Bookkeeping Permit Requirements in Louisville, 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. Louisville Metro Revenue Commission — Occupational License Tax Registration

   For a bookkeeping or accounting service this is a straightforward administrative registration; no specialized local certification applies. Louisville Metro does not issue a general local business license. The Louisville Metro Revenue Commission states that to start a new business "there is no local business license required"; instead a new business must register with the Revenue Commission, the Jefferson County Clerk's Office, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Registration with the Revenue Commission opens an occupational license tax account. The tax is on net profits (and on employee wages, withheld quarterly on Form W-1), reported annually on Form OL-3, due the 15th day of the 4th month after the end of the taxpayer's fiscal year. There is no flat annual license fee.

   Official government source

   No local business license fee. Occupational license tax of 2.2% (resident rate) or 1.45% (non-resident rate) on net profits and on wages; minimum $25 penalty for filing late·Not published by the Revenue Commission; registration is completed online. The annual OL-3 return is due the 15th day of the 4th month after the fiscal year ends

   No local business license fee. Occupational license tax of 2.2% (resident rate) or 1.45% (non-resident rate) on net profits and on wages; minimum $25 penalty for filing late

   Not published by the Revenue Commission; registration is completed online. The annual OL-3 return is due the 15th day of the 4th month after the fiscal year ends

2. Louisville Metro Office of Planning — Home Occupation Registration (only if triggered)

   Louisville treats home occupations as a permitted accessory use in residential districts under Land Development Code section 4.4.5, administered by the Louisville Metro Office of Planning at 444 South 5th Street, Suite 300 — not by the Revenue Commission, which only issues occupational license tax accounts. LDC 4.4.5(K) requires registration only before establishing a home occupation that serves customers, clients or pupils on site, or that has one or more non-resident employees; a solo bookkeeper working remotely with no client visits files nothing and pays nothing. Standards apply either way: no signage at all, no exterior evidence of the business, at most two clients on site at once, no clients or non-resident employees between 9 PM and 7 AM, and a work area capped at 25 percent of the residence floor area or 500 square feet on a lot under an acre, whichever is less. One non-resident employee is allowed; up to two more require a Conditional Use Permit under LDC 4.2.28. A registration is not transferable and ends when the property is sold. Subdivision deed restrictions may separately bar home businesses.

   Official government source

   $0 when no clients visit and there are no non-resident employees, since no registration is required. When registration is triggered, the Office of Planning home occupation application fee is $25, payable to Louisville Metro Government·Not published by the Office of Planning; the registration must be filed before the home occupation is established, in person with supporting documents

   $0 when no clients visit and there are no non-resident employees, since no registration is required. When registration is triggered, the Office of Planning home occupation application fee is $25, payable to Louisville Metro Government

   Not published by the Office of Planning; the registration must be filed before the home occupation is established, in person with supporting documents

Official Sources

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

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