Bookkeeping Permit Requirements in Bowling Green, KY

1. EIN (Employer Identification Number)

   Required if you have employees or operate as an LLC or corporation. Free from the IRS, obtained instantly online. Sole proprietors without employees may use their SSN, but an EIN is recommended for privacy and professional credibility.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online application)

   Free

   Immediate (online application)

2. IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN)

   Required for any paid preparer who prepares or assists in preparing federal tax returns for clients. If your bookkeeping practice includes any federal tax return preparation, you must obtain and renew your PTIN annually. Bookkeeping-only services (no tax return preparation) do not require a PTIN.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online at IRS.gov)

   Free

   Immediate (online at IRS.gov)

1. Kentucky Business Registration

   Bookkeeping and accounting service businesses in Kentucky organized as an LLC, corporation, or limited partnership must file organizing documents with the Kentucky Secretary of State and file an annual report each year. Any business — including a sole proprietorship — that operates under a trade name other than its real name must also file a certificate of assumed name under KRS 365.015. A sole proprietor files that certificate with the county clerk of the county where the principal place of business is located; an LLC, corporation, or limited partnership files it with the Secretary of State and then records a file-stamped copy with the county clerk. An LLC is commonly chosen for liability protection.

   Official government source

   $40 to file LLC articles of organization or for-profit articles of incorporation (corporations also owe organization tax, $10 minimum); $15 annual report; certificate of assumed name $20 at the Secretary of State, or the county clerk's KRS 64.012 recording fee ($33 for five pages or fewer; the Jefferson County Clerk publishes $46) for a sole proprietor·Secretary of State filings are effective on the date filed; the assumed-name certificate runs five years and is renewable

   $40 to file LLC articles of organization or for-profit articles of incorporation (corporations also owe organization tax, $10 minimum); $15 annual report; certificate of assumed name $20 at the Secretary of State, or the county clerk's KRS 64.012 recording fee ($33 for five pages or fewer; the Jefferson County Clerk publishes $46) for a sole proprietor

   Secretary of State filings are effective on the date filed; the assumed-name certificate runs five years and is renewable

2. Kentucky Sales and Use Tax Permit — Bookkeeping Services Are Not on the Taxable List

   Kentucky taxes services only where they appear in the enumerated list in KRS 139.200(2). Accounting and bookkeeping services are not on that list, so a bookkeeper's fees for recordkeeping, payroll processing, reconciliation, financial statement preparation and tax return preparation are not subject to the 6% sales tax. The list is what matters, not a general professional-service theory, and several adjacent lines do reach work a small bookkeeping firm often sells: KRS 139.200(2)(v) website design and development services, (w) website hosting services, (ax) prewritten computer software access services, (ay) data brokering services (added effective August 1, 2026), and marketing services. KRS 139.200(1)(a) also taxes retail sales of tangible personal property, so if the firm sells software on physical media, printed binders, forms or manuals, those sales are taxable and require a permit even though the bookkeeping fee is not. KRS 139.200(1)(b) taxes digital property regardless of whether the purchaser's right of use is permanent. A bookkeeper who sells nothing on that list needs no sales and use tax account. One who does must apply under KRS 139.240(1) for a permit for each place of business, and KRS 139.250 requires the permit to be conspicuously displayed there, makes it nonassignable, and makes it valid only for the person named. Kentucky's rate is a flat 6% of gross receipts and there are no local sales and use taxes.

   Official government source

   No fee. Neither KRS 139.240 nor KRS 139.250 prescribes any charge for the retailer's or seller's permit, and the Department of Revenue issues the account at no cost through the Kentucky Business One Stop. There is no $25 or other registration charge·Not published by the Department of Revenue. If the firm sells anything on the KRS 139.200 list, KRS 139.240(1) requires the permit application to be on file before engaging in business as a retailer; electronic registration needs no written signature under KRS 139.240(4)

   No fee. Neither KRS 139.240 nor KRS 139.250 prescribes any charge for the retailer's or seller's permit, and the Department of Revenue issues the account at no cost through the Kentucky Business One Stop. There is no $25 or other registration charge

   Not published by the Department of Revenue. If the firm sells anything on the KRS 139.200 list, KRS 139.240(1) requires the permit application to be on file before engaging in business as a retailer; electronic registration needs no written signature under KRS 139.240(4)

1. Bowling Green General Business License

   All businesses operating within Bowling Green must register with the City's Office of Occupational License (Finance Department) — also informally called an occupational license. For a bookkeeping/accounting service this is a straightforward one-time $50 registration (a $275 cash bond may also apply); no specialized local certification is required. Businesses must also pay the City's Occupational License Tax of 2% of net profits (increased from 1.85% effective Jan. 1, 2024) via annual filings — this is an ongoing tax obligation, not an annually-renewed license fee.

   Official government source

   $50 one-time registration fee; ongoing 2% Occupational License Tax on net profits·Processing time not published by the city

   $50 one-time registration fee; ongoing 2% Occupational License Tax on net profits

   Processing time not published by the city

2. Bowling Green Zoning Compliance for a Home-Based Business

   A bookkeeping business run from a Bowling Green residence must comply with the joint zoning ordinance adopted by Warren County Fiscal Court and the cities of Bowling Green, Oakland, Plum Springs, Smiths Grove and Woodburn, administered by the City-County Planning Commission of Warren County (warrenpc.org), the joint planning agency for Bowling Green and Warren County. The Commission — not the City's Office of Occupational License, which handles business registration and tax — determines whether a home-based use is permitted at your address and whether a conditional use permit is needed. The Commission does not publish a separate 'home occupation permit' on its applications and fees page, so confirm your specific address and use with its staff at (270) 842-1953. A home-based bookkeeping business still registers separately with the City's Office of Occupational License.

   Official government source

   No separate home occupation permit fee is published. The Commission's fee schedule lists a Conditional Use Permit or Variance at $330 and a Land Use Certificate at $50; confirm which, if any, applies to your address·Not published by the Commission; conditional use permits require a Board of Adjustments hearing on its published meeting schedule

   No separate home occupation permit fee is published. The Commission's fee schedule lists a Conditional Use Permit or Variance at $330 and a Land Use Certificate at $50; confirm which, if any, applies to your address

   Not published by the Commission; conditional use permits require a Board of Adjustments hearing on its published meeting schedule

Official Sources

• Bowling Green Business Licensing
• IRS PTIN Requirements for Tax Return Preparers
• IRS EIN Application

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