Your California Company Formed By:
12:13:18 AM
Corporation
Friday
March 8th
LLC
Tuesday
February 19th
Starting a Business in California
The Basics
We have prepared a number of helpful tips and suggestions for those looking to form a California LLC or a California corporation. Prior to filing your articles or incorporation or articles of organization, we do a preliminary name search – which is included in our ordering process. This must be done because you can waste valuable time if you submit a filing for a company name that is not available. While a name reservation is not always necessary, we do preliminary name research prior to submitting any of our filings.
California Secretary of State
Document Filing Support Unit
P.O. Box 944228
Sacramento, CA 94244
Doing Business in California
Business Maintenance
All California Corporations and LLCs Must File:
- Articles of Incorporation
File your Articles of Incorporation or Articles of Organization with the California Secretary of State and pay the filing fee. California state processing can take up to 2 months, so you may want to consider expedited processing. We do offer expedited filings in California which are typically completed within 10 business days.
- Initial Statement of Information
California corporations and LLCs must file the Initial Statement if Information within 90 days after formation. The initial fee is $25 for corporations or $20 for LLCs.
- Subsequent Statement of Information
California business entities, including corporations and LLCs, have to file additional Statements of Information to stay compliant. California corporations must file and pay the $25 fee every year. California LLCs pay $20 and file the statement every other year.
California Business Taxes
Personal Income Tax
The maximum California individual income tax rate is 12.3%.
Corporate Business Tax
The tax rate for California corporations is 8.84% on taxable income.
California Franchise Tax
The minimum tax is $800.
California Business License
California does not require a state business license. We do suggest using CalGold to find out which local licenses and permits you will need.