Stay compliant in California

Most of these dates count from the day you filed. Put them on a calendar now.

What’s different in California

• The LLC tax comes every year, sales or no sales, until the LLC formally cancels. The first payment is due the 15th day of the 4th month after you file with the Secretary of State, not at tax time.
• There’s no annual report. There’s a Statement of Information, and missing it can cost $250.
• Look-alike letters arrive right after you form. Private companies copy the state’s form and charge far more. They aren’t the state.

Your California calendar

What	When	Cost
LLC annual tax, paid to the Franchise Tax Board	First the 15th day of the 4th month after you file with the Secretary of State, then the 15th day of the 4th month of your tax year	$800
LLC Statement of Information, filed with the Secretary of State	First within 90 days of registering, then every two years	$20
Corporation Statement of Information, filed with the Secretary of State	First within 90 days of registering, then every year	$25
Nonprofit Statement of Information, filed with the Secretary of State	First within 90 days of registering, then every two years	$20
Limited partnership or LLP annual tax, paid to the Franchise Tax Board	By the 15th day of the 3rd month after the tax year ends, with Form 565	$800
Charity registration, with the Attorney General (most charities)	Within 30 days of first receiving charitable assets, on Form CT-1, then yearly renewals	$50 to start
Corporation minimum franchise tax, paid to the Franchise Tax Board	From the second taxable year	$800, or tax on net income if larger
LLC fee, at $250,000 or more of total California income	Estimate and pay by the 15th day of the 6th month of the tax year	See the LLC fee table below
Business name (DBA), filed with your county clerk	Refile every 5 years	Set by your county

The LLC tax rows assume the default tax treatment. An LLC taxed as a corporation pays and files under the corporation tax rules (Form 100 or Form 100S), but still files the LLC Statement of Information. A general partnership owes no annual tax but files Form 565 if it does business or has income in California. A sole proprietor has none of the state rows above, only tax returns, any sales tax returns, and local license and business name renewals.

Do this

1. Find your file date: search your business in bizfile Online and note the “Date Filed”.
2. Set up User Access on bizfile Online. Since August 1, 2026, you can’t file a Statement of Information online without it.
3. File your first Statement of Information within 90 days of registering. LLCs use Form LLC-12, stock corporations Form SI-550 and nonprofits Form SI-100. After that, file any time in the six months ending with your registration month.
4. Pay the LLC annual tax with voucher FTB 3522.
5. Estimate the LLC fee if you’ll reach $250,000. It’s based on total California income (gross income plus cost of goods sold), not profit. Pay the estimate with FTB 3536 by the 15th day of the 6th month of the tax year. Underpaying brings a 10% penalty unless you paid at least last year’s full fee on time.
6. File the yearly return. An LLC with the default tax treatment files Form 568, including a single-member LLC the IRS disregards. One taxed as a corporation files Form 100 or Form 100S.
7. Refile your business name before it expires, or sooner if most of its facts change.
8. Pay only the state. If a letter asks for money to file your Statement of Information or annual minutes, file on bizfile Online instead, and report the letter to the California Attorney General’s Public Inquiry Unit.

The LLC fee

Total California income	Fee
$250,000 to $499,999	$900
$500,000 to $999,999	$2,500
$1,000,000 to $4,999,999	$6,000
$5,000,000 or more	$11,790

The fee is on top of the $800 annual tax.

Exceptions to the annual tax

The Franchise Tax Board lists a few narrow cases. Read its conditions before relying on one.

• Closing in the first year. A qualifying LLC that cancels within 12 months of filing its Articles can use Form LLC-4/8 and avoid the first year’s tax. Conditions: the form and the FTB’s LLC page.
• A very short tax year. A tax year of 15 days or less with no California business needs no return and no annual tax.
• A deployed owner. For tax years beginning before January 1, 2030, a small business LLC owned solely by a deployed member of the U.S. Armed Forces owes no annual tax for a year the owner is deployed and the LLC runs at a loss or stops operating.

A first-year exemption covered only tax years 2021 through 2023; older articles that mention it are out of date.

What you get back

A Statement of Information on your public record and a Franchise Tax Board record of each payment.