Vienna and Herndon Business License: Town Licenses Instead of Fairfax County BPOL, 4% Meals Tax
Vienna and Herndon Business License: Town Licenses Instead of Fairfax County BPOL, 4% Meals Tax
If your business operates inside Vienna, VA, Herndon, VA or Clifton, VA, your local business license comes from the town, not from Fairfax County. Fairfax County's Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL) tax does not apply inside these towns (Va. Code 58.1-3711). You still register with the county for business tangible personal property, but the license itself is a town matter. Each town runs its own license with its own office, rates and filing dates.
This guide covers the town licenses, the Vienna meals tax that rose to 4 percent on January 1, 2026, and the lodging, sales and property tax differences that come with a town address. Use it to know which office to call and which questions to ask.
Informational content only. This guide is not legal or tax advice. Towns set their own rates and deadlines, and those change. Confirm every figure with the named office before you file or pay, and talk to a licensed attorney or CPA if your situation is complex.
Check the town limits map, not the mailing address
Many businesses use a Vienna, VA or Herndon, VA mailing address that sits outside the town limits. A post office name does not define jurisdiction. Before you assume a town license applies, check the official town limits map on the town's website, or ask the town office to confirm whether your street address is inside. The result is simple:
- Inside Vienna, Herndon or Clifton: the town issues your local license, and Fairfax County BPOL does not apply.
- Outside the town limits but in Fairfax County: the county license applies. See the Fairfax County business license, BPOL tax and registration guide.
Either way, file business tangible personal property returns with Fairfax County. The State Corporation Commission (SCC) forms entities and issues no business license. The local license is a local tax under Va. Code 58.1-3700 and following, and a locality may levy no general license at all (Va. Code 58.1-3704). Towns can displace the county tax, so the town boundary decides which office you deal with.
Population sets the state floor
State law limits how small a business can be before a locality may require a general license for gross receipts. Using the Census Vintage 2025 population figures:
- Vienna, VA (16,691 people): under 25,000, so no statutory floor applies. The town still sets its own rules, so ask the Finance Department whether it has a threshold for small businesses.
- Herndon, VA (25,506 people): in the 25,000 to 50,000 band, where a locality cannot require a license for gross receipts under $50,000.
- Clifton, VA (241 people): under 25,000, so no statutory floor applies. The town's own rules control.
Vienna, VA business license: town rates
The Town of Vienna's Business Licenses page sets the BPOL rates below per $100 of gross receipts. Verify them on the town's page before you rely on them, because the town sets them and they can change.
| Business category | Rate |
|---|---|
| Financial, real estate and professional | $0.52 per $100 of gross receipts |
| Repair, personal and other services | $0.22 per $100 of gross receipts |
| Retail, including restaurants | $0.17 per $100 of gross receipts |
| Renting by owner | $0.17 per $100 of gross receipts |
| Contractors, and contracting builders and developers | $0.12 per $100 of gross receipts |
| Wholesale | $0.10 per $100 of purchases |
| Public utilities | 0.5 percent |
| Vending machines | $0.15 per $100 of gross receipts |
Several activities carry flat fees instead of a percentage:
- Mixed beverage: $200, $350 or $500, depending on seating
- Beer: $25
- Wine and beer: $37.50
- Massage parlors: $5,000
- Taxicabs: $10 each
- Peddlers: $50 on foot, or $25 otherwise
Deadlines and penalties. Renewal payments are due the first business day of March. A late payment carries a penalty of 10 percent or $3, whichever is greater, plus interest of 0.0083 a month. A gross-receipts threshold or floor has not been confirmed for Vienna, so ask the Finance Department whether one applies to your business.
Contact: Finance Department, 703-255-6321, [email protected].
Vienna, VA meals tax: 4 percent from January 1, 2026
The Vienna meals tax rose from 3 percent to 4 percent on January 1, 2026. Restaurants and other food sellers inside the town collect it and remit it on a monthly cycle. Payments are due on the 20th of the month following the month of collection. A late payment carries a penalty of 10 percent or $10. This tax is a town tax, separate from the state and county sales tax, so it is not part of the 6.0 percent Fairfax County sales rate.
If your business is new to the meals tax, call the Finance Department at 703-255-6321 to confirm your filing setup and whether the penalty rule applies to your situation.
Herndon, VA business license: call the town
Herndon runs its own license, but its rates and thresholds are not listed here. Do not use Vienna's schedule as a stand-in. Call the Town of Herndon before you set prices or budget for the license.
Two facts make Herndon worth calling early. At 25,506 people, Herndon is in the band where state law sets a $50,000 gross-receipts floor, so a business below that level may not be required to license. Confirm that treatment with the town. Second, Herndon collected $7.20 million in license revenue in fiscal year 2024, according to the Auditor of Public Accounts, the largest of any Virginia town. That shows how much the town relies on this tax, so do not assume a small business will be overlooked.
Herndon's meals tax rate is not listed here. Call the town to verify it.
Clifton, VA: a small town with no confirmed levy
Clifton has 241 residents. This guide does not state whether the town levies a license tax. The town's 2025 rates are published as 0.000, which does not tell you whether a license tax applies. Call the Town of Clifton before you assume you are exempt, and ask about its meals tax as well.
Lodging, sales and property tax differences
- Transient occupancy: 5 percent total in Vienna, Herndon and Clifton (2 percent tourism plus 3 percent regional), compared with 9 percent in Fairfax County.
- Sales tax: 6.0 percent in Fairfax County. Virginia's base rate is 5.3 percent statewide plus local, with 6 percent in the regional-tax localities. Check current rules at Virginia Tax's sales and use tax page.
- Real estate: Vienna's real estate rate is 0.195 per $100 for tax year 2025. Herndon's is 0.270 per $100 for tax year 2025. Property tax is separate from the business license.
State filings still apply
A town license does not replace state filings. If you form an LLC, the Articles of Organization (Form LLC1011) cost $100 with the SCC, and the LLC then pays a $50 annual registration fee. Virginia LLCs file no annual report. An assumed name (DBA) is filed with the SCC for $10, not with the circuit court, and a name reservation costs $10 for 120 days. For formation steps, see how to start an LLC in Virginia. The SCC's business page is at scc.virginia.gov/businesses.
Quick reference: town, office, rates and meals tax
| Town | License office | Rates | Meals tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vienna, VA | Finance Department, 703-255-6321, [email protected] | Per-$100 and flat-fee schedule above (verify on the town's Business Licenses page) | 4 percent from January 1, 2026, due the 20th of the following month |
| Herndon, VA | Town of Herndon (call the town) | Call the town (verify) | Call the town (verify) |
| Clifton, VA | Town of Clifton (call the town) | Call the town (verify) | Call the town (verify) |
Before you file
- Check the town limits map for your exact address.
- Identify your category and gross receipts, and compare them with the state population floor for your town.
- Confirm the current rate and deadline with the town office, not with a prior year's notice.
- Register your business tangible personal property with Fairfax County.
- Ask a CPA or attorney to review anything involving a mixed structure, multiple locations or a regulated trade.
This guide is informational and is not legal or tax advice. Town rates, thresholds and deadlines can change, and the towns set their own. Verify every figure with the named office before you rely on it.