California

California franchise tax for contractors

California charges an annual minimum franchise tax whether the company traded or not, and an LLC pays a second fee on top of it once revenue passes a threshold. These guides cover what each entity type costs a year, when it falls due, and how it changes the arithmetic on going limited at all.

3 ways to move forward

Practical guidesSole owner or LLCThe $800 minimum franchise tax, the LLC gross receipts fee from $900 to $11,790, CSLB fees of $200 against $350 to issue and $450 against $700 to renew, and the extra $100,000 worker bond, costed across two years of a $620,000 business.Practical guidesFranchise tax and LLC feeThe $800 minimum every California entity owes, the LLC gross receipts fee tiers from $900 at $250,000 to $11,790 at $5,000,000, why each step is a cliff, and how to carry $6,800 a year as $200 a job in your overhead.Practical guidesWhat to charge per hourLoaded labor cost per sold hour, the fixed stack including the $800 franchise tax and the biennial $450 or $700 CSLB renewal, escalation to the midpoint of construction, and why a 20 percent markup is only a 16.7 percent margin.

The rest of the California library

Getting and keeping a CSLB licensePreliminary notices and mechanics liens in CaliforniaRetention on California jobsPrevailing wage and public works in CaliforniaBuilding standards on a California siteSales tax for California contractorsGetting paid on California jobs
Every guideThe whole California libraryPractical guides