Georgetown, KY Occupational Tax: Rates, Exemptions, and Filing

The Georgetown, KY occupational tax is a 1% license tax on wages earned and net profits generated inside the city limits, collected by the Georgetown/Scott County Revenue Commission. If you work or run a business in Georgetown, you owe it regardless of where you live, and once the separate Scott County and school district occupational taxes are layered on top, your combined local rate can reach 2.5%.¹

Who Owes the Tax

Every person or business entity engaged in for-profit activity inside Georgetown owes the tax. That covers corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, estates, trusts, and joint ventures with a business connection to the city, along with anyone otherwise required to file with the IRS or the Kentucky Department of Revenue on Georgetown activity.²

Location of work controls, not location of residence. A commuter driving in from another county owes the same 1% as a Georgetown resident. Employers withhold the tax from each paycheck; self-employed people and business entities file and pay on their own based on net profits. Any business that sends 1099 forms to the IRS for work performed in Georgetown must also send copies to the city.³

The Combined Rate: City, County, and School

Georgetown’s 1% is one of three occupational taxes the Revenue Commission collects, and each applies independently:

City of Georgetown: 1% on compensation for work performed in the city and 1% on net profits from business conducted in the city. Residents and nonresidents both owe it.
Scott County Fiscal Court: 1% on compensation for work performed in the county and 1% on net profits from business conducted in the county. Residents and nonresidents both owe it.
Scott County Board of Education: 0.5% on compensation for work performed in the county, Scott County residents only.

A Scott County resident working in Georgetown faces a combined 2.5% on wages. A nonresident working in Georgetown pays 2%, since the school portion applies only to county residents.¹ Kentucky law also allows taxpayers who pay both a city and a county occupational fee to credit the city payment against the county obligation, so overlapping city and county levies do not stack at their full combined rate.⁴

How the Tax Is Calculated

Employees

For employees, the 1% applies to gross compensation for work performed inside Georgetown: wages, salaries, commissions, and other pay, before personal deductions. Someone earning $60,000 in Georgetown owes $600 to the city alone, withheld through payroll.²

One detail catches people off guard. Pre-tax retirement contributions still count as taxable compensation for the occupational tax. Money you route into a 401(k), 403(b), or other salary-reduction plan reduces your federal taxable income but not your Georgetown base. The same is true for pre-tax health insurance and other employee benefit contributions.¹

Businesses

Business entities pay 1% on net profits from Georgetown operations. Net profit is what remains after allowable expenses are subtracted from revenue, and the calculation starts from your federal return, which the Revenue Commission uses to verify the local figures.²

Multi-Location Businesses

If your business operates both inside and outside Georgetown, you don’t pay on the whole profit. You apportion using a two-factor formula on Worksheet Y of the Net Profit License Tax Return (Form NP100). The payroll factor is Georgetown compensation divided by total compensation. The sales factor is Georgetown-sourced sales divided by total sales. Average the two, and that percentage is the share of net profit Georgetown taxes. If only one factor applies (say, sales in Georgetown but no employees there), that single factor becomes your full allocation.⁵

Exemptions

Several categories of income and workers fall outside the tax:

People age 65 and older, on the first $10,000 of compensation earned in the county. The Revenue Commission uses Form RF100-65 for the refund.
Domestic workers in private homes.
Casual farm labor.
Ordained ministers, on compensation for religious duties such as preaching and administering worship. Non-ministerial income remains taxable.
Nonresidents selling farm products in the county, other than trees, shrubs, or ornamental plants.
Vendors authorized by the city or county to participate in annual festivals or arts and crafts shows.
Kentucky National Guard pay for active duty training, unit training, and annual field training.

⁶

Filing Deadlines and Forms

The Georgetown/Scott County Revenue Commission handles filings for all three jurisdictions. New businesses register first, using Form BQ100. What comes after depends on whether you are an employer withholding on employees or a business reporting net profits.⁷

Employer Withholding

Employers file quarterly returns for the quarters ending March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31. Each return, with payment, is due the last day of the month after the quarter closes: the first quarter return is due April 30, and so on. Any employer that withholds $300 or more in a single quarter must switch to monthly filing, and once monthly reporting is triggered for one of the three jurisdictions, it applies to all three regardless of amounts. An annual reconciliation is due February 28 of the following year.¹

Net Profit Returns

Businesses reporting net profits file annually. Calendar-year filers file Form NP100 by April 15. Fiscal-year filers file by the 15th day of the fourth month after their fiscal year ends. Business entities other than sole proprietorships must also make quarterly estimated payments on the 15th of the 4th, 6th, 9th, and 12th months of their tax year if total liability exceeds $5,000.²

Penalties

Late filing and late payment carry a penalty of 5% per month, capped at 25% of the tax owed. File late while owing nothing and you still face a $25 minimum penalty. The commission has a one-time courtesy waiver request form for first-time filers who miss a deadline, but approval is not guaranteed.⁸

Where to File

Forms, returns, and payments all go through the Revenue Commission. Downloadable forms, an online filing portal, and an FAQ are available at gscrevenueky.gov. Paper returns and checks (payable to the appropriate taxing jurisdiction) go to:⁹

Georgetown/Scott County Revenue Commission
Post Office Box 800
Georgetown, Kentucky 40324
Phone: 502-603-5860

The city itself directs taxpayers to the Revenue Commission for all business license and occupational tax matters rather than handling filings separately.¹⁰

1
Georgetown Scott County Revenue Commission. Form PR100 Employer’s Return of License Tax Withheld Instructions
2
Georgetown Scott County Revenue Commission. City of Georgetown Occupational License Tax Ordinance
3
Georgetown Scott County Revenue Commission. FAQ
4
Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. KRS 68.197 License Fees in Counties of 30,000 or More
5
Georgetown Scott County Revenue Commission. Net Profit License Tax Return
6
Scott County. Scott County Ordinance 03-08 Business Regulations
7
Georgetown Scott County Revenue Commission. Download/Print Forms
8
Georgetown Scott County Revenue Commission. Net Profit License Tax Return
9
Scott County Schools. Tax Collection
10
Georgetown, KY. Business Licenses