Gadsden, Alabama

Gadsden tax help, including the city occupational tax

Gadsden is about 44 miles, or a little over an hour, from our Arab office. Unlike most north Alabama cities, it taxes wages earned inside the city, and we keep that in mind with every Gadsden paycheck and payroll we look at.

Call 256-586-4635 Contact us

We have one office, in Arab. We do not have an office in Gadsden.

Questions from Gadsden

This is general information, not advice for your return. Every return is different, so please call us to talk about yours.

I live outside Gadsden but work in the city. Do I owe the occupational tax?

The tax is on wages earned in the city, so where you work matters more than where you live. Your employer should be withholding it. Check your pay stub, and bring it with you if the line is missing.^[4]

I just hired my first employee in Gadsden. What do I have to withhold?

Federal withholding and payroll taxes; Alabama income tax (register for an Alabama withholding account); and the city occupational tax, which is filed with the Gadsden Revenue Department. We can run the payroll so each one is handled.^[8,5]

Payroll services

I took a payout when my plant closed. What happens to it?

Severance is taxed as wages, and a retirement-plan payout has its own rules: rolling it over and cashing it out are treated very differently. If you still can, call us before you decide.

Tax planning

A river city with a steel past

Gadsden, the Etowah County seat, grew up along the Coosa River, which still runs through the middle of town. Steel drove the economy for most of the twentieth century, and the Goodyear plant closed in 2020. Today the largest employers are the hospitals, the school systems, poultry processors and Gadsden State. For some households those shifts meant a job change and a decision about a severance or retirement payout, and those are questions we help with.^[2,7]

Noccalula Falls, a 90-foot waterfall into Black Creek Gorge, has been a city park since Gadsden bought the land in 1946.^[3]

Noccalula Falls in Gadsden — Noccalula Falls, Gadsden

The Gadsden difference

Gadsden levies an occupational license tax on wages earned in the city. Employers withhold it from pay and send it to the city.^[4,5]
It is one of the local taxes the U.S. Treasury withholds for federal employees under an agreement with the city.^[6]
33,945 residents at the 2020 Census.^[1]

How we help Gadsden

Employers in the city Payroll that includes the city occupational tax. We set up withholding for federal, state and city taxes so each one is accounted for on every paycheck. Hospital and plant workers Returns and withholding checks. We review your pay stubs, including the city tax line, and prepare your return. Job changes and payouts Severance and retirement distributions. We help you understand how each is taxed, ideally before you decide what to do with the money.

Working in Gadsden?

Call 256-586-4635 and we will set a time at our Arab office. Bring your pay stubs and any city tax paperwork, and we will go through them with you.

Call 256-586-4635 Other towns we serve

Sources

Local details on this page come from these public sources, checked in September 2026.