Trouble Paying Taxes?

• My return is due but I can't pay.
  You should file all past due returns, even if you can't pay.
• I received a bill but can't pay the entire amount due.
  Pay as much as you can after receiving a bill to avoid paying additional interest.
• Use these options to pay:
  • Online Payment
  • Credit Card
• How to claim a refund while making payments?
  If you are making payments and believe you do not owe the amount due or believe you have been overcharged, you must file a separate claim for refund (CDTFA-101, Claim for Refund) for each individual payment. The deadline to make a claim is six months from the date of each payment. For more information, see publication 17, Appeals Procedures and publication 117, Filing a Claim for Refund.

Contact us as soon as possible. We want to help you avoid penalty, interest, fees and other collection actions.

The further you get behind on your payments, the harder it may be to catch up. Keeping up on your payments benefits you and your business

Filing your return and paying in full saves you money by avoiding:

Penalty and Interest

There is a 10 percent penalty for not filing your return or paying your full tax or fee payment on time.

Penalties are subject to:

• A 10 percent penalty if you do not file your tax return by its due date.
• A 10 percent penalty if your tax payment is late.

If you file a late return and make a late payment, your penalty will not exceed 10 percent of the amount of tax due for the reporting period.

Note: Alcoholic beverage tax accounts accrue a $50 penalty for failing to file a timely return, or a 10 percent penalty for failing to pay the tax by the due date. If both the return and payment are received late, a 10 percent or $100 penalty, whichever is greater, will apply.

Note: Timber yield tax accounts accrue a $100 penalty for failing to file a timely return, or a 10 percent penalty for failing to pay the tax by the due date. If both the return and payment are received late, a 10 percent or $100 penalty, whichever is greater, will apply.

Note: Hazardous Waste accounts — For payments and returns due on and after November 30, 2024, we will assess escalating penalties from 10 percent–100 percent if you do not file your return timely and pay the generation and handling fee timely, including your prepayment. See our Hazardous Substances (Waste) Fee Guide for information on escalating penalties.

Interest begins accruing as soon as you are late on a payment. You may avoid interest charges by paying as much as you can, as soon as you can. For more information see publication 75, Interest, Penalties, and Collection Cost Recovery fees.

Fees

We may assess a collection cost recovery fee on past due liabilities. You may avoid the collection cost recovery fee by entering a payment plan as soon as possible. For more information, visit our Collection Cost Recovery Fee page.

If we don't hear from you, we will contact you in one or more of the following ways: written notification, telephone call, in-person visit. If you do not work with us to pay the amount due, we will take collection action. This may result in additional fees.

Some examples of collection actions are:

• Levy your property, bank account, salary or wages
• Lien your property
• Revoke (suspend) your seller's permit. Operating without a seller's permit is illegal
• Revoke (suspend) other licenses issued by CDTFA. (for example: Cigarette and Tobacco Products Retailers, Wholesalers or Distributor's License)
• Revoke (suspend) other licenses (for example: California Driver License, Construction Contractors License)

Find out more about these and other actions the CDTFA may take if you don't resolve your debt in publication 54, Tax Collection Procedures.

If you cannot pay your total past due amount now, you can request a payment plan and pay down your balance over time. This could potentially save you from additional penalties and interest. For more information visit our Payment Plan page.

Before you apply you will need to:

• Have a billed amount due that is past due,
• File all required tax or fee returns,
• Have your checking or savings account number ready,
• Have your most recent Statement of Account or Payment Voucher and,
• Have a CDTFA online services username and password.

To submit your request, visit our online services page to log in with your username and password and under the I Want To section, select Request a Payment Plan to begin your request. For more information, please see our Request a Payment Plan tutorial video.