Tutoring Service Permit Requirements in Knoxville, TN

1. EIN (Employer Identification Number)

   Required if you have employees or operate as an LLC/corporation. Free from the IRS. Also useful for opening a business bank account.

   Official government source

   Free·Immediate (online application)

   Free

   Immediate (online application)

1. Tennessee — No State Tutoring License Required

   Tutoring is not a licensed occupation in Tennessee. The Department of Commerce and Insurance's Regulatory Boards Division publishes the full list of professions it licenses - accountancy, alarm contractors, architects and engineers, auctioneers, contractors and home improvement, cosmetology and barber, court reporters, funeral directors, geologists, home inspectors, the Motor Vehicle Commission, private investigation, private protective services, real estate appraisers, the Real Estate Commission, scrap metals and a handful of others - and tutoring appears nowhere on it. No teaching certificate is required to tutor privately. Tutoring is also not one of the services the sales tax statute enumerates as taxable, so tutoring fees are not subject to sales tax. What a Knoxville tutor does need is a county business license from the Knox County Clerk, plus a city license if the business is inside the Knoxville city limits.

   Official government source

   No state license and no state fee. The business license costs $15 per clerk: $15 to the Knox County Clerk, and another $15 to the City of Knoxville if you are inside the city limits.·There is no state licensing step to wait on. The county clerk issues the business license at the counter; if you also need a state tax account, the Department of Revenue states registration takes up to 10 business days.

   No state license and no state fee. The business license costs $15 per clerk: $15 to the Knox County Clerk, and another $15 to the City of Knoxville if you are inside the city limits.

   There is no state licensing step to wait on. The county clerk issues the business license at the counter; if you also need a state tax account, the Department of Revenue states registration takes up to 10 business days.

2. Tennessee Department of Revenue — Sales and Use Tax Registration (Tutors)

   Tutoring is not one of the services Tennessee enumerates as taxable, so tutoring fees are not subject to sales tax. Registration with the Department of Revenue through TNTAP is required only if you also sell tangible goods to students - workbooks, printed materials, test-prep books, supplies - which are taxable as tangible personal property. Note that a workbook, defined as a printed booklet in which a student writes answers directly, is treated as a taxable printed item. The rate differs by city: Knoxville is 7% state plus a 2.25% Knox County local rate, for 9.25%, while Memphis is 7% plus a 2.75% local rate, for 9.75% - the City of Memphis has been at the statutory 2.75% maximum since January 1, 2020, though unincorporated Shelby County remains 2.25%.

   Official government source

   No fee, if registration is needed at all. A sales and use tax certificate through TNTAP costs nothing.·Up to 10 business days for the Department of Revenue to register your business, per its published guidance.

   No fee, if registration is needed at all. A sales and use tax certificate through TNTAP costs nothing.

   Up to 10 business days for the Department of Revenue to register your business, per its published guidance.

1. Knoxville and Knox County Business License

   Tennessee state law requires a business inside the City of Knoxville to hold both a city and a county business license. The city license comes from the City of Knoxville Business License/Tax Office (Finance Department, Room 450, City-County Building, 865-215-2083) and the county license from the Knox County Clerk. A tutoring business with Tennessee gross receipts over $3,000 but under $100,000 needs a minimal activity license; at $100,000 or more it needs a standard business license and must register for and remit Tennessee's separate, uncapped, percentage-based state business tax with the Department of Revenue through TNTAP. Under $3,000 in gross receipts no license is required. Zoning for a home-based tutoring business is a separate matter handled by Knoxville-Knox County Planning.

   Official government source

   $15 to the county clerk plus $15 to the City of Knoxville - $30 total inside city limits. A flat registration fee, not a percentage of revenue.·Issued when you complete the application and pay the fee. Standard licensees must first register for business tax with the Tennessee Department of Revenue, which takes up to 10 business days.

   $15 to the county clerk plus $15 to the City of Knoxville - $30 total inside city limits. A flat registration fee, not a percentage of revenue.

   Issued when you complete the application and pay the fee. Standard licensees must first register for business tax with the Tennessee Department of Revenue, which takes up to 10 business days.

2. Knoxville - Home Occupation Zoning Compliance (if tutoring from home)

   Tutoring from your Knoxville home is a zoning question, not a business-license question. Home occupation standards sit in the City of Knoxville Zoning Code and are administered by the city's Plans Review and Inspections department through its Zoning Ordinance and Inquiries function, with Knoxville-Knox County Planning handling planning, zoning, and land use regulations for the city and county. The Business License and Tax Office, which issues the city business license, does not decide zoning. Confirm with zoning before you receive students at home, since home occupation rules can limit client traffic, parking, signage, and hours.

   Official government source

   The City of Knoxville publishes no home occupation permit fee on its zoning pages. Ask Plans Review and Inspections what, if anything, applies at your address before assuming a fee - and note that a separate $15 city business license and $15 Knox County Clerk license still apply once gross receipts exceed $3,000.·No processing time is published for a Knoxville home occupation or zoning determination. Contact zoning before you start, rather than after signing up students.

   The City of Knoxville publishes no home occupation permit fee on its zoning pages. Ask Plans Review and Inspections what, if anything, applies at your address before assuming a fee - and note that a separate $15 city business license and $15 Knox County Clerk license still apply once gross receipts exceed $3,000.

   No processing time is published for a Knoxville home occupation or zoning determination. Contact zoning before you start, rather than after signing up students.

Official Sources

• Knoxville Business Licensing
• Tennessee Department of Revenue — Business Tax Registration

Related Guides