Portsmouth meal tax bonds.
From $100.
The City of Portsmouth levies a meal / food-and-beverage tax, and can require a restaurant or corporation that collects it to post a bond guaranteeing the tax is remitted. The city sets the amount — usually tied to your monthly collections — and pricing starts from $100, with no credit check up to $10,000 in the application.
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How much does a Portsmouth meal tax bond cost?
1% of the bond amount, from $100. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
Three steps. One sitting.
No underwriting queue for the standard meal-tax bond — enter the amount the city required, pay, and file with the Commissioner of the Revenue. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
No credit check up to $10,000.
Issued on the spot
No waiting — the executed bond is generated as soon as you pay. No credit check up to $10,000.
File with the City of Portsmouth
Submit the executed bond to the Commissioner of the Revenue / Treasurer to satisfy the meal-tax bond requirement. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the meal tax bond actually covers
The City of Portsmouth imposes a meal / food-and-beverage tax that restaurants and other sellers collect from customers and remit to the city. The bond is a tax-remittance guarantee: it stands behind the meal tax you collect on the city's behalf.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the City of Portsmouth (the obligee). If you collect the meal tax but fail to remit it, the city can recover the unpaid tax against the bond.
The amount is set by the city, generally from your monthly collections, not a flat schedule. It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays the city, you repay the surety. We issue whatever amount the city set; pricing starts from $100, and no credit check up to $10,000.
You need this bond if you are
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The premium covers a one-year term from the effective date you choose.
Renew before the expiry date to keep the bond in force: the license, permit or contract it backs expects continuous coverage.
How to file it
File with the City of Portsmouth. Submit the executed bond to the Commissioner of the Revenue / Treasurer to satisfy the meal-tax bond requirement. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum: the amount the obligee sets moves the price, not your business profile.
No credit check up to $10,000. Above that, the carrier may run a soft pull, which never affects your score.
Where a check runs, it decides approval; the rate is the same for everyone approved.
One application, issued on the spot.
Submit the application with the bond amount the City of Portsmouth set — the executed bond is generated instantly, ready to file. No credit check up to $10,000.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Virginia bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Portsmouth meal tax bond, issued today.
Pricing from $100. Enter the amount the city required and file the same day.