In Iowa, there isn’t a general business license required to operate your business. Likely, you will need to register the business with the state or your county, obtain permits to collect and remit taxes, and apply for industry specific / product specific licensing in order to operate. We wrote a helpful Start a Business Guide that covers all of this in detail and links to the appropriate state agencies who can help you get started.

Sales tax in Iowa is handled through the Iowa Department of Revenue (IDR). IDR wrote a helpful Sales and Use Tax Guide that describes how to go about collecting the taxes, how and when to remit them, what is and isn’t taxable, and a whole host of other related topics.

To register your business in Iowa, you can do so either with the Iowa Secretary of State, or with your county recorder. Our registration information page explains when you would register with either of these entities, as well as some differences between various business registration types. How you register your business will have tax and legal implications that at tax or legal professional can help you navigate. IASourceLink WILL NOT provide this type of guidance to you.