Schedule C Filers: Business, Professional & Occupational License (BPOL)
Fairfax County residents who file a Schedule C as part of their federal income tax return may be subject to the Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) tax. The tax is generally imposed on individuals that are engaged in a business, trade profession, home occupation or calling from a “definite place of business” in Fairfax County. This “definite place of business” may be the home of a self-employed person or a commercial location. For example, for a consultant who resides in Fairfax, spends a lot of time traveling from client to client but has never worked anywhere on site for more than 30 days or more consecutively, and has no real office per se but keeps all their records in their car, the business is subject to BPOL – their home is considered their business location.
Schedule C information provided by the Virginia Department of Taxation is reviewed to determine if the income from the business operated or a profession practiced as a sole proprietor was reported to the County in accordance with the Fairfax County Code Sections 4-7.2-2 and 4-7.2-5. Pursuant to the Fairfax County Code, all business owners (including owners of home-based businesses), are subject to BPOL and are required to register their business with the County within 75 days of beginning business operations.
Title 23 VAC 10-500-130 A and B provide that although employees are generally not engaged in a licensable activity separate from that of their employer, independent contractors are engaged in business separate from those who contract for their services.
All businesses/persons operating in the County with annual gross receipts in excess of $10,000 are required to file a BPOL application in Fairfax County. Virginia Code § 58.1-3703.1(A)(1) states, “License requirement. Every person shall apply for a license for each business or profession when engaging in a business in this jurisdiction if (i) the person has a definite place of business in this jurisdiction; (ii) there is no definite place of business anywhere and the person resides in this jurisdiction…”
An activity qualifies as a business if the primary purpose for engaging in the activity is for income and is conducted regularly. Per Fairfax County Code Section 4-7.2-1, business as a course of dealing which requires the time, attention, and labor of the person so engaged for the purpose of earning a livelihood or profit.
The following acts shall create a rebuttable presumption that a person is engaged in a business: (i) advertising or otherwise holding oneself out to the public as being engaged in a particular business or (ii) filing tax returns, schedules and documents that are required only of persons engaged in a trade or business.
- Line 1 - Gross Receipts or Sales
- Line 1 on Schedule C is all income attributable to a trade or business from all sources. For BPOL purposes, information entered in this line is used to determine the gross receipts that are reportable to Fairfax County if the business is liable to file BPOL.
Information on Form 1040, Schedule C (Profit or Loss from Business) is used for discovery and compliance of certain local taxes.
If you file a Schedule C with Fairfax County address as your business location and report receipts on Line 1, you may be liable to file for a BPOL application. For more information, call 703-222-8234 option 4.
Schedule C Filers: Business Tangible Property (BPP)
Fairfax County residents who file a Schedule C as part of their federal income tax return may be subject to the Business Tangible Property (BPP) tax.
Business tangible property includes property owned by the business, and / or property owned personally and used in the business on a full- or part-time basis. Business furniture and fixtures, machinery and tools, and computer equipment that are located in Fairfax County, the towns of Herndon, Vienna or Clifton as of January 1 each year must be declared on the County BPP tax form.