29 January 2020 Business tax filing deadlines coming soon in San Francisco and Los Angeles Local municipal tax filing deadlines are quickly approaching and are commonly overlooked. In preparation for the upcoming federal and state filing season, please keep in mind the following information pertaining to San Francisco and Los Angeles business taxes. San Francisco's 2019 gross receipts tax and payroll expense tax are due on or before March 2, 2020.1 Taxpayers can request a 60-day extension if they file the request in writing and pay at least 100% of the tax due by the filing deadline. In addition to the gross receipts tax, San Francisco requires payment of a business registration fee. Taxpayers must register or renew their business registration every year. The due date for registration or renewal is May 31, 2020. The business registration fee may be filed on the San Francisco Treasurer's website here. The Los Angeles business tax is due March 2, 2020. Taxpayers may file their 2019 Business Tax Renewal Form either by mail or electronically. The City provides copies of its forms for download and completion, as well as access to an electronic filing system (with applicable instructions) on its website here. To be considered timely filed, a taxpayer must postmark or electronically file the forms no later than 11:59 p.m. PST on March 2, 2020. Taxpayers can apply for a maximum filing extension of 45 days. An extension request must be made in writing, accompanied by at least 90% of the total tax due, and received or postmarked by the March 2, 2020, filing deadline. Additional information about the Los Angeles business tax renewal process is available here. Taxpayers should not assume that San Francisco and Los Angeles are the only municipalities that impose local business license taxes. Nearly every California municipality does so, and these levies vary widely from locality to locality. For example, the City of Santa Monica also imposes a business gross receipts tax; unlike the San Francisco or Los Angeles levies, returns and payments are due August 31. Moreover, unlike state or local income taxes in other states, these taxes do not except business entities from payment based on form. Partnerships and even limited liability companies that are treated as pass-through entities for federal and California state tax purposes (or even disregarded altogether) could be directly liable for the myriad of California local taxes. For businesses active in California, especially in the larger municipalities, it is a best practice to assume that some type of business license tax applies. Information about these special and unique city taxes can usually be obtained from the relevant municipality's webpage. EY California tax professionals stand ready to assist businesses both in finding these business license taxes and in complying with the applicable payment and filing requirements.
Document ID: 2020-0211 | |||||||||
