USPS has been experiencing mail delays since the new Regional Processing & Distribution Center opened in February 2024. To prevent additional delays and better serve our business community, the Cobb County Business License Office will open the 2025 renewal season early on September 23, 2024. Emailed and paper renewals will begin going out the week of September 16th. If you have not received your renewal information by 10/15/2024, please email us at blrenewal@cobbcounty.org. Thank you for your understanding and patience this renewal season.
2025 Renewal InformationRenewals must be submitted to the Cobb County Business License Division by December 31, 2024. Interest starts accruing February 1, 2025 at the rate of 1.5% per month and penalty will be assessed at 10% on or after April 1, 2025.
Your gross receipts are your total revenue for the period Oct. 1, 2023 to Sept. 30, 2024, fiscal year 2024 or calendar year 2024. This is your estimated gross receipts for 2025. Gross receipts include all revenues generated from customers or clients who received the product or received service within the State of Georgia, regardless of where orders are placed, where billings are generated, or where payment is made or received. Gross Receipts do not include sales and use tax, excise tax, sales returns, interorganizational sales and or transfers, proceeds from sales of goods and services delivered to customers outside the State of GA at the time of delivery or receipt except for payments to real estate agents by real estate brokers.
Payments to subcontractors or independent agents, except a real estate broker's real estate agent in GA, may be deducted from work associated with the Georgia gross receipts if a list of amounts paid with the name, address, phone number, subcontractor's or independent agent's business license number or occupation tax certificate number, government that issued the occupation tax certificate, type of activity performed on your behalf and date of payment is submitted with this renewal form. Payments to subcontractors or independent agents in GA must be for activities in GA. Subcontractors must have a business in GA. Failure to provide a complete information list will disqualify the deduction. Businesses with subcontractor deductions CANNOT renew online.
Rental property owners may no longer deduct the first $25K of gross revenue. While an occupation tax certificate is required at each rental property location, a tax is required only at the office. The tax for the rental property office is based on all rental property in GA owned by this office.
If you have not been in business a full year, you must estimate 2025 gross receipts based on 2024 sales to date by dividing the 2024 gross receipt figure by the number of months you have been in business in Cobb County in 2024 and multiply by 12. If you cannot determine total revenue attributable to the business, take the total gross revenue for all locations in GA and divide by the number of locations in GA.
For businesses whose estimated gross receipts for 2024 were more than actual gross receipts for calendar year 2024, a refund may be applicable. A written request must be made by March 1, 2025 and must include all supporting documentation. If estimated gross receipts were less than actual gross receipts for calendar year 2024, an additional fee may be applicable and payable to Cobb County. Refunds will not be deducted from the 2025 occupation tax. Total 2024 gross receipts entered in Section II (A) must be supported by some form of financial backup. Acceptable reports include, but are not limited to, Georgia Sales and Use Tax returns for this location, IRS Tax returns for 2024, if available, in house sales reports, Profit & Loss Statements, or an affidavit from your accountant. This support will be held in strict confidence.
All 1099 independent contractors or subcontractors are required to have THEIR OWN Cobb County Business Registration Certificate or Occupation Tax Certificate.