Integrated Waste Management Fee Return – Solid Waste

General Information

We administer the California Integrated Waste Management Fee (Solid Waste and Wood Waste) program, and collect the fee in cooperation with California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) under the Public Resources Code (PRC) sections 40195.1 and 48000. The Integrated Waste Management (IWM) fee is imposed on operators of solid waste disposal facilities (landfills) who are required to have a solid waste facility permit issued by CalRecycle.

Note: Moving forward, solid waste disposal facilities will be referred to as only “disposal facilities.”

The IWM fee rate is charged on the amount of solid waste (including nonhazardous wood waste), measured by weight or volumetric equivalent, disposed of at a disposal site in California. The total tons of solid waste subject to the fee are multiplied by the fee rate to calculate the amount due.

Visit our Tax Rates — Special Taxes and Fees page to view current and historical fee rates. The IWM fee rate is set by statute (PRC section 48000).

Operators of solid waste landfills that pay the fee may charge their users an administrative fee of not more than five percent (5.00%) of the fees paid to us during the previous quarter.

Note: This set of online filing instructions is for operators of disposal facilities reporting all solid waste accepted at each disposal site. For operators of disposal facilities who accept nonhazardous wood waste exclusively and are required to have a solid waste facility permit, please refer to the Integrated Waste Management Fee Return — Wood Waste set of online filing instructions instead.

Filing Requirements

Every operator of a disposal facility who is required to have a disposal facility permit must file a CDTFA-501-SQ, Integrated Waste Management Fee Return — Solid Waste, reporting all solid waste disposed of at each disposal site for each reporting period. The return and payment are due on or before the 25th day of the calendar month following the reporting period. You may file your return and pay the fee online. You must file a return for each reporting period even if there is no reportable activity or no amount is due. You must retain a copy of the return on the business premises for our auditors to verify.

Penalty and Interest

The penalty for filing a late return and/or late payment is ten percent of the amount due for the period. Interest also applies to late payments for each month or fraction of a month that the payment is late. (Revenue and Taxation Code [RTC] section 45153)

Operations

Total tons of solid waste accepted during the quarter. Enter the total tons of solid waste accepted during this reporting period, including waste removed from the waste stream and not disposed of in a disposal facility. Do not include tonnage of clean soil that was not disposed.

Note: Solid waste means all putrescible and non-putrescible solid, semisolid, and liquid wastes, including garbage, trash, refuse, paper, rubbish, ashes, industrial wastes, demolition and construction wastes, abandoned vehicles and parts thereof, discarded home and industrial appliances, dewatered, treated, or chemically fixed sewage sludge which is not hazardous waste, manure, vegetable or animal solid and semisolid wastes, and other discarded solid and semisolid waste. (PRC section 40191)

Total tons of clean soil accepted and not disposed during the quarter. Enter the total tons of clean soil accepted and not disposed during this reporting period.

Note: Clean soil means soil that does not contain other materials or is below designated concentrations of contamination for other materials as allowed per California Water Code (WAT) section 13173.

Total operating days for the quarter. Enter the total number of days you operated during this reporting period.

Average tons of solid waste accepted per operating day. (The system will automatically calculate this field.)

Note: You may be exempt from the fee if you received, on a monthly average, less than five tons of solid waste per operating day.

Disposals

Total tons of solid waste accepted during the quarter. (The system automatically populated this field with the value that was entered on the previous Operations screen.)

Tons of waste removed from waste stream and reused, recycled, or composted off-site. Enter the total tons of waste removed from waste stream and sent off-site for reuse, recycling, or composting. Include amounts of waste composted in a separate unit at the same address. Do not include on-site beneficial reuse.

Total tons of waste removed from waste stream and used on-site for beneficial reuse. (The system will automatically calculate this field based on tons of waste reported for the fields below.)

Note: Beneficial reuse means the on-site use of solid waste in the construction and operation of a solid waste landfill as defined in California Code of Regulations, title 27, section 20686.

Tons of waste removed from waste stream for beneficial reuse on-site as alternative daily cover. Enter tons of waste removed from waste stream for beneficial reuse on-site as alternative daily cover.
Note: Alternative daily cover means any material used on-site as daily cover pursuant to California Code of Regulations, title 27, section 20690.
Tons of waste removed from waste stream for beneficial reuse on-site as alternative intermediate cover. Enter tons of waste removed from waste stream for beneficial reuse on-site as alternative intermediate cover.
Note: Alternative intermediate cover means any material used on-site as intermediate cover pursuant to California Code of Regulations, title 27, section 20700.
Tons of waste removed from waste stream and used on-site for other non-cover beneficial reuse purposes. Enter tons of waste removed from waste stream and used on-site for other non-cover beneficial reuse purposes.

Other waste removed from the waste stream and not disposed of in a disposal facility or otherwise exempt from the fee. Enter the total tons of other waste, which was removed from the waste stream and not disposed of in a disposal facility or otherwise exempt from the fee.

Explanation. Enter a required explanation of the other waste removed from the waste stream and not disposed of in a disposal facility or otherwise exempt from the fee, as reported in the field above.

Total tons of solid waste subject to the fee. The total tons of solid waste accepted less the total tons of waste reused, recycled, or composted off-site, waste reused beneficially on-site, and other waste. (The system will automatically calculate this field.)

Excess Fee Collected

Did you collect more fee than what is due (excess fee)?

If you have collected more integrated waste management fee than the amount due (excess fee) for this reporting period, select Yes and enter the amount of excess fee collected in the Excess fee collected field. (RTC section 45651.5)

If you did not over collect for this reporting period, select No.

Note: Collecting excess fee can occur in the following situations:

When the fee is computed on a transaction which is not subject to the fee.
When the fee is computed using a rate higher than the rate imposed by law.
When mathematical or clerical errors result in an overstatement of the fee on a billing.