Restaurant liquor licenses cost $1000 (capacity 0-99), $1300 (100-199), $1950 (200-499) & $2600 (500+) annually.

You must be at least 21. You must apply online for a “clean hands” certificate from the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue. You can only receive the certificate if you don’t owe the District of Columbia more than $100 in taxes or fees; if you do, you’ll have to settle up before you get your license.

liquor license

You may apply for a Basic Business License in-person with cash, check, money order or a major credit/debit card by visiting the DCRA, Business License Center, 1100 4th Street, SW, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20024. No appointments are required. Applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Apply for a Basic Business License

1. Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS.
2. Register with the District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue.
3. Make sure your DC business premise has a Certificate of Occupancy Permit (or Home Occupation Permit).
4. Complete the Clean Hands Self Certification.

Formation and business licenses are obtained from the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). You’ll hear this acronym a lot. Calculating the fee to include with a corporation formation can be confusing. Pay $220 for authorized capital up to $100,000.

Time to process your corporation or LLC formation varies by state with routine processing taking 4 – 6 weeks or even more in the slowest states. Expedited Processing will reduce that time to about 10 business days or less with the exception of just a few states.

It may take 30 days to issue the certificate of occupancy, and it is processed by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). You only need to indicate the DC Certificate of Occupancy number and date when it was issued on the DC business license application.

The main cost of forming an LLC is the $220 fee to file your LLC’s Articles of Organization online with the Washington D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.

Washington, D.C. only has one type of sales and use tax permit. There is no fee to register for this permit in Washington, D.C.

A public space permit is required to use or install structures on public space—the area between the building or property line and the curb. Many front yards in the District are considered public space. Examples of work that requires public space permits include the following: Dumpsters in public space.

6%

Current Tax Rate(s) The rate structure for sales and use tax that is presently in effect: 6.0% – General rate for tangible personal property and selected services. 8.0% – Sales and use tax on soft drinks.

6.00%

You have three options for filing and paying your Washington D.C. sales tax:

1. File online – File online with D.C. Freefile.
2. File by mail – You can use paper form FR-800A to file and pay annually, FR-800Q to file and pay quarterly, and FR-800M to file and pay monthly.

The highest state-level sales tax in the USA is 7%, which is charged by five states – Indiana, Tennessee, New Jersey, Mississippi, and Rhode Island.

Nine states — Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming — have no income taxes. New Hampshire, however, taxes interest and dividends, according to the Tax Foundation. (Tennessee eliminated its tax on investment income in 2021.)