City of Pigeon Forge Gross Receipts Tax: Filing and Late Penalties

Businesses operating inside Pigeon Forge city limits owe a monthly Pigeon Forge gross receipts tax of 1% on total gross sales, excluding any sales tax collected from customers.¹ It’s a privilege tax on the business owner, filed with the city Finance Department by the 20th of the month after the sales occurred, and the revenue goes toward infrastructure and services that absorb the city’s tourist volume.

Who Owes the Tax

If you sell goods or services within city limits, you owe it. The city reads the scope broadly: retail, restaurants, lodging, entertainment venues, and service businesses are all in. Wholesale transactions and out-of-state sales shipped by mail or courier count too, not just walk-in retail.¹

The threshold to be in the licensing system at all is low. Under Tennessee law, an in-state location with more than $3,000 in gross receipts needs at minimum a minimal activity license from the municipal clerk, and a location at $100,000 or above needs a standard business license.² Given Pigeon Forge’s tourism traffic, most operating businesses clear $100,000 quickly.

A handful of categories are carved out of Tennessee’s business tax, including manufacturers, religious and charitable organizations selling donated items, direct-to-home satellite providers, and movie theaters, along with certain disabled veterans and blind individuals in limited circumstances.³ If you think you fit one, confirm with the Pigeon Forge Finance Department that it carries over to the city’s gross receipts tax, which the city levies under its own authority.

How to Calculate What You Owe

Take your total gross sales for the month and multiply by 1%.⁴ Gross receipts means the raw total before any business expenses. Tennessee tax law doesn’t allow deductions for material costs, delivery, interest, or losses.⁵

The one exclusion that matters: strip out state and local sales taxes you collected from customers before applying the 1% rate.⁵ The city’s own guidance confirms the base is “1% of total Gross Sales (excluding sales tax).”¹ Taxes collected under Tennessee’s on-premises alcohol consumption rules come out the same way.

Beer, wine, and food sales all go into the gross receipts figure and get taxed at the same 1%.¹ The return then asks you to break out total beer sales separately on Line 7, even though the figure is already inside your Line 1 total.⁴ That’s a reporting requirement, not a second tax.

You Can’t Pass It to the Customer

Unlike sales tax, this one doesn’t get added to a customer’s receipt. The city states that the tax “comes from the business owner and is not an add-on tax to the customer.”¹ Most operators build it into pricing. Listing it as a separate line-item surcharge isn’t allowed.

Register Before You Open

Register for Tennessee business tax through the Tennessee Taxpayer Access Point (TNTAP) first. Then contact the Pigeon Forge Finance Department, pay the $15 business license registration fee, and get your local business license.² Tennessee law doesn’t let you operate until the required license is obtained and posted at the business location.

Filing the Monthly Return

The return and payment are due by the 20th of the month following the reporting period. Sales from May 1 through May 31 are due by June 20.¹

The city mails return forms to registered businesses each month. If yours hasn’t arrived by the 10th, call the Finance Department and ask for a replacement. Not receiving the form in the mail is not an excuse for a late filing.¹ A downloadable version is on the city’s website.⁴

The form is short. Enter the month covered, your total gross receipts on Line 1, and the 1% tax on Line 2. Lines 3 through 5 handle any penalty and interest. Line 6 is the total payment, and Line 7 captures the beer-sales breakout.⁴ Submit the return by mail with a check, or deliver it in person at City Hall during business hours (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

What Happens If You File Late

Missing the 20th gets expensive. Tennessee adds a penalty of 5% of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the payment is late, capped at 25%, with a $15 minimum even on small balances. Interest also accrues on the unpaid tax at 11.50%, the rate in effect through June 30, 2026.⁶

A business with $50,000 in monthly gross receipts owes $500 in tax. Two months late adds a $50 penalty on top of interest; five months late brings the penalty to $125. The Department of Revenue has no authority to waive interest, so the accrued amount isn’t negotiable.⁵ For a seasonal operator with concentrated summer revenue, one skipped filing adds up fast.

This Is Not Your Only Tax

The city’s 1% gross receipts tax is separate from Tennessee’s state business tax, which uses a classification system with rates that vary by business type.⁷ The state return is annual, due on the 15th day of the fourth month after your fiscal year ends.⁸ Paying the city tax doesn’t satisfy the state return, and paying the state return doesn’t satisfy the city. Lodging operators owe hotel and motel occupancy taxes on top of both. Keep the filing calendars distinct.

1
City of Pigeon Forge. Forms (License / Permits / Etc.)
2
Tennessee Department of Revenue. Registration and Licensing
3
Tennessee Department of Revenue. Deductions, Exemptions and Credits
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City of Pigeon Forge. Gross Receipts Tax Return
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Tennessee Department of Revenue. Tennessee Business Tax Guide
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Tennessee Department of Revenue. GEN-16 Penalties and Interest
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Justia Law. Tennessee Code 67-4-709 – Tax Rates
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Tennessee Department of Revenue. Due Dates and Tax Rates