California Small-Business Tax Deadlines for 2026
A calendar-year overview sourced to the California FTB and IRS — not a universal filing schedule.
Scope: reviewed August 11, 2026, for common calendar-year businesses. Your due dates depend on legal entity, federal and California tax classification, tax year, payroll and sales-tax accounts, prior filings, and any disaster relief. Fiscal-year businesses must translate the month-based rules to their own year. An extension to file generally does not extend the time to pay. Start with the FTB business due-date directory and IRS Publication 509 for 2026, then confirm the instructions for every form you actually file.
California individual estimated tax for 2026
This schedule applies to individual estimated income tax, which may include income flowing to an owner from a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, or S corporation. It is not the payment schedule for an LLC's annual tax or fee, or a corporation's entity-level estimates.
The FTB's 2026 Form 540-ES instructions use a 30% / 40% / 0% / 30% installment pattern.
- April 15, 2026 — first installment, 30% of the required annual payment.
- June 15, 2026 — second installment, 40%.
- September 15, 2026 — no California installment is scheduled under the standard 30/40/0/30 pattern.
- January 15, 2027 — fourth installment, 30%.
The federal individual-estimate calendar is different: April 15, June 15, and September 15, 2026, and January 15, 2027. Eligibility, annualized-income methods, withholding, high-income rules, farmers and fishers, and other exceptions can change the required amount.
Entity-specific California rules
General partnership
FTB lists the return due on the 15th day of the third month after year-end and lists no California annual tax or annual fee for a general partnership. For a 2025 calendar year, the 2026 due date moved to March 16 because March 15 was a Sunday. Other partnership forms can have different taxes.
California LLC
An LLC organized or doing business in California generally owes an $800 annual tax by the 15th day of the fourth month after the beginning of its tax year — April 15 for an existing calendar-year LLC. FTB measures a newly formed LLC's first payment from its filing date. FTB also says the temporary first-year exemption applied only to tax years beginning in 2021 through 2023; a separate short-form-cancellation rule may apply.
LLC fee
An LLC with at least $250,000 of total California income can owe an additional fee. FTB's current brackets run from $900 to $11,790, and the estimated fee is due by the 15th day of the sixth month of the current year — June 15 for a calendar-year LLC. Return dates still depend on the LLC's classification and owner.
S corporation
FTB applies a 1.5% tax to California-source net income and an $800 minimum franchise tax. The minimum is waived for a newly formed or qualified corporation's first taxable year, but first-year net income remains subject to the 1.5% tax. Return and total tax are due the 15th day of the third month after year-end.
C corporation
FTB lists the return and total tax due on the 15th day of the fourth month after year-end and generally lists an $800 minimum franchise tax. Newly incorporated or qualified corporations are not required to pay the minimum in their first taxable year, but other entity-level tax can still apply.
Corporate estimates
California corporation estimates are due in the fourth, sixth, ninth, and twelfth months after the tax year begins — April 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15 for a calendar year. Use Form 100-ES instructions to calculate amounts.
Verify those rules in the FTB's current pages for LLCs, S corporations, and corporations. An LLC's tax classification can create both LLC-level and owner-level obligations; the same date or amount should never be copied across every entity.
Dates this page intentionally does not generalize
- Payroll-tax deposits and returns — frequency depends on the employer's assigned federal and California schedule and accumulated liability.
- Sales and use tax — filing frequency and due dates come from the business's CDTFA account.
- Information returns, excise taxes, retirement plans, nonprofit filings, and industry-specific taxes — each has separate forms and calendars.
- Disaster postponements — federal and state relief can apply only to specified taxpayers, locations, forms, and periods.
- Dissolved, suspended, short-year, newly formed, foreign, or reclassified entities — use the entity's exact FTB and IRS instructions.
Is California's second 2026 individual estimated-tax payment due June 15 or June 16?
June 15, 2026. The FTB's current 2026 schedule lists June 15 and assigns 40% of the required annual payment to that installment.
Does every California business owe $800?
No. Entity type and exceptions matter. FTB lists no annual tax for a general partnership, while California LLCs and corporations generally face an $800 annual or minimum tax subject to entity-specific rules and exceptions.
Does every new California LLC receive a first-year $800 exemption?
No. FTB says the temporary first-year LLC exemption applied to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2021, and before January 1, 2024. A narrow short-form-cancellation rule is separate.
Does a filing extension extend the payment deadline?
Generally no. FTB states that an extension to file is not an extension to pay. Confirm the instructions for the specific return and payment.
General educational information only, not tax, legal, or accounting advice. This page does not establish a preparer-client relationship and does not claim that Express Financial provides tax-preparation services. Tax law and relief notices change; verify the current official form instructions or consult a qualified tax professional for your entity and facts.
Use the official FTB directory and the current instructions for every form your entity actually files.