The City of Reading, PA publishes a Business Privilege License application with instructions, itinerant and landlord business privilege license applications, a Business Privilege Tax form and regulations, and a business termination form on readingpa.gov. Truevale Loans, a small-business funding broker in Reading, Pennsylvania, prepared this checklist; rates, deadlines and who must file come from the City.
What the City of Reading, PA publishes
The City of Reading's tax rates, forms and instructions page lists the following business documents (City of Reading, readingpa.gov, checked 2026-10-16):
- Business Privilege License application instructions
- Business Privilege License application
- Itinerant Business Privilege License application
- Landlord Business Privilege License application
- Business Privilege Tax form
- Business Privilege Tax regulations
- Business termination form
- Tax exoneration application form
The City's permits, applications and licenses page lists the same license applications and directs questions to the City's Citizen Service Center, reachable at 1-877-727-3234 (checked 2026-10-16).
Step 1: Read the instructions before the application
The application instructions and the tax regulations are the City's own explanation of who must hold a license, what counts as doing business in the city and how the tax is calculated. Read them first; they answer the questions this page deliberately does not.
Step 2: Pick the right license type
- Standard Business Privilege License. The general application for a business operating in the city.
- Itinerant Business Privilege License. A separate application the City publishes, typically relevant to businesses that come into the city to work rather than operating from a fixed location there.
- Landlord Business Privilege License. A separate application for rental property owners.
Which one applies is set by the City's instructions. Contractors based elsewhere in Berks County who take jobs inside Reading, PA should check the itinerant application in particular.
Step 3: The Business Privilege Tax
The City publishes a Business Privilege Tax form and the regulations that govern it. Keep copies of every filing and payment confirmation; a funding partner may ask about local tax status, and a clean record is quicker to show than to reconstruct.
City of Reading, PA business license renewal
Owners often search for how to renew a Reading, PA business license. Renewal timing and method are set by the City; the application instructions are the place to start, and the Citizen Service Center answers questions. Put the renewal date on the same calendar as insurance and lease renewals, because a lapsed license can surface in a lender's review at an inconvenient moment.
Closing or moving a business
The City lists a business termination form. If the business closes, moves out of the city or changes ownership, file it so the City's records match reality. An open account for a business that no longer operates can create notices and balances later.
Business privilege taxes elsewhere in Berks County, PA
Owners outside the city sometimes search for a Berks County business privilege tax or a Berks County business license. This page covers only the City of Reading, PA forms; outside the city, the answer depends on the borough or township where the business operates. Mohnton, Birdsboro and Leesport are boroughs; Temple, Blandon and Oley are census-designated places with no municipal government of their own (U.S. Census Bureau). Ask the borough or township office directly.
A records folder worth keeping
- A copy of each license application and the license itself.
- Each Business Privilege Tax filing and its payment confirmation.
- Correspondence with the City, including any notices.
- The business termination form, if the business closes or leaves the city.
One folder, kept current, answers most questions from the City, an accountant or a funding partner without a scramble.
Why a funding partner might care
When reviewing a request, a partner wants to know the business is operating legitimately where it says it is. Proof of local licensing is one way to show that. It also feeds into the same records partners look at for state registration and taxes; how to get a business loan in Pennsylvania covers those. If a license fee or tax bill is part of a short cash gap, working capital explains how such gaps are usually financed, and how a request moves shows the process.
Reading, PA businesses by the numbers
ZIP 19602, which includes the Truevale Loans address, had 187 employer establishments in 2023, and 47.6 percent had fewer than five employees (U.S. Census Bureau, ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023). Across Berks County there were 8,521 employer establishments (U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023). The Reading, PA page has more local data, and the guide library lists related topics.
By Truevale Loans · Updated