Commercial Vacancy Tax Return (2025)

Review the definition of Taxable Commercial Space and the map below to confirm that the Commercial Vacancy Tax applies to your space for 2025.

For purposes of the Commercial Vacancy Tax, "Taxable Commercial Space" means the ground floor of any building or structure, or the ground floor of any portion of a building or structure, where such ground floor:

1. is adjacent or tangent to a Public Right of Way,
2. is located in one of the Named Neighborhood Commercial Districts (NCD) or Named Neighborhood Commercial Transit Districts (NCT), as they existed on March 3, 2020; and
3. is not Residential Real Estate.

Map of Districts that may be Covered by the Commercial Vacancy Tax

The areas highlighted in red and green are Named Neighborhood Commercial Districts (NCD) or Named Neighborhood Commercial Transit Districts (NCT), as they existed on March 3, 2020. For 2025 only, the districts highlighted in green are exempt from filing and payment of the Commercial Vacancy Tax due to public infrastructure or construction project in that district lasting more than 180 days. This map is for estimation purposes only. Click on map to move or zoom. 

Find the Block/Lot of the Taxable Commercial Space, which is required to begin the Commercial Vacancy Tax Return. 

Find Block/Lot 

1. Click on the button above
2. Enter the address of the Taxable Commercial Space 
3. The parcel Block/Lot will be listed directly below the address

Click on the button below and enter the Block/Lot of the Taxable Commercial Space to begin the Return. Click on the "Instructions" button for detailed instructions on how to file the Return.

Begin Commercial Vacancy Tax Return (2025)

Instructions

All owners, lessees/tenants, and sublessees/subtenants of Taxable Commercial Space, as defined in the Code, must file a Return. A Return must be filed for all Taxable Commercial Spaces, even if the spaces are in the same building. 

Persons that qualify for a vacancy exemption and or otherwise not subject to the Commercial Vacancy Tax who are the owner, tenant, or subtenant of Taxable Commercial Space still must file a Return. They may declare their exemption or explain why they do not owe the tax on the Return. 

Taxable Commercial Space is considered vacant if it’s unoccupied, uninhabited, or unused for more than 182 days, whether consecutive or nonconsecutive, in a tax year, except during the following exclusion periods if applicable to you for that space: 

• Building Permit Application Period: The period between the date that the first application for a building permit is filed and the date that the Department of Building Inspection grants or denies that application up to a maximum of one year.
• Construction Period: A one-year period after the City issues the first building permit for repair, rehabilitation, or construction.
• Conditional Use Application Period: The 183-day period after the first complete application for a conditional use permit is filed. If the planning Commission has not granted or denied the application within 183 days, this period is extended to December 31 of that year. 
• Disaster Period: The two-year period after the date that a Commercial Space is severely damaged and made uninhabitable or unusable because of fire, natural disaster, or other catastrophic event. 

The Commercial Vacancy Tax rate increases when a space is vacant for consecutive years. The rates are:

• $250 per linear foot of Frontage for space that was vacant for one year.
• $500 per linear foot of Frontage for space that was vacant for two consecutive years.
• $1,000 per linear foot of Frontage for space that was vacant for three consecutive years or more.

The Commercial Vacancy Tax rate is calculated based on a building’s Frontage (the total length of Taxable Commercial Space that is adjacent or tangent to the Public Right of Way) rounded to the nearest foot.

Beginning January 1, 2025, Taxable Commercial Space located in a named Neighborhood Commercial District or Neighborhood Commercial Transit District are exempt from filing and payment of the Commercial Vacancy Tax in a tax year if a City managed public infrastructure or construction project in that district lasts more than 180 days in that tax year. View the ordinance.

If a tenant has operated a business in Taxable Commercial Space for more than 182 consecutive days during a lease of at least two years, the tenant will not be liable for the Commercial Vacancy Tax for the remainder of that lease, regardless of whether the space is vacant.

Additionally, any organization that is exempt from income taxation under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) is exempt from the Commercial Vacancy Tax.

However, the owner, tenant, or subtenant of a Taxable Commercial Space must file a Commercial Vacancy Tax return regardless of whether they are exempt from paying the Commercial Vacancy Tax or other taxes.

• 2024 Commercial Vacancy Tax Return and Instructions
• 2023 Commercial Vacancy Tax Return and Instructions
• 2022 Commercial Vacancy Tax Return and Instructions