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California $800 LLC Tax Checker

Answer a few questions about your out-of-state LLC and see whether it is likely doing business in California, what it would owe, and when.

1. The LLC Tax year Where is the LLC formed? How is it taxed federally? Registered with the California Secretary of State?

2. People and activity in California Is the business mainly directed or managed from California? Does any member, manager, employee or agent do the LLC's business from California? Does the LLC otherwise actively transact for profit in California (office, events, on-site work)?

3. Numbers for the year (USD) California sales California property (real and tangible) California payroll Total sales, everywhere Total property, everywhere Total payroll, everywhere Total California income for the LLC fee (optional; leave blank to use California sales)

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How it works

The checker applies the tests the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) publishes. An LLC owes the $800 annual tax if it is organized in California, registered with the California Secretary of State, or doing business in California. You get likely yes if any one test is met, unclear if none is met but you answered "Not sure" to one, and likely no otherwise.

The doing-business tests

Active transactions: engaging in any transaction for financial gain within California.
Organized or commercially domiciled in California: FTB says commercially domiciled "generally means that this state is the principal place from which the trade or business of the entity is directed or managed" (FTB Pub 1060).
People acting for the LLC: "an LLC is considered to be doing business in California if any of its members, managers, or other agents are conducting business in California on behalf of the LLC" (2025 Form 568 booklet).
Factor thresholds: California sales, property or payroll exceed the lesser of the year's dollar threshold or 25% of the LLC's total.

Thresholds used (from FTB, checked 2026-10-31)

Tax year	CA sales exceed	CA property exceeds	CA payroll exceeds
2025	$757,070	$75,707	$75,707
2024	$735,019	$73,502	$73,502
2023	$711,538	$71,154	$71,154

Each threshold is "either the threshold amount or 25%" of the total, whichever is lower. FTB had not posted 2026 amounts when we checked, so a 2026 check uses the 2025 row and flags it.

LLC fee tiers (total California income)

Total California income	LLC 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

"Total income" for the fee is gross income plus cost of goods sold attributable to California, assigned with California's sales-sourcing rules. The tool uses your California sales unless you enter a figure.

What the result does not cover

LLCs taxed as corporations (they file Form 100 or 100S), series LLCs and fiscal-year LLCs.
California income tax on members, nonresident withholding and sales tax.
Public Law 86-272, which can shield income taxes for sellers of tangible goods but, FTB says, does not stop an entity from being "doing business" and owing the applicable amounts.

Sources: FTB: Doing business in California, FTB: Help with doing business, FTB: Limited liability company, 2026 FTB 3522, 2026 FTB 3536, 2025 Form 568 booklet, FTB penalties, SOS Form LLC-5. All read on 31 Oct 2026.

Educational screen, not tax or legal advice. Confirm with a California CPA or enrolled agent for your situation.

Related guides

Worked example

A Canadian founder lives in Toronto and runs a single-member Wyoming LLC that sells consulting. Nobody works from California and the LLC is not registered there. In 2025 it billed $400,000, of which $120,000 went to California clients.

Sales test: 25% of $400,000 is $100,000, which is lower than the $757,070 threshold. California sales of $120,000 exceed $100,000, so the LLC is likely doing business in California even though it has no office or people there.

What it owes for 2025: the $800 annual tax (due April 15, 2025 with FTB 3522). Total California income of about $120,000 is under $250,000, so no LLC fee. It should also register with the Secretary of State on Form LLC-5 ($70), since FTB charges $2,000 to a foreign LLC doing business there unregistered, and file Form 568. If its California clients had paid $260,000 instead, the $900 fee tier would apply too, for $1,700 in total.

Frequently asked questions

Does a Delaware or Wyoming LLC have to pay the California $800 tax?

Only if it is registered with the California Secretary of State or doing business in California. FTB counts an LLC as doing business there if it is commercially domiciled in California, any member, manager or agent conducts its business there, it actively transacts for profit there, or its California sales, property or payroll pass the annual thresholds.

I am a non-resident founder with some California customers. Am I doing business there?

Not from customers alone unless your California sales exceed the lesser of the annual threshold ($757,070 for 2025) or 25% of your total sales. Sales of services count where the customer gets the benefit, so a large share of California clients can cross the 25% test well below the dollar amount.

When is the $800 LLC tax due?

By the 15th day of the 4th month of the taxable year, which is April 15 for a calendar-year LLC, paid with form FTB 3522 or Web Pay. In the first year it is due by the 15th day of the 4th month after the LLC files with the Secretary of State.

What is the California LLC fee and when do I estimate it?

It is a separate fee on top of the $800 tax when total California income is $250,000 or more: $900, $2,500, $6,000 or $11,790 depending on the tier. Estimate and pay it with form FTB 3536 by the 15th day of the 6th month (June 15 for calendar years).

Is the first-year $800 exemption still available?

No. FTB says the first-year exemption covered tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2021 and before January 1, 2024. FTB also says an LLC that cancels within one year of organizing, using the short-form cancellation (SOS Form LLC-4/8), is not subject to the $800 for its first tax year.

Is this tool tax or legal advice?

No. It is an educational screen built from FTB guidance read on 31 Oct 2026. Facts-and-circumstances tests can go either way, so confirm with a California CPA or enrolled agent before you register, file or decide not to.

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