ATTORNEYS

Atlanta City Code pt. II, ch. 30, art. III, div. 1A

in effect

Atlanta City Code § 30-90 Effective date; repeal of prior levy; levy;

Sec. 30-90. - Effective date; repeal of prior levy; levy; (a) For all years including and after the calendar year 2004, Division 1A shall apply to the occupation tax imposed on attorneys engaged in the practice of law in the jurisdiction of the city. Where any part of this article is in conflict with the language of this division, the more specific language of this division shall control. (b) The occupation tax levied by section 30-52 is hereby repealed only as it is applied to the professional classification set forth in section 30-63(a)(1) ("Lawyers") and replaced by the occupation tax imposed under this Division 1A. The repeal set forth in this sub-section shall not act to repeal the general levy of section 30-52, on any other occupations, businesses, trades and professions and the general levy authorized therein, except as it is applied to the professional classification set forth in section 30-63(a)(1) ("Lawyers"), is specifically preserved and not repealed. (c) As of the effective date of this ordinance, an occupation tax is imposed on the professional classification set forth in section 30-63(a)(1) ("Lawyers") for income earned within the jurisdiction of the city. (d) Any attorney who paid an occupation tax for any previous year under the levy imposed by section 30-52, and who is legally entitled to a refund under the terms of O.C.G.A. § 48-5-380, may at his or her option instruct the office of revenue to apply that refund to the tax imposed by this Division 1A. (Ord. No. 2004-80, § 1(Exh. B), 10-20-04; Ord. No. 2005-17, § 2, 3-15-05; Ord. No. 2025-35(25-O-1417), § 27, 9-15-25)

Atlanta City Code § 30-91 Reserved.

Atlanta City Code § 30-92 Attorneys not required to register.

Sec. 30-92. - Attorneys not required to register. (a) Notwithstanding any language to the contrary elsewhere in this article, an attorney shall not be required to register with the office of revenue and this section does not create any restriction on the practice of law. Attorneys that choose to create an electronic account with the city, whether or not the electronic system terms this registration, shall not be taken to have been registered with the city, rather the creation of the electronic account shall be considered an administrative mechanism to allow for the payment of the occupation tax. Information reported with any occupation tax payment may be retained by the office of revenue and used for those purposes allowed by applicable law. (b) Notwithstanding any language to the contrary elsewhere in this article, an attorney shall not be required to obtain, display or maintain any city issued occupation tax certificate showing that any payment or information has been submitted to the office of revenue. (c) For the purposes of enforcement of the zoning ordinance, attorneys may be asked by to submit notarized affidavits or other written information concerning the business or profession carried on at a location and the dates of operation when applying for a certificate of occupancy for new construction or renovation. Such affidavits or documents shall be used for the purposes of determining compliance with the zoning ordinance and shall not prevent the practice of the profession of law at any other location which has a valid certificate of occupancy. (d) A refusal to submit a notarized affidavit or other written information stating whether a person engages in the practice of law at a particular location or stating the dates of operation at a location shall not be a violation of this article and shall not prevent an attorney from practicing law in the city. The chief financial officer shall document this refusal for use in any later proceeding. Where an attorney fails or refuses to provide information as to the location where they may be served with notices or citations issued in support of the enforcement of this article, the city shall direct the notices or citations to the address listed with the State Bar of Georgia and shall consider the failure or refusal of the attorney to provide current address information to be consent to this method of service. (Ord. No. 2004-80, § 1(Exh. B), 10-20-04; Ord. No. 2025-35(25-O-1417), § 28, 9-15-25)

Atlanta City Code § 30-93 Calculation of amount of tax.

Sec. 30-93. - Calculation of amount of tax. An attorney who practices law in the jurisdiction of the city shall at their option have their tax rate determined, but not the time of payment, in the manner set forth in subsection 30-63(b)(1) and subsection 30-63(b)(2). (Ord. No. 2004-80, § 1(Exh. B), 10-20-04)

Atlanta City Code § 30-94 Date when taxes are due; date when taxes become delinquent; amount of interest and penalties.

Sec. 30-94. - Date when taxes are due; date when taxes become delinquent; amount of interest and penalties. (a) Notwithstanding any language to the contrary elsewhere in this article, an attorney shall not be required to pay the occupation tax on the income generated from the practice of law in any calendar year beginning with and including the year 2004 until April 1 of the year following. The tax may be paid in person at the office of revenue or by mailing the tax to the office of revenue. Any tax payment made by mail shall include the name and address of the person or law firm paying the tax and the name of each attorney whose tax is being paid, so that the office of revenue may process the payment. An attorney who pays the occupation tax on their own behalf shall include the name of the law firm with which they practice, if any. Any tax paid pursuant to the option of subsection 30-63(b)(1) shall include a written submission containing sufficient information to enable the chief financial officer to determine the accuracy of the taxpayer's calculation. (b) Taxes due from attorneys shall not be considered delinquent until June 1. An attorney who does not pay the tax prior to June 1 shall incur a penalty of ten percent of the tax due. Any taxes not paid by the due date shall accrue interest at the rate of one and one-half percent per month. (Ord. No. 2004-80, § 1(Exh. B), 10-20-04; Ord. No. 2025-35(25-O-1417), § 29, 9-15-25)

Atlanta City Code § 30-95 Option of the chief financial officer to send bills.

Sec. 30-95. - Option of the chief financial officer to send bills. (a) Notwithstanding any language to the contrary elsewhere in this article, the chief financial officer may choose to send bills to attorneys who list their address with the State Bar of Georgia as being located in the City of Atlanta, including those attorneys who list only post office boxes as their addresses. (b) An attorney who prepares and signs a notarized affidavit that they did not practice law within the jurisdiction of the city during some part of the tax year for which the tax bill was generated may have their bill adjusted for the time period stated in the affidavit when such attorney did not maintain an office within the jurisdiction of the city and/or states such other reasons why the occupation tax should be adjusted. Such adjustment shall not be made for those attorneys who elect to pay the $400.00 per practitioner fee as set forth in subsection 30-63(b)(2) unless the affidavit states that the attorney did not practice law in the jurisdiction of the city at any time during the year for which the tax bill was generated. The chief financial officer is authorized to inquire whether such affidavit matches the information maintained by the State Bar of Georgia in connection with the directives of State Bar Rule 1-207 and/or to take such other steps as deemed necessary to determine the accuracy of the affidavit. The submission of an affidavit requesting adjustment shall not act to prevent the imposition of penalties and interest should the chief financial officer deny the request for adjustment. (c) The option of the chief financial officer to send bills shall not relieve attorneys from the obligation to pay any tax due for any calendar year including 2004 by April 1 of the following year. (d) The chief financial officer may include in any bills, the unpaid tax balance from other years, including all fees and penalties and the amount of interest, which has accrued on any unpaid tax liability. The failure of the chief financial officer to list any unpaid balance on any bill shall not operate to relieve the taxpayer from liability for any balance due. (e) It shall be a violation of this section for any attorney to willfully and intentionally misrepresent a material fact in an affidavit to avoid the payment of the occupation tax imposed by this division, or the occupation tax imposed by section 30-52, and the sole enforcement action to be taken is set forth as follows: (i) When the chief financial officer has reason to believe that an attorney has willfully and intentionally misrepresented a material fact in any affidavit submitted to office of revenue for the purposes of avoiding full payment of the occupation tax, he or she shall consult with the city attorney to determine whether such conduct should be referred to the State Bar of Georgia for investigation as to whether a violation of the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct has occurred. (Ord. No. 2004-80, § 1(Exh. B), 10-20-04; Ord. No. 2025-35(25-O-1417), § 30, 9-15-25)

Atlanta City Code § 30-96 Tax execution imposed for failure to pay the occupation tax

Sec. 30-96. - Tax execution imposed for failure to pay the occupation tax An attorney required to pay the occupation tax and who fails to do so in the manner provided by this article, shall be liable to have the tax and any penalties and interest collected by the issuance of execution by the revenue collection administrator, ex officio marshal or deputy pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 48-13-26. Further proceedings concerning the execution procedure employed in the enforcement of this section shall be as provided by state law. Notwithstanding any language to the contrary in other sections of this article, the use of tax executions and the reporting of any alleged mis-representations as set forth in section 30-95 shall be the sole mechanism for enforcement of the occupation tax levy against attorneys. (Ord. No. 2004-80, § 1(Exh. B), 10-20-04)

Atlanta City Code § 30-97 Payment of city funds to attorneys or law firms employing attorneys not in compliance with the requirements of this division is not authorized; occupation tax payments to be considered in employment of attorneys by the city.

Sec. 30-97. - Payment of city funds to attorneys or law firms employing attorneys not in compliance with the requirements of this division is not authorized; occupation tax payments to be considered in employment of attorneys by the city. (a) No individual attorney, or law firm employing such attorney, who is delinquent in the payment of the occupation tax authorized by this article, shall be paid for any legal work in which they have represented the city in any capacity, until any outstanding occupation tax liability, including all penalties and interest, has been paid in full. If the chief financial officer believes that an individual attorney, or any attorneys employed by a law firm, seeking compensation for legal services performed for the city, is/are not in full compliance with this division, he or she shall notify the individual attorney, or law firm and present a bill for the amount due. After payment of any outstanding occupation tax liability, the individual attorney, or law firm may be paid for the legal work in which they have represented the city. (b) The chief financial officer and/or the city attorney are authorized to verify that any individual attorney, or the attorneys employed by any law firm, seeking to represent the city, including without limitation, acting as bond counsel, is/are current in their occupation tax payments prior to their employment. Because of the legal and/or fiduciary relationships, which such representation of the city may create, the chief financial officer and/or the city attorney are authorized to consider compliance with the occupation tax ordinance by the individual attorneys and/or the attorneys employed by the law firm, prior to any employment by the city. (Ord. No. 2004-80, § 1(Exh. B), 10-20-04)

Atlanta City Code § 30-98 Appeals and refund claims.

Sec. 30-98. - Appeals and refund claims. Appeals of decisions of the chief financial officer and/or refund claims under this division shall be as provided in section 30-86. (Ord. No. 2004-80, § 1(Exh. B), 10-20-04)

Source: City of Atlanta, Code of Ordinances (Charter and Related Laws, General Ordinances, Land Development Code) (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/ga/atlanta/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOORENOR_CH30BU_ARTIIIOCTA_DIV1AATFetched: 10/28/2026