Los Angeles business tax on commercial rent.
Renting out commercial space in the City of Los Angeles is a business under the City's tax code. Here are the rate, the exemption, the dates and the tenant list.
Who registers
Every person engaged in business in the City must hold a Business Tax Registration Certificate and pay the tax or obtain an exemption (Municipal Code 21.03).[1]
Commercial rental is taxed under Municipal Code 21.43. No registration certificate or tax under that section is required unless the gross receipts from the businesses it covers reach $20,000 in a calendar year (21.43(d)5).[2]
The rate
Renting or letting a building to tenants for purposes other than a dwelling is taxed at $1.27 for each $1,000, or fractional part, of gross receipts.[3][4]
One registration certificate covers all of a person's commercial properties in the City, and gross receipts from all of them are reported on it.[4]
Storage warehouses and indoor parking are taxed under other classifications.[2][4]
For the small business exemption. Leave empty if it's the same.
Tax for the year
$632.46
498 thousands (a part of a thousand counts as a whole one) at $1.27 each.
The small business exemption
A business with total gross receipts of $100,000 or less, counting receipts inside and outside the City, is exempt, but only if the renewal is filed on time.[4]
Due dates
Annual taxes are due January 1 and are delinquent if not paid before March 1. The renewal page asks owners to file before the last day of February.[4][5]
Each year's renewal instructions give the last day for timely filing. For the 2026 renewals it was March 2, 2026, so check the instructions for the year you file.[6]
The commercial tenant list
Owners, lessors and sublessors of office or commercial space in the City must give the Office of Finance a list of their commercial tenants, with each tenant's name, full address including suite number, and telephone number (Ordinance 177216, amending Municipal Code 21.14).[5]
The Commercial Tenant's Occupancy Tax
Where the landlord is exempt from the commercial rental tax under Municipal Code 21.43(d), tenants of non-dwelling space owe the Commercial Tenant's Occupancy Tax. The landlord collects it at $1.48 per $1,000 of charges each quarter and remits it by the last day of the month after the quarter ends.[4]
Checked October 2026 against official sources
Each statement above links to the official page it comes from. We read every one on October 25, 2026.
- 1Business tax questions
Who needs a Business Tax Registration Certificate.
finance.lacity.gov, checked October 25, 2026
- 2Municipal Code 21.43 (business tax on commercial rentals)
The commercial rental classification, one certificate for all of a lessor's properties, and the $20,000 threshold (21.43(d)).
codelibrary.amlegal.com, checked October 25, 2026
- 3Business tax rates
The rate for renting commercial property: $1.27 per $1,000 of gross receipts.
finance.lacity.gov, checked October 25, 2026
- 4Tax information booklet
Classifications, the small business exemption and the Commercial Tenant's Occupancy Tax.
finance.lacity.gov, checked October 25, 2026
- 5Business tax renewal deadlines
When renewals are due, and the list of commercial tenants owners must give.
finance.lacity.gov, checked October 25, 2026
- 6Business tax renewal instructions
Due dates, the small business exemption and the last day for timely filing of each year's renewal (March 2, 2026 for the 2026 renewals).
finance.lacity.gov, checked October 25, 2026
Change log
- October 23, 2026First version, checked against the official text.
- October 25, 2026Checked again against the official pages. Added the $20,000 threshold in Municipal Code 21.43(d)5 and the yearly filing date in the renewal instructions.
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