This article is part of the California Sales Tax Compliance Series, a structured executive guide covering nexus, registration, filing, and deadline management for businesses operating in California.
Sales Tax
You file a California sales tax return online through CDTFA Online Services, report your gross sales, deductions, and taxable sales for the period, allocate district tax on Schedule A, and pay by the last day of the month after the period ends. The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) assigns how often you file when it issues your seller's permit. This guide answers the questions California sellers ask most, with the CDTFA source for each.
Log in to CDTFA Online Services with your seller's permit account, open the return for the period, and enter total sales, then the deductions you can claim (resales, exempt sales, sales shipped out of state), which gives taxable sales. The return applies the state rate and asks you to allocate taxable sales to the districts where they belong. Review, submit, and pay in the same session. Most accounts file online; the paper form is CDTFA-401-A. Keep the confirmation number with your sales records for the period.
The CDTFA assigns a filing frequency when it issues the permit and adjusts it as your reported sales change. The frequencies are monthly, quarterly, quarterly with prepayment, annual, and fiscal annual. Quarterly with prepayment applies once your average monthly tax liability reaches $17,000, under Revenue and Taxation Code section 6471. The CDTFA notifies you in writing when your frequency changes.
Returns and payment are due on the last day of the month after the reporting period. A quarterly filer's periods end March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31, so the returns are due April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31. An annual return is due January 31. A monthly return is due the last day of the next month. When a due date falls on a weekend or state holiday, the return is due the next business day.
Quarterly prepayment is a schedule for larger accounts: you pay tax for the first two months of each quarter before the quarter ends, then file one return for the full quarter. The CDTFA places an account on this schedule when its average monthly tax liability reaches $17,000. The prepayment for the first month of the quarter is due by the 24th of the second month, and the prepayment for the second month is due by the 24th of the third month. Each prepayment must cover at least 90% of that month's liability. The quarterly return, due the last day of the month after the quarter, reports the full quarter and credits the two prepayments.
Pay through CDTFA Online Services when you submit the return. You can schedule an ACH debit from your bank account for the due date, pay by credit card through the state's card processor (a service fee applies), or mail a check with the payment voucher the return produces. Payment and return carry the same due date; a return filed on time with a late payment still draws a late payment penalty.
A late return draws a penalty of 10% of the tax due, and a late payment draws a penalty of 10% of the tax due, with the two together capped at 10% for one return. Interest accrues monthly on unpaid tax from the due date at the rate the CDTFA sets each period. If you do not file at all, the CDTFA can estimate your liability from prior returns and issue a billing for the estimate plus penalty and interest. Filing on time with partial payment costs less than not filing.
Yes. Every seller's permit holder files a return for every assigned period while the permit is active, whether or not there were sales or tax collected. A missed zero return is treated as a missed return and can draw a penalty on any later assessment.
Open the return for the period in CDTFA Online Services, enter zero for total sales, submit, and keep the confirmation. The return takes a few minutes and closes the period. If your business has stopped selling for good, close the account instead (see below), so the filing obligation ends.
File an amended return for the same period through CDTFA Online Services. The amended return replaces the original figures; if it shows more tax due, pay the difference with interest from the original due date. If it shows an overpayment, the CDTFA treats the amended return as a claim for refund for that period.
File a final return for your last period, pay any tax due, and notify the CDTFA that you have stopped selling, either in Online Services or on form CDTFA-65, Notice of Closeout. The CDTFA cancels the permit as of your closeout date. Until you do this, the account stays open and every period requires a return. Publication 74, Closing Out Your Account, covers the steps and what records to keep.
The statewide rate is 7.25%. Voter-approved district taxes add on top of it in the cities, counties, and special districts that impose them, each between 0.10% and 2.00%, so the rate at any address is 7.25% plus the districts that cover that address. The CDTFA publishes a rate lookup by address; use the address, not the ZIP code, because a ZIP code can cross a district line. Our guide to rooftop and ZIP code rates explains why.
Schedule A allocates your taxable sales to each district so the CDTFA can pay each district its share. Monthly, quarterly, and quarterly-prepay filers complete it as part of the return. A sale of goods shipped to a customer is allocated to the district of the delivery address; a sale at your location is allocated to that location's districts. The online return builds Schedule A from the district figures you enter, and the totals must match the taxable sales on the return.
No. California offers no vendor discount or early filing credit on sales tax returns.
This guide is general information, not tax, legal, or accounting advice. Filing rules, rates, thresholds, and due dates come from the CDTFA sources above as of September 2026 and can change. Confirm the current figures with the CDTFA or your tax advisor before you file.
