California LLC fees due each year start with the $800 annual franchise tax owed to the Franchise Tax Board, with your first payment due by the 15th day of the fourth month after you file your Articles of Organization. On top of that, you may owe an income-based fee if your California gross receipts hit $250,000, a $20 Statement of Information filing every two years with the Secretary of State, and the annual Form 568 return. Missing any deadline triggers penalties, interest, and eventually suspension of your LLC.
The $800 Annual Franchise Tax
Every LLC organized or doing business in California owes an $800 annual tax, whether or not it earned a dollar of income that year.1Franchise Tax Board. Limited Liability Company The tax keeps accruing every year until you formally cancel the LLC. Stopping operations does not stop the bill.
Your First Payment
The first $800 is due by the 15th day of the fourth month after you file your Articles of Organization.1Franchise Tax Board. Limited Liability Company File on January 10, and the first payment is due May 15 of that year. File on September 1, and the first $800 is due January 15 of the following year.
The temporary first-year waiver that applied to LLCs formed between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2023, has expired. Any LLC formed in 2024 or later owes the full $800 in its first year.1Franchise Tax Board. Limited Liability Company One narrow escape hatch survives: if you cancel your LLC within one year of forming it by filing the short-form cancellation (Form LLC-4/8), the first-year tax is not owed.
Every Year After That
After the first year, the $800 is due by the 15th day of the fourth month of your taxable year.1Franchise Tax Board. Limited Liability Company For calendar-year LLCs, that’s April 15. If the date falls on a weekend or holiday, it rolls to the next business day. Pay it using FTB Form 3522.
The Income-Based LLC Fee
Once your total California income reaches $250,000, California adds a second fee on top of the $800 tax. “Total income” here means gross income plus cost of goods sold from California sources, not net profit, so LLCs with high revenue and thin margins can still owe it.2California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code 17942
The tiers:
- $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
These are additions, not replacements. An LLC with $600,000 in total California income owes the $800 tax plus the $2,500 fee, for $3,300.2California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code 17942
You estimate this fee and pay it by the 15th day of the sixth month of your taxable year, which is June 15 for calendar-year LLCs.3Franchise Tax Board. 2026 FTB 3536 Estimated Fee for LLCs Instructions Submit the estimated payment on FTB Form 3536. You reconcile it later on your annual return.
Form 568: The Annual Return
Paying the tax and filing the return are separate obligations. Every LLC organized or doing business in California must file Form 568, whether it has one member or many.4Franchise Tax Board. 2024 Instructions for Form 568 Limited Liability Company Tax Booklet Form 568 reports income, computes the income-based fee, and reconciles what you already paid.
The due date depends on how your LLC is classified for federal tax purposes:
- Multi-member LLCs taxed as partnerships: March 15 for calendar-year filers (the 15th day of the third month after the close of the taxable year).
- Single-member LLCs owned by an individual: April 15 for calendar-year filers.
- Single-member LLCs owned by a pass-through entity (an S corporation, partnership, or another LLC taxed as a partnership): March 15.
Those dates come from the FTB’s due date schedule.5Franchise Tax Board. Due Dates: Businesses Filing extensions are available, but an extension to file is not an extension to pay. Whatever you owe still has to be in by the original deadline.
Statement of Information (Form LLC-12)
Separate from anything you send the FTB, the Secretary of State requires a Statement of Information listing your principal office address, managers or managing members, and agent for service of process.
Your initial filing is due within 90 days of forming the LLC. After that, you file every two years during a six-month window ending on the last day of the month your LLC was formed. An LLC formed in August, for example, has a biennial filing window running from March through August of each filing year.6California Secretary of State. Statements of Information Filing Tips
The fee is $20 per filing, submitted through the Secretary of State’s bizfile portal.7California Secretary of State. bizfile Miss the window and the penalty is $250.8California Secretary of State. Instructions for Completing the Statement of Information (Form LLC-12) If information changes between scheduled filings, you can submit an amended Statement at any time with no additional fee.9CA.gov. Business Entities Fee Schedule
What Happens If You Pay Late
The FTB stacks penalties quickly on unpaid tax.10Franchise Tax Board. Common Penalties and Fees Two apply to the $800 tax and the income-based fee:
- An immediate 5% underpayment penalty on the unpaid amount.
- An additional 0.5% per month (or partial month) it remains unpaid, capped at 40 months.
Underpayment of the estimated income-based fee by the June 15 deadline carries its own 10% penalty on the underpaid amount.10Franchise Tax Board. Common Penalties and Fees Interest accrues on top of everything. Through June 30, 2026, the FTB charges 7% interest on underpayments.11Franchise Tax Board. Interest and Estimate Penalty Rates
Suspension
Leave the balance unpaid long enough and the FTB will suspend the LLC.12Franchise Tax Board. My Business Is Suspended A suspended LLC loses its legal powers in California. It cannot sue or defend itself in court, cannot file or maintain a tax appeal, and any contract signed while suspended is voidable by the other party. That last piece is the one owners tend to miss: a customer or vendor can walk away from a deal you signed during suspension, and you have no recourse until the LLC is revived.
Reviving a suspended LLC requires filing all delinquent returns, paying every back tax, penalty, fee, and interest charge, and then requesting reinstatement. The FTB will not lift the suspension until the balance is zero.12Franchise Tax Board. My Business Is Suspended
How to Pay
The $800 tax and the income-based fee both go to the Franchise Tax Board. Three options:
- Web Pay, the FTB’s free direct-debit portal from a bank account.13Franchise Tax Board. Pay by Bank Account (Web Pay)
- Credit card, accepted through a third-party processor that charges a convenience fee.14Franchise Tax Board. Payment Options
- Check by mail with the correct voucher: Form 3522 for the $800 annual tax, Form 3536 for the estimated income-based fee. Each voucher routes to a different processing address, so don’t swap them. If you pay online, skip the paper voucher.15Franchise Tax Board. 2025 Instructions for Form FTB 3522 LLC Tax Voucher
The $20 Statement of Information fee goes to the Secretary of State through the bizfile portal, not the FTB.
How to Stop Owing the $800
Because the annual tax accrues until you formally cancel, a dormant LLC is not a free LLC. Cancellation requires clearing both agencies.16Franchise Tax Board. FTB Publication 1038
With the FTB: file every delinquent return, pay all outstanding tax, penalties, and interest, and file a final-year Form 568 marked as final. With the Secretary of State: file a Certificate of Cancellation (Form LLC-4/7), or the short-form version (Form LLC-4/8) if you qualify.
You can avoid the minimum tax for the cancellation year if you stop doing business before that taxable year begins, file the prior year’s return on time, and submit the SOS cancellation paperwork within 12 months of filing that final return. Miss the timing by a few days and you owe another $800.