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Pay a California LLC’s annual tax

An LLC doing business in California, or whose articles the Secretary of State has accepted, pays an annual tax of $800 by the 15th day of the fourth month of its taxable year. A 2026 amendment (SB 180, effective July 13, 2026) sets the first-year amount at $400 for taxable years beginning in 2027 through 2029, for an LLC required to file a return under Section 18633.5.

An LLC doing business in California, or whose articles the Secretary of State has accepted, pays an annual tax of $800 by the 15th day of the fourth month of its taxable year. A 2026 amendment (SB 180, effective July 13, 2026) sets the first-year amount at $400 for taxable years beginning in 2027 through 2029, for an LLC required to file a return under Section 18633.5.

At a glance

DetailValue
KindObligation
AuthorityCalifornia Franchise Tax Board
Where it appliesus, us-ca
FeesAnnual tax (the amount Section 23153(d) sets): $800; First taxable year, for a taxable year beginning in 2027, 2028 or 2029, for an LLC required to file a return under Section 18633.5: $400; First taxable year of an LLC that organized or registered on or after January 1, 2021 and before January 1, 2024: $0
Last verified against its sources2026-10-04
Version1

The first-year amount changed in 2026. Senate Bill 180 amended Section 17941, effective July 13, 2026: for taxable years beginning in 2027 through 2029, an LLC required to file a return under Section 18633.5 pays $400 for its first taxable year instead of the $800 of Section 23153. An LLC whose first taxable year begins in 2026 is not covered by it. An answer from memory would miss this; the object below holds the statute’s own words and the date they were read.

Rules

Requirement: An LLC owes the tax if it is doing business in California, or if the Secretary of State has accepted its articles of organization or issued it a certificate of registration; it owes it each taxable year until a certificate of cancellation is filed. (checked as: (whether the business is doing business in California = true or whether California’s Secretary of State has accepted its articles or issued a certificate of registration = true))

Fees

FeeAmountWhen
Annual tax (the amount Section 23153(d) sets)$800not (whether that taxable year is the business’s first = true and date the taxable year in question begins ≥ 2027-01-01 and date the taxable year in question begins < 2030-01-01 and whether the LLC is required to file a return under California Revenue and Taxation Code section 18633.5 = true) and not (whether that taxable year is the business’s first = true and date the business organized or registered with the state ≥ 2021-01-01 and date the business organized or registered with the state < 2024-01-01)
First taxable year, for a taxable year beginning in 2027, 2028 or 2029, for an LLC required to file a return under Section 18633.5$400whether that taxable year is the business’s first = true and date the taxable year in question begins ≥ 2027-01-01 and date the taxable year in question begins < 2030-01-01 and whether the LLC is required to file a return under California Revenue and Taxation Code section 18633.5 = true
First taxable year of an LLC that organized or registered on or after January 1, 2021 and before January 1, 2024$0whether that taxable year is the business’s first = true and date the business organized or registered with the state ≥ 2021-01-01 and date the business organized or registered with the state < 2024-01-01

Deadlines

Due date: Due and payable on or before the 15th day of the fourth month of the taxable year.

How it is filed

What an agent may do: not stated by any source yet (UNKNOWN); nothing is submitted without the person’s authorization.

What this page does not know

  • How the tax is paid (the Franchise Tax Board’s forms, vouchers and online payment) is not read here: the Franchise Tax Board’s site refused this reader (HTTP 403).
  • The return requirement of Section 18633.5, which the 2027–2029 first-year amount depends on, is not read here.
  • Whether subdivision (g)(1) was operative in a given year depends on a budget appropriation that is not read here.