Welcome to the City of Sarasota! We look forward to adding your enterprise to our thriving business community. This page gives a quick overview of what is required to operate a business within the City, a link to the City resources that you will need to contact, and a set of frequently asked questions to help you get started.

All entities doing business in the City of Sarasota must obtain a City Local Business Tax Receipt each year. This is in addition to any tax required by Sarasota County or any other municipal, state or federal agency.

A Local Business Tax Receipt is easy to obtain. Simply fill out the Local Business Tax Receipt Application and submit it, along with any additional documentation that may be required. If your proposed business location is in a residential zone, please use the Home-Based Occupation Application. All other businesses should use the Local Business Tax Receipt Application. IMPORTANT: Most businesses need to contact our office at 941-954-4186, since the coding for the type of business will need to be established, and the Local Business Tax Receipt Taxes calculated for you. In most cases, the only additional documentation that is required will be county, state or federal licenses that are necessary to carry out your occupation.

In the case of retail establishments, you will also need to supply an estimated value of your inventory. If you have an existing business that is moving to the City, please use the average monthly stock on hand for the last three years (or, if the business is less than three years old, the average stock on hand during the period that the business has existed) and adjust for the size of your new location. If this will be a new retail operation, please use the estimated or actual value of the stock purchased to open the business. A Local Business Tax Receipt Inspector may need to visit your store and/or review your documentation to check the accuracy of your estimate.

Effective November 1, 2007 (per Sarasota County Ordinance 2007-053 & City of Sarasota Resolution 07R-1973) all Commercial and Institutional Fertilizer Applicators must present a Certificate of Completion from a Sarasota County approved Best Management Practices training program when applying for or renewing your Local Business Tax Receipt. Golf courses are exempt.

Our Local Business Tax Receipt staff is here to help make this process easy and quick. Here are some Frequently Asked Questions.