerk of Superior Court.
If you have three or more workers, including part-time workers, you must carry workers' compensation coverage. Georgia also has no state paid sick leave or family leave mandate. Trades such as contractors, electricians, plumbers, cosmetology and real estate need licenses from state boards, such as the Secretary of State Professional Licensing Boards Division. Those licenses are separate from the Dalton certificate.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Assuming the mailing address decides which government issues the certificate. The premises location decides.
- Looking for a state business license. Georgia issues none, and the Dalton certificate is a city occupation tax certificate.
- Counting part-time staff as whole employees. Convert their hours to full-time equivalents by dividing weekly hours by 40.
- Counting employees at other locations. Only the Dalton location counts.
- Treating one filing date as final. Confirm both the November 15 filing date and the April 1 penalty date with the Clerk.
Get professional help
This guide is informational only. It is not legal or tax advice. Entity, employment and tax decisions depend on your specific facts, so talk with a Georgia attorney or CPA before you file, especially if you have multiple locations, professional licenses or more than 10 employees. Free help is also available from the Georgia Small Business Development Center at the University of Georgia at https://www.georgiasbdc.org/ and from SBA resources for Georgia at https://www.sba.gov/district/georgia.
Dalton City Clerk's Office
City Hall, 300 West Waugh Street, Dalton, Georgia
Phone: 706-529-2490
Email: [email protected]