Business Taxes

• Licenses and assesses a business privilege tax (officially known as the “Business, Professional, and Occupational License” or “BPOL” tax) on all Arlington businesses, including home-based businesses.
• Assesses the business tangible personal property tax on all furniture, computers, fixtures, machinery and tools of all Arlington businesses and ensures that all businesses report their owned and leased equipment in the same uniform manner.
• Assesses the annual Bank Franchise Tax Administers custodial taxes such as the County Meals Tax, Transient Occupancy Tax, Cigarette Tax and Short-term Rental Tax. These custodial taxes are collected from customers by businesses and are considered to be held in trust by the businesses until payment to the County.
• Conducts desk audits of all business license tax applications for several factors, including verification of mathematical calculations, review of tax classifications and examination of unusual changes in gross receipts from one reporting year to another.
• Conducts in-depth field audits of selected accounts to ensure that businesses report their gross receipts properly and have the proper tax rate classification. Monitors, contacts and assists many new businesses.

For more information about business taxes, contact the Business Tax Division at 703-228-3060.

On October 13, 2022, the Commissioner of Revenue's Business Tax Division mailed postcards to Arlington County business owners to inform them that the printing and mailing of business tax forms would cease and that businesses will not be receiving pre-printed tax forms by mail in January 2023.  Customers are encouraged to review and update their CAPP accounts or sign up for CAPP no later than December 31, 2022, so they are prepared to file timely in 2023.  CAPP customers receive online courtesy reminders leading up to tax filing deadlines.

This initiative began in 2019 with monthly custodial tax return filings, including meals tax and transient occupancy tax. Every year since, other tax types have transitioned to this initiative, including the annual business license and business tangible property taxes by phasing out the printing and mailing of blank returns to customers who were already recurring online filers with CAPP.

The paperless initiative aims to reduce business tax return processing delays resulting from recurring issues such as:

• Return mail, undeliverable addresses
• Multiple submissions of the same tax filing; online and paper version
• Illegible handwriting
• Incomplete fields
• Missing or illegible postmarks resulting in late filing penalties
• Third parties replicating versions of the tax returns with inaccurate data and missing barcodes

Other benefits to managing business tax accounts on CAPP include:

• Fast, secure, and convenient online submission with immediate confirmation
• Ability to file in a timely manner up to midnight EST on the due date
• One stop access to all business documents and records
• Avoid tax returns lost in the mail or placed in the wrong mailbox that may compromise business information.
• Avoid delayed postal mailings and receipt of correspondence
• Safe and contactless correspondence
• Reduced clutter and paper to be stored, shredded, or discarded
• Continuity of COR business services during events beyond our control
• County printing, postage, and labor cost savings that can be allocated towards improved business services

For questions, contact the Business Tax Division at 703-228-3060.

The 2023 business license tax return filings and, if applicable, payments, are due on or before March 1st, 2023, 11:59 PM EST. Effective January 2023, the printing and mailing of business tax returns has been discontinued. All returns should be filed online through our convenient Customer Assessment & Payment Portal (CAPP) at https://capp.arlingtonva.us.