Governments at all levels impose special taxes and "user fees" for certain types of transactions. Listed below are the most common types of special taxes. Please peruse this list to see if you may have overlooked any licensing or tax requirements that apply to you. Failure to have the proper special licenses and taxes can subject you to fines, and possibly allow the government to close your business.

If you are a corporation or limited liability company, you must file articles of incorporation or organization along with a fee for setting up the company. Many business owners forget that the Secretary of State wants you to keep filing an annual report updating officers, directors and registered agents. There will be an annual fee. Failure to pay the fee can cause your charter to be revoked. You must file with the Secretary of State in every state you have a place of business. The state you are chartered in will call you a domestic corporation or company. Other states will call you a foreign corporation or company. Businesses chartered in other countries are referred to as alien corporations or companies.

Each corporation is also charged a franchise tax. Picture this as a tax on the right to exist. Some states base the tax upon the net worth of the stockholders' equity section of your balance sheet (i.e. it has nothing to do with whether you made or lost money that year). Other states base it upon the amount of shares or stated capital authorized (whether you issued all the shares or not).

Many cities and/or counties require licenses to conduct business. Some are flat fees, while others are based upon revenues collected. In addition, some occupations require state licenses. In some states, the possession of certain state professional licenses can exempt you from city and county licenses. Check with your local city, county and state tax and licensing agencies.

Some retailers are subject to recycling taxes, which are becoming more popular. Examples are tire taxes, "white goods" taxes for freon disposal, etc. Other specialized taxes are so-called sin taxes - taxes on alcohol, cigarettes, and other products that are considered harmful to people. If you sell these types of items, you may need to obtain federal and state licenses, and pay special taxes in addition to sales taxes. Check with your state department of taxation for a listing of taxes, then check the requirements to see if they refer to a license also.

Some states, mostly in the southeastern USA and some states with no income tax, charge intangibles taxes. While most people think of intangibles as stocks, bonds and mutual funds, intangibles can also be accounts and notes receivable for a business. Filing deadlines vary from the Spring (March or April) to as late as June (in Florida). If your state imposes an intangibles tax, you may want to make a year end push to collect receivables so you do not have to pay tax on money you have not received.

Personal property taxes are another type of tax imposed in many parts of the country. Personal property is business property (furniture, equipment, vehicles, etc.). It is called personal rather than real property to distinguish things that are not affixed to the land. If your state or county imposes such a tax on businesses, you should make sure that your depreciation schedule for income tax purposes matches the list of depreciable items on the personal property tax return.

There are a few other common government charges that small business owners typically pay. The government refers to these as user fees rather than taxes. Examples are registration of trademark, fictitious names (i.e. a trade name as opposed to your business' legal name, such as Smith Inc. trading as AAA Transmissions), and some other government document filings to protect your business name from use by others.

The IRS also charges user fees (often in the $200 to $500 range) for things such as private letter rulings. Private letter rulings are special legal determinations as to how to handle a particular tax issue. Both the IRS and you will be bound by whatever they decide. You submit the facts and your interpretation, and ask them to rule on whether they agree. If they do, then the IRS cannot later hurt you on that issue in an audit. Examples might be asking the IRS to reinstate a faulty S election, changing an accounting method or year end to a different month, or deciding if specific situations would qualify as independent contractors rather than employees.