California LLC $800 Franchise Tax and Statement of Information: What to Know

What Is California's $800 Minimum Franchise Tax, and Who Owes It

California charges a minimum franchise tax of $800 per year to LLCs registered or doing business in the state. This is administered by the Franchise Tax Board (FTB), the state's tax agency, and it is owed for the privilege of operating as an LLC in California. The defining feature is that it does not depend on whether you made money. An LLC with no revenue, no customers, and no activity still generally owes the $800 minimum for each year it exists and is in good standing.

• Domestic California LLCs. Formed by filing Articles of Organization with the California Secretary of State.
• Foreign LLCs registered in California. Formed in another state but registered to do business in California.
• LLCs doing business in California. An LLC can be treated as doing business in the state based on its activity there, which can create the obligation even without a formal registration. Confirm your specific situation with the FTB or a tax professional.

The $800 is a minimum, not a cap. Many LLCs owe only the $800. Higher-revenue LLCs can owe more because of a separate income-based fee covered later in this guide. Tax rules change, so confirm the current minimum and your filing obligation on the FTB website before you budget.

One thing worth knowing about that number: it is not an LLC number, and it is not a recent one. Revenue and Taxation Code section 17941(a) never states a dollar figure at all. It sets the LLC tax at "an amount equal to the applicable amount specified in subdivision (d) of Section 23153 for the taxable year," and section 23153 is the corporate minimum franchise tax. The Franchise Tax Board puts it the same way in its own bill analysis: the annual tax on LLCs "is set at $800 by reference to the minimum franchise tax." The figure your LLC pays is inherited, and its history belongs to a different kind of entity.

California authorized LLCs with the Beverly-Killea Act, SB 469, chaptered September 30, 1994. The annual tax it created pointed at section 23153 from its first line, and by then that section already read $800. Since 1990 the figure in section 23153 has held at $800 at every point in the public record we could check. Later sources repeat it without change, including the Franchise Tax Board's 2019 bill analysis, a 2020 Legislative Analyst's Office report, and the code section as it reads today.

Because the number stood still while prices did not, the real weight of the $800 has fallen. Using the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U series for all items, the 1990 annual average index was 130.7 and the June 2026 reading was 333.952. On those figures, $800 in 1990 is about $2,044 in 2026 dollars, and today's $800 carries about $313 of 1990 purchasing power. That is roughly a 61 percent decline in real terms, and keeping pace with inflation would mean a bill near $2,000 rather than $800.

None of this makes the $800 the whole cost. What has held steady is the base amount. What an LLC pays in its first year has already changed once and is scheduled to change again in 2027, which the next section covers, and the income-based fee has moved as well. Its first tier was $500 when SB 469 created it in 1994 and is about $900 today.

First-Year Rule: The $800 Exemption Nuance

California's first-year treatment of the $800 has a specific shape, and it is narrower than a blanket first-year exemption. The relief sits in Revenue and Taxation Code section 17941(g)(1), and it reached only LLCs that organized or registered with the Secretary of State on or after January 1, 2021 and before January 1, 2024. An LLC formed after that window owes the $800 in its first year.

So for an LLC forming today, plan on the full $800 in year one. Whichever year you formed in, the obligation returns in the second year and every year after, so the $800 belongs on your recurring compliance budget regardless.

When and How to Pay the $800

The minimum franchise tax is paid using FTB Form 3522, the LLC Tax Voucher. The payment is generally due by the 15th day of the 4th month after the beginning of the LLC's tax year. For a calendar-year LLC, that lands around April 15. Because the due date is tied to your tax year rather than your formation date alone, count carefully and confirm the exact date on the FTB schedule.

1. 1Determine your LLC's tax year and the 15th day of the 4th month after it begins.
2. 2Pay the $800 using FTB Form 3522, either electronically through the FTB Web Pay system or by mailing the voucher with a check.
3. 3Keep the confirmation, because the franchise tax is an annual obligation and you will repeat this each year the LLC is active.

Web Pay lets you submit the payment online from a bank account, which is the simpler route for remote owners. Whichever method you use, the franchise tax is its own line item. Paying it does not satisfy the income-based LLC fee or the Statement of Information, which are described next.

The LLC Fee on Top of $800: Total California Income Tiers

On top of the $800 minimum, California imposes a separate income-based LLC fee on LLCs whose total annual California income reaches certain levels. This fee is reported on FTB Form 3536, the Estimated Fee for LLCs, and it rises in tiers as that income grows. Lower-revenue LLCs generally owe no LLC fee and pay only the $800 minimum.

Two points matter here. First, the LLC fee is based on total California income, not net profit, so a high-revenue but low-margin business can still owe a meaningful fee. Second, because the fee is estimated and paid during the year on Form 3536, you generally need to project your total California income rather than wait until you file. The figures above are approximate and change over time, so verify the current tiers with the FTB.

Statement of Information (Form LLC-12): Biennial, $20, and the Address That Goes Public

The Statement of Information (SOI) is a separate filing made with the California Secretary of State, not the Franchise Tax Board. California LLCs file it on Form LLC-12. The filing fee is $20, and for LLCs it is generally filed every two years, which is why it is described as biennial. There is also an initial filing requirement: a new LLC generally must file its first Statement of Information within 90 days of formation. One operational note as of this writing: the Secretary of State's own page states that effective August 1, 2026, web User Access is required for Statement of Information filings, and that the option to file online is only visible to users with access established.

The Statement of Information collects current details about the LLC, including the name and address of the business, the agent for service of process, and the managers or members. Here is the part worth pausing on. The Statement of Information is a public record. The addresses you list on it can be viewed by anyone who looks up your LLC in the Secretary of State's business search. That includes the address you use for the principal office and the agent for service of process, depending on how you set things up.

When Your Information Changes, What the Statute Actually Requires

Once your Statement of Information is on file, what happens when something on it changes? The statute answers in two parts, and the split does not fall where you might expect. It matters most when the thing that changed is your address.

Corporations Code section 17702.09(d) draws the line explicitly. When information on the statement changes, "other than the name and address of the agent for service of process," the LLC "may file a current statement." When the company changes that agent, or when the agent's address changes, it "shall file a current statement." One is permitted. The other is required.

California corporations sit under a parallel rule in section 1502(e): the corporation "may file a current statement" when the information changes, but "in order to change its agent for service of process or the address of the agent, the corporation must file a current statement."

There is a lighter option running the other way. If nothing has changed since your last statement, section 17702.09(b) lets you tell the Secretary of State exactly that, on a form it prescribes, rather than filing the whole statement again. The wording it uses is that "no changes in the required information have occurred during the applicable filing period."

Choosing the Address You Put on Your SOI: Why a Real Street Address Matters

Because the Statement of Information is public and ties together your state record, the address you list is worth a deliberate decision rather than a default. For remote founders, an out-of-state owner, or anyone running a California LLC from a laptop, the easy move is to use a home address. The cost of that convenience is that your home becomes part of a searchable public record, and removing it later means filing a current statement that supersedes the old one and hoping third-party databases that copied it update too.

• Public exposure. The Statement of Information is searchable, so a home address on it can surface in business databases, marketing lists, and anyone's casual lookup.
• Hard to undo. Once an address is on the public record and copied elsewhere, a current statement updates the official filing but does not erase older cached copies.
• Consistency. Using one real business address across formation, the EIN, the bank account, and the Statement of Information avoids mismatches that banks and the state may flag.
• No PO boxes for the principal office. California expects a real street address for the principal office and for the agent for service of process, not a PO box.

This is where a real US street address that is accepted for California LLC filings does the work. save office maintains a San Francisco address, so you can list a genuine commercial street address on your Statement of Information instead of your home. For founders who want a Bay Area presence, the San Francisco virtual office address for LLCs guide covers the SF setup.

Before you commit any address to a state filing, confirm it is a real, deliverable street address. You can run an address through the free Address Checker to verify it before you file. If a California business address is the missing piece, save office onboarding walks through picking a city and activating the address.

Penalties, Suspension, and Staying Compliant

California treats both the Franchise Tax Board obligations and the Secretary of State filing seriously. Failing to pay the $800 minimum or the LLC fee can lead to penalties and interest from the FTB. Failing to file the Statement of Information on time starts a chain with real numbers in it: under Corporations Code section 17713.09(a) the Secretary of State issues a notice of delinquency, and if no statement is filed within 60 days of that notice, it certifies the LLC to the Franchise Tax Board, which assesses a $250 penalty under Revenue and Taxation Code section 19141. Continued delinquency can lead to suspension or forfeiture. A suspended LLC can lose the ability to enforce contracts and conduct business until it is brought back into good standing, which generally means filing the missing documents and paying the back amounts.

The practical defense is a simple compliance calendar that treats each obligation as its own deadline.

1. 1$800 minimum franchise tax (FTB Form 3522). Annual, generally due the 15th day of the 4th month of your tax year.
2. 2Income-based LLC fee (FTB Form 3536). Annual if your total California income reaches the fee tiers, estimated and paid during the year.
3. 3Statement of Information (Form LLC-12). Initial filing within 90 days of formation, then generally every two years, $20 each time.

A California LLC carries two parallel obligations that founders often blur together. The Franchise Tax Board side is the $800 minimum franchise tax every year plus an income-based LLC fee once your total California income climbs, paid on Forms 3522 and 3536. The Secretary of State side is the Statement of Information, Form LLC-12, filed within 90 days of formation and then biennially for $20, and it puts an address on the public record. Keep the two on separate lines of your calendar, verify the current amounts directly with the FTB, and choose a real business street address for the public filing so your home stays off the record. Handle those pieces and the annual upkeep of a California LLC becomes routine rather than a source of penalties.