California LLC fees are at least $800 a year after the first year, even when the LLC earns nothing.
The $800 is the annual LLC tax, owed each year by an LLC formed, registered or doing business in California. Once an LLC’s California total income reaches $250,000, a second charge, the LLC fee, adds $900 to $11,790.
Updated · Sources
California’s annual LLC tax, 2026 and 2027
- $800
- is due in full for each tax year, even a short one, unless that year lasts 15 days or less with no business.
- April 15
- is the yearly deadline for a calendar-year LLC’s tax. The tax is paid in the year it covers, so the 2027 tax is due April 15, 2027.
- $400
- replaces the $800 for an LLC’s first tax year, if that year begins in 2027, 2028 or 2029.
Neither the $800 nor the LLC fee is indexed for inflation.
Does your LLC owe the $800 California LLC tax?
An LLC owes the annual tax for any year in which even one of these is true. Where its members live does not matter.
Formed in California
An LLC owes the tax once it files its articles of organization with the California Secretary of State. Its first tax year starts that day, and the tax is due by the 15th day of the fourth month. An LLC formed on June 18, 2026 owed its first $800 to the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) by September 15, 2026.
Registered in California
An LLC formed in another state owes the tax once it registers with the Secretary of State. If that year’s due date has passed, it pays right away. Its first tax year began when it was formed in its home state, so one formed before 2027 generally cannot get the $400.
Doing business in California
Actively engaging in any transaction for profit in California counts as doing business there. An LLC managed from California is doing business there too. The FTB also counts work that a member, manager or agent does in the state for the LLC.
Sales, property or payroll in California
An LLC also does business in California once its California sales, property or payroll pass a threshold. For 2025, the thresholds are $757,070 of sales and $75,707 each of property and payroll. If 25% of the LLC’s total sales, property or payroll is less, that 25% is the threshold instead. The dollar amounts are adjusted every year, and the 2026 amounts were not yet out in September 2026.
The annual LLC tax applies only to an LLC that is not taxed as a corporation. An LLC taxed as a corporation files Form 100 or Form 100S and pays the corporate franchise tax instead. A C corporation usually pays 8.84% of net income, with an $800 minimum. Banks and financial corporations pay higher rates.
After its first year, a California LLC costs $800 to $12,590 a year in tax and fees to the FTB.
The LLC fee is set by California total income, which is close to gross receipts and counted before any expenses. The fee is a flat amount for each tier of income, not a rate. Going from $499,999 to $500,000 of income raises it from $900 to $2,500.
$200,000 of income
$800
Below $250,000, the annual tax is the whole bill.
$400,000 of income
$1,700
The $900 fee applies from $250,000.
$750,000 of income
$3,300
The fee is $2,500 from $500,000 to just under $1 million.
$2 million of income
$6,800
The fee is $6,000 from $1 million.
$6 million of income
$12,590
The top fee, $11,790, applies from $5 million.
Each total is the $800 annual tax plus the LLC fee for that tier of income. Filing articles of organization, or registering an LLC from another state, costs $70 with the Secretary of State. The LLC then files a $20 Statement of Information within 90 days, and every two years after that. Neither Secretary of State fee is in these totals. The members’ income tax on their shares of the profit is separate.
When are the California LLC fee and the $800 tax due, and on which forms?
The $800 tax, often called the California franchise tax, and the LLC fee are separate payments, each with its own form and date. The dates are for a calendar-year LLC’s 2027 tax year.
| $800 annual tax | LLC fee | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | $800 The same at any income | $900 to $11,790 None below $250,000 |
| Based on | A flat amount | California total income Only receipts assigned to California |
| First tax year | $400 For a first year beginning in 2027 to 2029 | No change The same tiers apply |
| Due for 2027 | April 15, 2027 15th day of the 4th month | June 15, 2027 An estimate, by the 15th day of the 6th month |
| Form | FTB 3522 LLC Tax Voucher | FTB 3536 Estimated Fee for LLCs |
| Penalty | 5% plus 0.5% a month Up to 25%, if paid late | 10% of any shortfall Not if the estimate covered last year’s fee |
Form 568, the Limited Liability Company Return of Income, reports both charges. The $800 is paid on its own voucher, never with the return. You can pay either one online through the FTB’s Web Pay or by credit card. If you do, you send no voucher.
Why do California LLCs end up owing more than they planned?
A single-member LLC files its own return
California charges a single-member LLC the $800 tax and any LLC fee. The LLC files its own Form 568 each year, separate from the owner’s return.
An unused LLC keeps owing
The $800 keeps coming due until the LLC files a certificate of cancellation with the Secretary of State. Marking its last Form 568 as final does not stop the tax.
An out-of-state LLC run from California owes the $800 too
A Delaware or Nevada LLC that transacts business in California usually has to register there as a foreign LLC. It owes the $800 for each year it does business in the state, registered or not. An unregistered LLC that does not file within 60 days of an FTB demand owes $2,000 a year, unless it has reasonable cause.
Forming the LLC in late 2026 can cost a second $800
A calendar-year LLC formed before December 17, 2026 owes $800 for 2026 and $800 again for 2027. One formed in 2027 instead owes $400 for its first year. An LLC formed December 17 to 31 has a 2026 tax year of 15 days or less. If it does no business until January, it owes nothing for 2026. For 2027 it then owes $800 or $400, and the law does not yet say which.
The extension moves the return, not the payment
An automatic extension moves the 2026 Form 568 to October 15, 2027, but not for a suspended or forfeited LLC. Any fee or nonresident members’ tax still owed is due by the original date. For an LLC taxed as a partnership, that is March 15, 2027. For a single-member LLC owned by an individual, it is April 15, 2027.
An S corp election still carries an $800 minimum
An LLC taxed as an S corporation pays no LLC fee. California charges most S corporations 1.5% of net income instead, with an $800 minimum. A new corporation owes no minimum in its first year, but an LLC that elects S status may not get that break. Unlike the LLC fee, which stops at $11,790, the 1.5% has no ceiling.
Splitting one business into several LLCs can backfire
The FTB can add up the income of LLCs formed mainly to cut the fee. It can do so when the same people own more than half of each LLC. Each LLC in the group is then liable for the whole fee.
Valim sets your June 15 fee estimate so the 10% penalty does not apply.
Valim’s CPAs prepare California LLC returns on Form 568 and plan the FTB 3522 and FTB 3536 payments that go with them.
- We project your California total income before June 15, so you know which fee tier to plan for.
- We compare what California charges your LLC with what it would pay as an S corp.
- Your bookkeeper’s year-end books give us the total income the fee is based on, and we check which receipts belong to California.
- We file each nonresident member’s consent to pay California tax, or work out the tax the LLC pays for that member.
- We answer any FTB or IRS notice about a return we prepared, with no new engagement to open.
- Individual return
- from $195
- Business return
- from $495
We quote a flat fee before work starts. We do not bill hourly.
California LLC fee and franchise tax questions.
Do you have to pay the $800 California LLC fee?
An LLC formed, registered or doing business in California owes the $800 annual LLC tax, unless it is taxed as a corporation. The tax is due every year, with or without income, until the LLC files a certificate of cancellation. A first tax year beginning in 2027 to 2029 costs $400 instead. The $800 matches the minimum franchise tax California corporations pay, so it is often called the California franchise tax. The LLC fee is a second charge, owed from $250,000 of California total income.
Why is the California LLC fee so high?
The California LLC fee is high because neither of its two parts depends on profit. The $800 annual tax is flat, so an LLC with no income pays the same $800 as one earning millions. From $250,000 of California total income, the LLC fee itself adds $900 to $11,790. That income is counted before expenses, so a low-margin LLC can owe the fee in a year it loses money. Texas, by contrast, has no minimum franchise tax.
What are the LLC fees in California in 2026?
In 2026, the annual LLC tax in California is $800. A calendar-year LLC that existed on January 1 paid it by April 15, 2026, with Form FTB 3522. An LLC formed later in 2026 owes it by the 15th day of its fourth month. The LLC fee is $900 from $250,000 of California total income, $2,500 from $500,000, $6,000 from $1 million and $11,790 from $5 million. The fee is estimated by June 15, 2026 on Form FTB 3536, and any balance is due by the return’s original due date.
Do new California LLCs pay the $800 in their first year?
Yes, a new California LLC pays the full $800 for a first tax year beginning in 2024, 2025 or 2026. Under a 2026 law, a first tax year beginning in 2027, 2028 or 2029 costs $400 instead. An LLC owes nothing for a tax year of 15 days or less in which it does no business. A California LLC that never does business and files a short-form cancellation within 12 months of forming owes nothing for its first year. Any tax it already paid is not refunded.
Sources
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 17941, LLC annual tax
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 17942, LLC fee
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 17946, LLCs with a short tax year and no business
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 19135, Penalty for doing business while unregistered or suspended
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 23101, Doing business
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 23151, Franchise tax rate
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 23186, Rate for banks and financial corporations
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 23153, Minimum franchise tax
- Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 23802, S corporations
- SB 122 (Stats. 2026, ch. 23), the $400 first-year LLC tax
- SB 180 (Stats. 2026, ch. 85), applying the $400 to LLCs filing under § 18633.5
- Cal. Corp. Code § 17707.02, Short-form cancellation
- Cal. Corp. Code § 17702.09, Statement of Information
- Cal. Gov. Code § 12190, LLC filing fees
- California FTB, 2026 Instructions for Form FTB 3522, LLC Tax Voucher
- California FTB, 2026 Instructions for Form FTB 3536, Estimated Fee for LLCs
- California FTB, 2025 Form 568 Limited Liability Company Tax Booklet
Reviewed and updated September 2026. General information, not advice for your situation.