Code of Alabama
Division 1 - General Provisions.
Section 11-51-90.2 - Purchase of Business License; Classification of Taxpayers; Vehicle Decals; Determination of Gross Receipts; Construction With Other Provisions.

(a) Every taxpayer required to purchase a business license under this chapter shall:
(1) Purchase a business license for each location at which it does business in the municipality, except as otherwise provided by the municipality.
(2) Except as provided in Section 11-51-193, with respect to taxpayers subject to state licensing board oversight, be classified into one or more of the following 2002 North American Industrial Classification System ("NAICS") sectors and applicable sub-sectors, industry groups, industries, and U.S. industries thereunder:


(3) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, a business license is not required for a person travelling through a municipality on business if the person is not operating a branch office as provided in Section 11-51-90, or doing business in the municipality.
(b) The taxing jurisdiction's basis for determination of the business license tax for each sector shall correspond with the basis specified in subsection (a), such as gross receipts, flat rate, number of employees, or square footage. Provided, however, with respect to machines and other devices described in Sector 910 above, the municipality, in addition to a gross receipts-based or flat rate license, may require the taxpayer to purchase a decal for each machine or device located within the municipality. The charge for such decal shall not exceed the municipality's actual cost of the decal. Provided further, the taxing jurisdiction shall have authority to issue one license, rather than multiple licenses, to a business in accordance with the taxing jurisdiction's business license ordinance. To the extent that subsection (a) indicates that a business activity described in an NAICS sector is fully or partially state regulated, no taxing jurisdiction shall have authority to impose a business license tax in excess of the amount otherwise authorized by state law on the state regulated portion of such sector.
(c) The measure of a municipal business license based on gross receipts shall be based on the taxpayer's gross receipts for the license year next preceding the current license year unless the taxpayer first began doing business in the municipality during the current license year, in which event the gross receipts shall be projected by the taxpayer for the remaining portion of the current license year. If the taxpayer's actual gross receipts for the short license year are either more or less than projected, the taxpayer's annualized gross receipts used in calculating its business license tax liability for the following license year shall be increased or decreased, respectively, by the amount of the difference. When annualizing the gross receipts for the short license year, the amount of the gross receipts projected by the taxpayer shall be divided by the number of full months the taxpayer was in business in the municipality and multiplied by 12; provided that each taxpayer shall be deemed to have been in business in the municipality for a minimum of one month for purposes of this calculation. If the taxpayer employs a fiscal year for federal and state income tax purposes, the taxpayer's gross receipts may be determined, at the option of the taxpayer, from the federal income tax return of the taxpayer for the fiscal year next preceding the current license year, provided that the gross receipts reported thereon reasonably reflect the financial condition of the taxpayer as of the December 31 next preceding the current license year, and the taxpayer so notifies the municipality either prior to or simultaneously with filing the first business license remittance form using fiscal year data. The taxpayer's use of fiscal year data, as provided above, shall constitute an irrevocable election to use fiscal year data with respect to the current and subsequent business license years unless the governing body of the municipality or its director of finance or other chief revenue officer or his or her designee consents otherwise. Provided, however, that nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a municipality from doing any of the following:
(1) Creating one or more sub-sectors in each of the NAICS sectors listed in subsection (a) above, subject to the limitations regarding the basis for license calculation and subsections (e) and (f) below.
(2) Levying and collecting any municipal tax, other than an annual business license, that now exists or that may hereafter be adopted pursuant to Section 11-51-90 or some other provision of state law, including, but not limited to, lodgings taxes, alcoholic beverage taxes, gasoline and motor fuel taxes, tobacco taxes, leasing or rental taxes, occupational taxes, sales and use taxes, and gross receipts taxes in the nature of a sales tax.
(3) Allowing or requiring a taxpayer to purchase a minimum business license with respect to the short license year following 90 days of operations in the municipality, based on the amount which bears the same relationship to the actual amount of gross receipts during such preceding license year as the entire license year bears to the number of days during which the taxpayer was operating during such preceding license year. If the taxpayer did not commence operations until after the first day of the calendar year, the municipality may by ordinance require the taxpayer to remit the business license tax at the end of such 90 day period, or on December 31 of the current license year, whichever occurs first.
(d) For purposes of subsection (a), the terms "state regulated" or "where not state regulated," when used with reference to a business listed in one of the NAICS sectors and any subsequently created sub-sector, mean and refer to other provisions of the Code of Alabama 1975, that deal with or limit the taxation of the respective business by municipalities, none of which are amended or repealed by Act 2006-586.
(e) Notwithstanding anything in this chapter to the contrary, the licenses authorized by Sections 11-51-130 and 11-51-131 are in lieu of any other business licenses authorized by this chapter, and banks and savings and loan associations subject to either of those sections are not subject to the business license taxes otherwise authorized by this chapter, regardless of whether one or more NAICS sectors or sub-sectors describe or include any business or activity of such bank or savings and loan association. Any municipal business license tax applicable to a bank holding company, as defined in Section 5-13B-2(f), shall not exceed the amount set forth in the schedule provided for banks under Section 11-51-130(a)(12). Provided, however, if a bank holding company is engaged in additional lines of business that do not fall within NAICS Sectors 551 or 522 and which are not considered financial in nature, as defined under federal banking law, the bank holding company shall take out and pay for a business license for each additional line of business so assessed by the municipality; provided further that for each separate additional business license, the gross receipts taxable under such license shall be only those gross receipts of the bank holding company which arise under the license for the respective additional line of business and not from a financial activity, as defined under federal banking law, or from an activity within NAICS Sector 551 or 522. This subsection (e) shall not apply to any subsidiary of a bank or savings and loan association.
(f) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, each of the several municipalities in this state may annually assess and collect from each utility or other entity described in Section 11-51-129 only one municipal business license tax for all lines of business classified in NAICS Sector 221, and the levy, collection, and assessment of the single business license tax shall be subject to the provisions and limitations of Section 11-51-129 and Section 11-51-90.1. If any such utility or entity described in Section 11-51-129 is engaged in one or more additional lines of business that do not fall within NAICS Sector 221, and if the additional line of business of such utility or other entity is so assessed by the municipality, then the utility or other entity shall take out and pay for a business license for that additional line of business, even if the utility or other entity does not meet the requirement in Section 11-51-95 that it must derive more than 10 percent of its gross receipts from the business falling within the NAICS sector during the preceding license year; provided however, that for each separate, additional business license, the gross receipts taxable under such license shall be only those gross receipts of the utility or other entity from business done within the municipality and which arise within the line of business which is the subject of the respective license.

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