If you are looking to start a California Corporation or California LLC you might want to consider waiting until December 17th. California has a 15-day rule that allows you to file your business filings in California during the last 15 days of the year and NOT have to file a tax return for 2015. Waiting a few days to file your documents can save you hundreds of dollars.
The following conditions must be met:
- Your business filings in California are submitted after December 17th (within the last 15 days of the year)
- Your California Corporation or California LLC conducts no business during those 15 days.
You will receive the following benefits by waiting:
- You will avoid being required to file a tax return for 2015.
- You will avoid paying the minimum $800 franchise tax fee in 2016. Instead it will be based off of a percentage
- You may not have to pay the full $800 franchise tax fee until 2017 (depending on your income in 2016).
As you can see, filing your business filings in California after December 17th can be very advantageous. It is a VERY busy time of year for us so we have clients who already have their documents ready to be processed. We are just waiting for December 17th to come around so we can get them filed. The business filings in California may take longer to get returned during this time of year. Generally business filings in California take between 5-7 business days. During this time of year it may take an extra week or two to get the documents back unless you choose to have them processed with expedited processing. The California Secretary of State charges $350 to have them processed in 24 hours.
To get your business filings in California ready for drop off on December 17th give us a call at (916) 480-1225. We look forward to working with you!
