Boone County Occupational License: Registration, Filings, and Penalties

A Boone County occupational license, formally called a general business certificate, is required for every business operating for profit in the county. You register once, pay a $25 fee, renew it every year, and pay the county’s 0.8% occupational tax on wages earned or net profits generated in Boone County. Employers also withhold that tax from employees’ paychecks and remit it quarterly.

Who Has to Register

Boone County Ordinance 07-27 requires every business entity conducting business in the county for profit to obtain a general business certificate before starting operations.¹ The definition is broad: corporations, LLCs, partnerships, sole proprietorships, trusts, and professional service organizations all fit. Freelancers and independent contractors earning 1099 income in the county are covered too.

Businesses with more than one physical location in the county need a posted certificate at each one. Out-of-state employers whose staff work remotely from within Boone County also have to register, even though the company itself sits elsewhere.¹

Exemptions

A few activities do not trigger the license requirement:

Religious, charitable, scientific, literary, educational, civic, and fraternal nonprofits, as long as no earnings benefit any private shareholder or individual.¹
Businesses that operate in the county for three days or fewer per fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) and earn or pay less than $5,000 in gross receipts or compensation.
A private individual holding a sale of personal property at their own residence for up to two days per fiscal year. Public auctions do not qualify.

Certain communications and multichannel video programming companies that pay ad valorem taxes are also exempt under Kentucky law.²

What You’ll Actually Pay

The occupational tax is 0.8% of all wages and compensation earned in Boone County and all net profits from business conducted there.³ That rate sits just below Kentucky’s 1% statutory ceiling for county occupational taxes.²

Wages are capped. The 2026 taxable wage base is $79,494, so the maximum occupational tax any single employee owes for the year is $635.95.⁴ Once an employee hits that cap, employers stop withholding for the rest of the year. The cap adjusts periodically, so check the county’s guidance each January.

On top of the 0.8%, Boone County collects a separate 0.15% tax for senior citizen and mental health services, approved by voters in 1986.⁵ It applies to both wages and net profits but caps at $25 per employee or business per year. Most workers in the county end up paying an effective 0.95% on their earnings up to the respective limits.

How to Register

Boone County offers online and paper registration. The online portal at boonecounty.munirevs.com is available around the clock and lets you register, file returns, make payments, update contact information, and review past filings from one account.⁶ It is the fastest route for most people.

For paper, download the application from the Boone County Occupational Licensing website or pick one up at 2950 Washington Street in Burlington. Mail the completed form and the $25 fee to Boone County Fiscal Court, Occupational License Department, PO Box 960, Burlington, KY 41005.⁷ Paper applications normally take ten to fifteen working days to process if everything is filled out correctly.

You will need your FEIN (or Social Security Number, if self-employed), the business’s legal name and any trade names, physical and mailing addresses, the entity type, and the date you started or will start conducting business in the county.⁷ The same form doubles as a joint filing for the City of Florence, so businesses located in Florence handle both jurisdictions at once.

The $25 fee is not a one-time charge. The certificate must be renewed annually at the same rate, and the county will not renew a certificate for any business with unpaid taxes or unfiled returns.¹

Ongoing Filings

Getting the certificate is the easy part. The ongoing filings are where most compliance problems start.

Annual Net Profit Return

Every licensed business must file a Net Profit License Tax Return each year. Calendar-year filers are due by April 15. Fiscal-year filers have until the fifteenth day of the fourth month after their year ends.⁸ File this return even if you had no taxable activity. Skipping a zero-activity return is the most common way businesses accidentally fall out of compliance.

Quarterly Employer Withholding

Employers withhold the 0.8% occupational tax plus the 0.15% mental health and senior citizen tax from employee wages and remit those amounts to the county. Withholding is filed quarterly, with periods ending March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31. Stop withholding once an employee’s wages hit the $79,494 annual cap.⁴

Late Penalties and Interest

Penalties and interest are separate charges, and they stack. Late filing or late payment triggers a 1% per month penalty on the unpaid tax, capped at 25% of the total due. The minimum penalty for a late return is $25, even if you owe nothing.⁸ Interest also runs at 1% per month on any unpaid tax, with no cap. A business that ignores its filing obligations for a year can easily owe more in penalties and interest than in actual tax.

City Licenses Are Separate

A Boone County certificate does not cover city-level requirements. Several municipalities inside the county run their own occupational tax programs.

Florence uses the county’s joint application, so businesses in Florence register for both with one form.⁷

Walton is different. Effective January 1, 2026, Walton imposes a 2% occupational payroll tax on wages earned for work performed inside Walton city limits. That rate is more than double the county’s, and it catches some employers off guard. Boone County manages filings and payments for Walton, so you handle it through the same office, but Walton has its own registration form on the county’s website.⁹⁶

Closing the Account When You’re Done

If you stop doing business in Boone County, you cannot just let the license lapse. The county will keep expecting returns, and missing them starts the penalty and interest clock. How you close depends on your situation:

No business activity all year: mark “No Business Activity” on your Net Profit form, complete a Closure Form, sign both, and submit them together.⁸
Operated for part of the year: complete tax returns for the period you were active, then attach the Closure Form.
Registered but never actually started: indicate no activity on the Net Profit form and submit the Closure Form.

One detail worth knowing: the county normally will not refund overpayments under $25 and rolls them forward to the next year’s estimated payments. Filing a Closure Form waives that policy, and the county processes the refund.⁸ For questions on closing an account or filing an amended return, the Occupational License office can be reached at 859-334-2144.

1
Boone County Kentucky. Boone County Ordinance 07-27 – Occupational License Tax
2
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. KRS 68.197 – License Fees in Counties of 30,000 or More
3
American Legal Publishing. Boone County Code of Ordinances – 110.03 Occupational License Tax Payment Required
4
National Finance Center. Kentucky County (Local) Income Tax Withholding
5
Boone County Kentucky. Boone County Mental Health/Intellectual Disability and Aging Tax
6
Boone County Fiscal Court. Register Your Business
7
Boone County Kentucky. County of Boone and City of Florence Occupational License/Payroll Tax Application
8
Boone County Fiscal Court. Boone County Net Profit License Tax Return Instructions
9
Boone County Kentucky. Occupational Licensing