These are our most common penalties and fees. Visit our Penalty reference chart for more information.
We also refer to the Revenue and Taxation Code (RTC) section related to the penalty or fee.
You did not pay by the due date of the tax return and did not file your tax return by the extended due date.
5% of the amount due:
The maximum penalty is 25%.
If your tax return shows a balance due of $540 or less, the penalty is either:
Whichever amount is less.
For instance, if your balance is:
You did not file your return by the due date.
You did not file a return by the due date on the Demand for Tax Return letter. You may owe penalties and interest, even if your tax return shows that a refund is due.
25% of the total tax amount due, regardless of any payments or credits made on time.
You did not pay entire amount due by your payment due date.
For LLCs, the penalty is computed on the underpayment of annual tax, LLC fee, and non-consenting non-resident (NCNR) tax, if applicable.
For your estimated tax payment, you either:
We calculate the penalty on the unpaid amount from one of these (whichever is earlier):
Visit Individuals due dates for the due dates.
The number of days late is first determined, then multiplied by the effective interest rate for the installment period. Visit interest rates for more information.
To avoid this in the future, increase your withholdings or make quarterly estimate payments.
We calculate the penalty on the unpaid amount from the due date of the estimated tax installment to the following dates (whichever is earlier):
Visit Businesses due dates for the due dates.
You sent us a payment and your financial institution declined (did not honor) that payment. Examples: Your check bounced, or you did not have enough money in your bank account.
If your payment was:
You’re required to make payments electronically to FTB and you failed to do so.
You did not pay the lesser of:
10% of the underpaid fee.
SOS notified us you did not file your entity’s annual or biennial Statement of Information on time. We collect this penalty on behalf of SOS. Only the SOS can waive the penalty.
We charge a collection cost recovery fee when we must take involuntary action to collect delinquent taxes.
We charge a lien fee for the costs of filing and releasing the lien with the applicable county recorder office or the California Secretary of State.
Visit Liens for more information.
We charge a filing enforcement cost recovery fee for any individual or business who fails to file a required tax return in response to a legal demand to file.
Fees varies year to year. Current fees:
We impose a fee on individuals or businesses to cover costs to collect their delinquent taxes from the Federal Treasury Offset Program.
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The web pages currently in English on the FTB website are the official and accurate source for tax information and services we provide. Any differences created in the translation are not binding on the FTB and have no legal effect for compliance or enforcement purposes. If you have any questions related to the information contained in the translation, refer to the English version.
We translate some pages on the FTB website into Spanish. These pages do not include the Google™ translation application. For a complete listing of the FTB’s official Spanish pages, visit La página principal en español (Spanish home page).
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This tool will not translate FTB applications, such as MyFTB, or tax forms and other files that are not in HTML format. Some publications and tax form instructions are available in HTML format and can be translated. Visit our Forms and Publications search tool for a list of tax forms, instructions, and publications, and their available formats.