Local Tax for Retailers
“Local Taxes” are sales and use taxes imposed by local jurisdictions, usually cities or counties, under the Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law. The current statewide sales and use tax rate is 7.25 percent, which includes 1.25 percent of local taxes (1.00 percent Local Jurisdiction and 0.25 percent Local Transportation Fund). When you file your sales and use tax return, you are generally required to allocate your sales among local jurisdictions, either directly or through a countywide pool. The 1.00 percent portion goes to the city or county where the sale or use occurs. The 0.25 percent portion always goes to the county where the sale or use occurs. By properly allocating your sales, you ensure that the local jurisdiction receives proper funding of local tax. These funds are used by local jurisdictions for their city or county operations, including for transportation.
The topics in this section may help you better understand local tax and how to allocate your sales correctly on your sales and use tax return. For guidance on properly reporting and allocating the local tax on the correct schedule, please see the Reporting Your Local Tax heading.
Sales vs Use Tax Transactions
Whether you allocate your sales directly to a local jurisdiction or through a countywide pool generally depends on whether the transaction is a sales tax transaction or a use tax transaction.
Sales Tax Transactions
Generally, unless exempt or excluded from tax, your retail sale is subject to state and local sales tax if you have a place of business in California that participates in the sale and title to the goods passes to your customer within this state. If either of these conditions are not met, the applicable tax is use tax. Most local sales tax will go directly to the local jurisdiction where the sale occurred.
When a sale cannot be identified with a permanent place of business in this state, the sale will be allocated to the local jurisdictions through a countywide pool. For example, certain sellers, such as auctioneers, construction contractors making sales of fixtures, catering trucks, or other permit holders who operate in more than one location will allocate their sales through a countywide or statewide pool.
Use Tax Transactions
When sales tax does not apply, state and local use tax generally apply to the sales price of tangible personal property that was purchased from a retailer and stored, used, or otherwise consumed within the state. Local use tax is generally allocated to local jurisdictions through a countywide pool. Each local jurisdiction within a county, including the county itself, receives a prorated amount of the countywide pool (based on its proportion of the local tax that is directly allocated to jurisdictions within the county).
Place of Sale vs. Place of Use
Local sales tax transactions are generally allocated to the jurisdiction where the place of sale is located while use tax transactions are allocated to the jurisdiction where the property is first functionally used. The ship-to-address is presumed to be the place of first functional use. Therefore, when the transaction is subject to use tax you will generally allocate the local use tax to the jurisdiction into which the property was shipped through the countywide pool of the county in which that jurisdiction is located.
California Retailers
How local tax is allocated by a California retailer may vary.
California Retailers with One Location
If you are a retailer with only one place of business in California and that place of business participates in the sale, then the local sales tax will be allocated to the jurisdiction in which the place of business is located.
California Retailers with Multiple Locations
When you are a retailer with multiple locations in California, you must allocate your sales properly so that the local sales tax goes to the correct local jurisdiction. If you have more than one place of business in California and only one place of business participates in the sale, your sale will be allocated to the jurisdiction where that place of business is located. However, if you have more than one place of business that participates in the sale, your sale will be allocated to the local jurisdiction where the principal negotiations are carried out.
Example:
You own restaurants located in the cities of Napa and Fairfield. Your taxable sales in the city of Napa were $100,000 and in the city of Fairfield were $80,000.
When you file your sales and use tax return, you will allocate $100,000 of your sales to the city of Napa and $80,000 to the city of Fairfield.
Example:
You own retail stores in the cities of San Bernardino and Victorville. A customer at the San Bernardino store wants to purchase an out-of-stock item. The item is in stock at the Victorville store. The customer purchases the taxable item for $100 at the San Bernardino store and the Victorville store has it shipped to the customer's home located in Los Angeles County.
Since you have multiple locations in California that participated in the sale, the place of sale is the location where the principal negotiations took place. In this example the city of San Bernardino is considered the place where the principal negotiations took place as the customer purchased the item from you at that location. When you file your sales and use tax return, you will allocate $100 of your sales to the city of San Bernardino.
Online Retailers
As an online retailer, you are required to pay applicable sales and/or use tax and allocate your sales like other retailers, but how you report and allocate your internet transactions can depend on a number of factors. For more information, see the Online Retailers: Registration and Local Tax section of this guide.
Out-of-State Retailers
If you are an out-of-state retailer not located in California that is “engaged in business” in California or have voluntarily registered, you must collect, report, and pay state and local use tax on your sales for delivery in California.
If you are an out-of-state retailer, you are engaged in business in California if, for example:
- You maintain, occupy, or use, directly or indirectly, or through a subsidiary or agent, a permanent or temporary office, place of distribution, sales or sample room, warehouse or storage place, or other physical place of business in California.
- You have representatives, agents, or independent contractors operating in California on your behalf or under your authority, or under the authority of your subsidiary, for purposes of making sales, taking orders, assembling or installing merchandise, training customers, making deliveries, or otherwise establishing or maintaining a market for your products.
- You receive rental payments from the leases of tangible personal property located in California, such as leases of machinery, equipment, and furniture.
- You own or lease real property or personal property such as machinery or equipment, furniture, or computer servers located in California.
- Beginning April 1, 2019, you have total combined sales of tangible personal property for delivery in California by you and all persons related to you exceeding $500,000 during the preceding or current calendar year.
As stated above, on and after April 1, 2019, you are considered engaged in business in California if, in the preceding or current calendar year, you have total combined sales of tangible personal property for delivery in California by you and all persons related to you exceeding $500,000. Please see our online tax guide, Use Tax Collection Requirements Based on Sales into California Due to the Wayfair Decision, for more information.
If you are an out-of-state retailer that is not engaged in business in California, you may voluntarily register your business and collect, report, and pay use tax for your customers in this state.
For more information on out-of-state retailers and what it means to be “engaged in business” in California, see our Tax Guide for Out-of-State Retailers.
Below are common situations you may encounter, along with information about the proper way to allocate your sales.
Stock of Goods (Inventory) in California
As an out-of-state retailer engaged in business in California, you may be shipping property from a dedicated, non-commingled stock of goods (inventory) in a third-party fulfillment center or warehouse located in California. This stock of goods is considered a place of business. When you or the third-party fulfillment center makes shipments from this location to a California customer and title to the property passes to the customer in California, the transaction is subject to sales tax, and the sales transaction will be allocated to the jurisdiction where the stock of goods is located, if no other location of yours participates in the sale.
For more information about Internet retailers that utilize a fulfillment center, please see our online guide, Fulfillment Centers.
Sales Negotiated and Shipped from Outside California
When you negotiate sales and ship property from outside California and title to the property passes to the purchaser outside of California, the transaction is subject to use tax and local use tax is allocated to the jurisdiction where the property is shipped, through the countywide pool.
Example:
You are a registered out-of-state retailer who takes orders online and ships property from a warehouse located outside of California to your California customers. Title passes out of state. You make a taxable sale of $1,300 and ship the property to your customer in Los Angeles County, and another taxable sale of $2,000 that you ship to your customer in Orange County.
The transactions are subject to use tax. When you file your sales and use tax return, you will allocate $1,300 of your sales through the countywide pool of Los Angeles County and $2,000 through the countywide pool of Orange County.
Sales Negotiated in California and Shipped from Out-of-State Stock of Goods (Inventory)
If you negotiate sales at your registered place of business in California and property is shipped from inventory located outside California, the transactions are subject to use tax if title passes to the purchaser outside California (for example, the shipping terms are freight on board [FOB] shipping point). Local use tax is allocated to the jurisdiction where the property is shipped through the countywide pool.
Example:
You are an out-of-state retailer with sales representatives taking orders in California. Your sales representative that works out of your permitted location in the city of Huntington Beach took an order in the amount of $20,000. The taxable property was shipped from your inventory located out-of-state to Huntington Beach. Title passed outside California.
The transaction is subject to use tax. When you file your sales and use tax return, you will allocate sales in the amount of $20,000 to the countywide pool for Orange County.
Example:
Assume the same facts given in the example above, except that the shipping terms of the property were FOB destination. Therefore, title to the property passed to your customer in California upon receipt of the property.
The transaction is subject to sales tax. The place of sale is the location out of which your sales representative works, in the city of Huntington Beach. You will allocate your sales in the amount of $20,000 directly to the city of Huntington Beach.
Sales or Purchases of $500,000 or More Subject to Use Tax
Generally, if you are an out-of-state retailer engaged in business in California and make a sale to a California consumer of $500,000 or more, you must collect the use tax and report and pay it directly to the local jurisdiction in which the first functional use of the property occurs rather than through the countywide pool. This applies to use tax only and not to sales tax transactions.
People who self-report or retailers who purchase tangible personal property of $500,000 or more per transaction from sellers who are not required to collect the tax must report the local use tax to the jurisdiction where the property is first functionally used.
Holders of a Use Tax Direct Payment Permit may issue a use tax direct payment exemption certificate to any registered retailer or seller from whom they make purchases that are subject to use tax. Subsequently, holders must self-assess and report the use tax due on the purchase(s) for which the certificate was issued. Use tax transactions will be allocated directly to the local jurisdiction in which the first functional use of the tangible personal property occurs, rather than through the countywide pooling process.
Construction Contractors
As a construction contractor, the place of sale and place of use for property sold or used during the performance of your construction contract is your jobsite.
Materials
Generally, construction contractors are considered the consumer of materials furnished and installed during the performance of a construction contract. The place of use of the materials is the jobsite. Although less common, if a construction contractor is regarded as the retailer of materials and has a valid seller's permit, sales for materials installed and furnished at the jobsite will be allocated through the countywide pool of the county where the jobsite is located.
Purchase of Commingled Materials
A construction contractor that purchases a commingled lot of materials (that is, a portion of which it will consume and a portion of which it will sell at retail) may only issue a resale certificate when they intend to resell a significant portion of the materials and, at the time of purchase, they do not know which items will be consumed and which will be resold. However, a contractor may not issue a resale certificate with respect to the entire lot of materials if, at the time of purchase, the contractor knows that certain materials will be consumed in the performance of a construction contract.
(If the contractor has paid sales tax on materials that they end up selling at retail, then the contractor may claim a tax-paid purchases resold deduction on their sales and use tax returns to offset the sales tax reimbursement previously paid to their vendor.)
Materials Purchased for Resale and Consumed
When a construction contractor properly purchases materials using a resale certificate but removes the materials from their resale inventory and consumes them during the performance of a construction contract, they owe use tax measured by the purchase price of the materials. They will report the purchase price of the materials on line 2 of their sales and use tax return and allocate the use tax through the countywide pool of the county where the jobsite is located.
A contractor improperly purchases materials using a resale certificate when, for instance, they purchase certain materials they intend to consume or purchase a lot of materials of which they do not intend to resell a significant portion. If the sale to the contractor was subject to sales tax, the contractor must report the sales tax on their sales and use tax return for the period in which the property was purchased and allocate the local tax to the jurisdiction where the sale occurred.
Example:
You are a construction contractor. You purchase materials from a vendor with a single business location in the city of Bakersfield and furnish and install the materials during the performance of construction contract at a jobsite located in the city of Fresno. You also make some retail sales of materials. The percentage of materials you purchased for resale is less than 1% of the total materials purchased. You issue a resale certificate to your California vendor for all materials you purchase. You report and pay use tax for materials consumed at your jobsite locations on line 2 of your sales and use tax return and allocate the purchase of materials through the countywide pool of the county where your jobsite is located; Fresno County.
Based on the amount of materials you purchased for resale, your use of a resale certificate was improper. Since the resale certificate was improperly issued, you owe sales tax which should have been directly allocated to the city of Bakersfield, where the sale occurred. You should file amended sales and use tax returns to report the tax during the period in which the materials were purchased and reallocate the tax to the city of Bakersfield.
Fixtures
When you make retail sales of fixtures pursuant to a construction contract, you are required to hold a valid seller's permit. The place of sale is the jobsite. Since the jobsite is usually not a registered place of business, as a construction contractor you will allocate sales of fixtures through the countywide pool of the county where the jobsite is located.
Example:
You make taxable sales of fixtures in the amount of $8,400 during the performance of your construction contract. Your jobsite is located in the city of La Habra in Orange County.
The place of sale for the fixtures you sold is your jobsite location in the city of La Habra. When you file your sales and use tax return, you will allocate $8,400 of your sales through the Orange County countywide pool.
Note: If the fixtures were acquired tax-paid and you bill your contracts lump-sum or time and materials, an allocation of local tax would not be required as your vendor would make the necessary local tax allocation when they file their sales and use tax returns.
Machinery and Equipment
Sales of machinery and equipment, subject to sales tax that are sold pursuant to a construction contract should be allocated to your permanent place of business where the principal negotiations of the contract take place. If you are an out-of-state construction contractor making a sale of machinery and equipment to a California customer subject to use tax, you should allocate your sales through the countywide pool to the jurisdiction of use.
Example:
During the performance of a construction contract, you make taxable sales of machinery and equipment in California in the amount $18,000. Your jobsite is located in the city of Fremont and your permanent place of business where the sales are negotiated is located in the city of Vallejo.
When you file your sales and use tax return, you will allocate $18,000 of your sales to the city of Vallejo, where your permanent place of business is located.
Construction Contracts over $5,000,000
A construction contractor who enters into a construction contract equal to or greater than $5,000,000 may elect to obtain a sub-permit for the jobsite of the qualifying contract enabling the contractor to make a direct allocation of tax to the local jurisdiction in which the jobsite is located rather than through the countywide pool. The qualifying contract price applies to each contract or subcontract for work performed at the jobsite, not the total value of the prime contract.
Example:
You are a construction contractor performing a contract valued over $5,000,000 in the city of Long Beach. Your contract includes fixtures and materials. Your materials supplier is located outside California and it did not charge you tax. Your fixtures are purchased for resale from a California vendor. You elected to obtain a sub-permit for your jobsite.
Since you have obtained a sub-permit for your specific jobsite, you will allocate your sales of fixtures and purchases of materials that you consumed directly to the city of Long Beach.
For more information about construction contracts, please see publication 9, Construction and Building Contractors.
Leases of Tangible Personal Property (Not Including Vehicles, Vessels, and Aircraft and Mobile Transportation Equipment)
Unless you have made a timely election to pay tax on the purchase price of property leased in substantially the same form as acquired, you will collect, report, and pay tax based on your rental receipts.
Generally, the tax on leases of tangible personal property is use tax. Use tax on rental receipts should be allocated through the countywide pool of the county where the leased property is used.
If you are a lessor with a single permanent place of business and make short-term leases of tangible personal property, the place of use is the local jurisdiction where your business is located. You will allocate sales for your leases directly to your business location.
For information about leases, see publication 46, Leasing Tangible Personal Property.
Note: Mobile transportation equipment (MTE) includes rail cars, locomotives, truck tractors and trailers, ships, reusable shipping containers, and airplanes. The law considers lessors of MTE to be consumers of the equipment. Therefore, unless a timely election to pay tax on rental receipts is made, tax is due on the purchase price of the MTE. For a complete listing of MTE, please see Regulation 1661, Leases of Mobile Transportation Equipment.
Long-Term Leases of New Passenger Motor Vehicles
There are certain rules for allocating sales of long-term leases (exceeding four months) of passenger motor vehicles, and certain types of mobile transportation equipment.
The following chart provides general local tax allocation guidelines for motor vehicle leases (excluding one-way rental trucks):
| Type of Lessor | Type of Transaction | 1% Local Tax Allocation to: | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leases Exceeding Four Months | Leases of Four Months or Less | ||
| California New Motor Vehicle Dealer/Lessor | Lease of motor vehicle* | Dealer/Lessor's sales location | Dealer/Lessor's sales location |
| California Leasing Company (as defined)** | Lessor's place of business | Lessor's place of business | |
| California Lessor (other than a new motor vehicle dealer or leasing company as defined)** | Lease of a motor vehicle* purchased from a California new motor vehicle dealer | Dealer/Lessor's place of business (Schedule F) | |
| Lease of a motor vehicle* purchased from someone other than a California new motor vehicle dealer | Lessee's place of registration (Schedule B) | ||
| Lease of MTE*** purchased from a California new motor vehicle dealer (except new pickup trucks rated less than one ton) | Lessor's place of business | ||
| Out-of-State Lessor: | Lease of a motor vehicle* purchased from a California new motor vehicle dealer | California Dealer's place of business (Schedule F) | Lessee's place of registration (Schedule B) |
| Lease of a motor vehicle* and MTE*** purchased from someone other than a California vehicle dealer | Lessee's place of registration (Schedule B) | ||
- Motor Vehicle means any (new or used) self-propelled passenger vehicle (other than a house car) or pickup truck rated less than one ton.
- Leasing company means a motor vehicle dealer/lessor that originates lease contracts and does not sell or assign the lease contracts and that has annual motor vehicle lease receipts of $15 million or more annually for each business location.
- Mobile transportation equipment (MTE) includes rail cars, locomotives, truck tractors and trailers, ships, reusable shipping containers, and airplanes. The law considers lessors of MTE to be consumers of the equipment. Therefore, unless a timely election to pay tax on rental receipts is made, tax is due on the purchase price of the MTE. For a complete listing of MTE, please see Regulation 1661, Leases of Mobile Transportation Equipment.
Temporary Sellers
If you are selling items at a location for less than 90 days, you are considered a temporary seller, and are required to hold a temporary seller's permit. You will need to register each temporary sales location. On the other hand, if you already hold a seller's permit for a permanent place of business but also make sales at a temporary location(s), you do not need to register for a separate temporary seller's permit. Instead, using your current seller's permit number you must register for a sub-permit for each of your temporary locations.
Common types of temporary seller's include sellers of:
- Fireworks
- Property sold at garage sales
- Christmas trees
- Property sold through Internet auctions
- Crafts
- Property sold at conventions, trade shows, swap meets, flea markets or other special events
As a temporary seller, the place of sale is the temporary location where the event takes place. You will allocate your sales directly to that local jurisdiction.
Example:
You are a retailer with a permanent seller's permit and place of business in the city of Santa Ana. In addition to making retail sales at your permanent place of business, you attended two craft fairs in the cities of Irvine and Newport Beach. Because you already hold a seller's permit for your Santa Ana business and make sales at temporary sales locations, you will need to obtain sub-permits for the Irvine and Newport Beach locations. Taxable sales made at your business location in the city of Santa Ana were $9,000. Taxable sales made at the craft fairs in the cities of Irvine and Newport Beach were $2,000 and $1,200, respectively.
When you file your sales and use tax return, you will allocate your sales as follows:
- $9,000 of your sales will be allocated to the city of Santa Ana for sales made at your permanent business location.
- $2,000 of your sales will be allocated to the city of Irvine for sales made at that temporary location.
- $1,200 of your sales will be allocated to the city of Newport Beach for sales made at that temporary location.
Caterers
As a caterer, your sales are generally subject to sales tax. Even though you might travel throughout various local jurisdictions, you will allocate sales directly to your business location where sales are negotiated and catering orders are taken.
If you operate your catering business from a single retail location, you will allocate sales to that location. If you have multiple retail locations where sales are negotiated and catering orders are taken, sales will be allocated to the place where the principal negotiations take place.
Example:
You are a caterer with a retail location in the city of Brea. Customers place orders over the phone or at your business location. Your taxable sales are $57,000.
Sales in the amount of $57,000 will be allocated to the city of Brea where your business is located and the place where the principal negotiations take place.
Example:
You are a caterer that performs catering food and services throughout Alameda, San Mateo, and Contra Costa Counties. You have a permanent place of business in the city of Hayward and in the city of Antioch. Taxable sales negotiated at your place of business in the city of Hayward are $30,000. Taxable sales negotiated at your place of business in the city of Antioch are $27,000.
When you file your sales and use tax return, you will allocate $30,000 of your sales to the city of Hayward and $27,000 to the city of Antioch.
If you are a caterer, our Tax Guide for Caterers may also be a helpful resource.
Itinerant Merchants
An itinerant merchant is a retailer with no permanent place of business similar to a door-to-door salesperson.
It may be hard to keep track of each location where sales are made. Therefore, itinerant merchants should allocate sales to the county in which their permanent address as shown on their seller's permit, is located (this may include a home address).
Mobile Food Vendors
A mobile food vendor is a retailer who sells food or drinks from a truck, stand, or wheeled cart with no fixed, physical location. Because a mobile food vendor could be at multiple locations throughout the day, it can be hard or not possible to keep track of every city a mobile food vendor makes sales.
As a mobile food vendor, you are allowed to allocate sales through the countywide pool.
Example:
You operate a food truck throughout Sacramento, El Dorado, and Placer Counties. Taxable sales were made as follows:
Sacramento County:
El Dorado County:
Placer County:
You will allocate your sales through the countywide pool for each local jurisdiction based on the county where your taxable sales occurred. Sales will be allocated to each county pool as follows:
| Countywide Pool | Allocation of Sales |
|---|---|
| Sacramento County | $3,650 |
| El Dorado County | $3,120 |
| Placer County | $3,840 |
For more information about Mobile Food Vendors, see our Mobile Food Vendors tax guide.
Auctioneers
How local tax is allocated by auctioneers depends on where the auction is held and the amount of taxable auction sales per event.
If you are an auctioneer making retail sales in California, the place of sale is the place where the auction is held. If the auction is held at a location other than your registered place of business, you will allocate sales following these guidelines:
- Taxable auction sales totaling $500,000 or more per event: you will allocate sales directly to the local jurisdiction where the auction occurs.
- Taxable auction sales totaling less than $500,000 per event: you will allocate sales to the local jurisdictions within the county where the auction occurs through the countywide pool. Each local jurisdiction will receive a prorated amount of the local sales tax.
Example:
You hold regular auctions at your registered place of business in the city of Anaheim. Your taxable sales for auctions held at your business location are $600,000. You also made taxable sales at an auction in the city of Fullerton where you do not have a registered place of business. Your taxable sales made in the city of Fullerton are $250,000.
The place of sale for sales made at your registered place of business is your business location. When you file your sales and use tax return, you will allocate sales in the amount of $600,000 directly to the city of Anaheim.
Since your sales made at an auction in the city of Fullerton were less than $500,000, the place of sale is the local jurisdictions within the county where the auction occurred. When you file your sales and use tax return, you will allocate sales in the amount of $250,000 to the countywide pool for Orange County.
Vehicles, Vessels, and Aircraft
Special rules and reporting requirements apply to motor vehicles, vessels, and aircraft.
The following resources contain additional local tax information you may find helpful:
Jet Fuel
For periods after January 1, 2008, the place of sale for jet fuel is the place at which the retail sale of that jet fuel is consummated.
For sales and use tax purposes, the sale of jet fuel is considered consummated at the point of the delivery of that jet fuel to the aircraft. For more information about sales of jet fuel, see our webpage, Aircraft Jet Fuel.
Reporting Your Local Tax
There are various schedules available to allocate local tax.
The schedule you use depends upon the description you provide about your business activities. The most common schedules used are CDTFA-530-C, Schedule C – Detailed Allocation by Location of Sales and Use Tax Transactions, which is used to allocate sales directly to a local jurisdiction, and CDTFA-531-B, Schedule B-Detailed Allocation by County of Sales and Use Tax Transactions, which is used to allocate sales for certain sellers through the countywide pool. Below you will find information about Schedules C and B, along with additional schedules used to allocate local tax. Sometimes you may need to use a combination of schedules to allocate your local tax.
Schedule C – Detailed Allocation by Location of Sales and Use Tax Transactions
This schedule is used to allocate sales among cities, towns, unincorporated areas, or counties (or occasionally a combination thereof) in which you have business locations or sub-outlets. Schedule C allows you to allocate sales to your place(s) of business or multiple business locations.
Schedule B – Detailed Allocation by County of Sales and Use Tax Transactions
The following businesses generally allocate sales through the countywide pool:
- Certain auctioneers (taxable auction sales totaling less than $500,000 per event)
- Certain out-of-state retailers who have been authorized by CDTFA to operate under section 6015
- Section 6015 retailers may include a business that uses salespersons, representatives, peddlers, canvassers, agents, or other persons who operate under the direction of or obtain property from the business located outside California.
- Vending machine operators
- Out-of-state sellers engaged in business in California
- Out-of-state sellers not engaged in business in California
- Construction contractors who:
- Purchase materials without tax from an out-of-state vendor and are the consumer of materials used in the performance of a construction contract, or
- Purchase materials under a resale certificate because they are a retailer of materials and also withdrawal materials from resale inventory (consumable materials and materials purchased for resale are commingled) in the performance of a construct contract, or
- Make retail sales of fixtures during the performance of a construction contract.
- People making ex-tax purchases for use at locations where a seller's permit is not required
- Mobile truck vendors
- Itinerant merchants – retailers with no permanent place of business should allocate sales to the permanent business location as shown on their seller's permit (this may include permanent location as shown on their seller's permit (this may include a home address).
- Itinerant veteran vendors – itinerant veteran vendors are considered the consumer of property owned and sold. They are allowed to allocate local use tax on Schedule B. However, itinerant veteran vendors making sales of alcoholic beverages or items sold for more than $100 are considered a retailer and must allocate local sales tax directly to a local jurisdiction using Schedule C.
Additional Schedules
Additional schedules are listed below. Instructions are found on the back of each form.
CDTFA-531-F is used by lessors of motor vehicles to allocate local tax due on certain leases to the local jurisdiction of the new motor vehicle dealer from whom the lessor acquired the leased vehicle.
CDTFA 531-H is used by various industries, such as auctioneers with sales over $500,000 or people making sales or purchases over $500,000, to allocate the local sales and use tax to the proper jurisdiction.
CDTFA-531- X is used to allocate the partial exemption credit for sales to or purchases for use by aircraft common carriers, as described in Regulation 1805.
CDTFA 531-P, Schedule P – Tax Paid to Other State(s):
CDTFA-531-P is used to calculate the credit for the tax paid to other state(s). The credit offsets the tax due for the corresponding state, county, local, and special taxing jurisdictions where the purchase was consumed. Each purchase claiming this credit must be entered separately on this schedule.
CDTFA 531-Q, Schedule Q – Tax Recovery:
CDTFA-531-Q is used to claim a tax recovery for prior period(s). Amounts claimed on CDTFA-531-Q may only consist of tax recovery items where the original taxable sale was in a prior period and the tax recovery is in the current period. If you have tax recovery items that should have been claimed in a prior period, you will need to amend the prior period return or file a claim for refund for those transactions rather than claiming them in the current period.
Local Jurisdictions
If you represent a city, county, city and county, or special tax district, the following will help you understand the local tax allocation process.
Additional information is available on our Tax Guide for Local Jurisdictions and Districts webpage. Procedures for jurisdictions to review CDTFA records and CDTFA review of local and district tax reallocation petitions are available in the Compliance Policy and Procedures Manual Chapter 9, Miscellaneous.