Taxes and fees
23 upcoming changes, soonest first.
October 2026 1
IRS raises the fee for an estate tax closing letter from $56 to $76
The user fee for asking the IRS for an estate tax closing letter, Letter 627, goes up from $56 to $76.
November 2026 2
Surface Transportation Board raises 87 of its 135 filing fees
The Surface Transportation Board raises 87 of the 135 fees it charges to file cases and pleadings, and keeps the other 48 the same.
EB-5 immigrant investor filing fees rise about 71 percent on average
New fees include $7,615 for a standalone investor petition, $7,850 for a regional center investor petition, $5,000 to remove conditions on residence and $44,115 to seek regional center designation. Integrity Fund fees rise 10 percent, and filings postmarked from the start date must pay the new fees.
December 2026 1
IRS sets rules for the new federal tax credit for scholarship donations
States that opt in must certify eligible scholarship granting organizations, and those groups must give each donor a yearly written acknowledgement and report qualified donations to the IRS.
January 2027 17
California sales tax will apply to downloaded and cloud-based software
Sales tax extends to prewritten software downloaded or used remotely, not just software on a disk, but not music, video, books or games. For three tax years, new LLCs and partnerships owe $400, not $800, their first year, and the $5 million credit cap stays.
California's 20 percent historic building tax credit is renewed for five more years
The state's 20 percent income tax credit for rehabilitating certified historic buildings is renewed for five more tax years and now capped at $5 million per taxpayer. The 25 percent bonus rate and the historic home credit are dropped, and the Legislature sets the yearly total.
Contra Costa can ask voters for a transportation sales tax above the state cap
The Contra Costa Transportation Authority may ask voters to approve a sales tax of up to 1% for countywide transportation, even if it pushes the county's combined local rate past the usual 2% cap. The tax needs voter approval.
Counties can charge more to register pest control businesses and pilots
The cap on a county's yearly registration fee for a pest control business rises from $25 to $75 in its home county, with up to $50 in each additional county. Caps for pest control pilots and advisers rise from $10 to $55, then step up to $75 over two years.
County recording fees rise to $15 for the first page and $4 for each added page
The county fee to record a document goes from $10 to $15 for the first page and from $3 to $4 for each added page. Extra fees for nonstandard spacing or page size, and $1 fees for added names and references, are dropped.
Fees to consultants for local sales tax sharing deals are capped at $250,000 or 5%
Consultants paid for arranging a local sales tax sharing agreement can't receive more than 5% of the shared tax revenue or $250,000, whichever is lower. Agency staff and unpaid technical advisers are excluded, and only agreements made on or after the start date count.
Food bank donation tax credit runs five more tax years
The 15% state tax credit for farmers, packers and processors, but not retailers, who donate produce and certain other foods to California food banks now runs five more tax years. The Emergency Food for Families donation line also stays on state income tax returns.
Indian tribes get the same powers as cities over short-term rental platforms and lodging tax
Indian tribes that impose a transient occupancy tax by tribal law can use the same powers local agencies have over short-term rental platforms: requiring rental address reports, listing of tax certificates, and audits of tax the platforms collect.
Local news outlets get a refundable state tax credit for each in-state journalist
Local news outlets can claim a refundable credit of $20,000 per full-time California journalist for up to five, $15,000 for each one beyond that and $7,500 per part-timer, plus $15,000 more for each new position. Nonprofit outlets can claim it too.
New California LLCs pay $400 instead of $800 in annual tax for their first year
Limited liability companies doing business in California pay a $400 annual tax for their first taxable year instead of $800, for taxable years that begin over a three-year span. The law also extends the CalCompetes jobs tax credit by five years.
Old state tax penalties and interest expire with the tax debt they belong to
Interest, penalties, costs and fees tied to a state income or corporate tax bill no longer count as separate tax debts. The Franchise Tax Board's 20-year collection window for them now closes at the same time as the window for the tax itself.
Property tax valuation rule for pipeline rights-of-way extended five more years
A rule that presumes county assessors' values for intercounty pipeline rights-of-way are correct, when set by a fixed base-year method, was due to end and now runs five more tax years.
Recycling fee on boxed wine and spirits capped at 12 cents per container
The state recycling processing fee on bag-in-box wine and spirits containers is capped at 12 cents per container. Producers who paid the fee at the old rate may get a credit against upcoming fees, and the state may cover any shortfall in recycler payments.
San Diego transit sales tax may go on the ballot by voter initiative
A San Diego Metropolitan Transit System sales tax of up to 0.5 percent, which the transit board alone placed on the ballot, may now also be put there by voter initiative. That tax no longer counts toward the county's 2 percent combined cap.
Special needs trusts count for parent-child home transfers that avoid property tax reassessment
A court-approved special needs trust now counts as a valid way to pass a home or family farm from parent to child, or in some cases grandparent to grandchild, under the exclusion that keeps the property from being reassessed.
State income tax return adds a donation line for spinal cord injury research
Individual taxpayers can give extra money through their state income tax return to a new California Spinal Cord Injury Research fund. The line is dropped early if yearly donations fall below a set minimum.
State income tax returns get a checkoff for donations to a sea otter fund
Individuals can donate part of a refund, or extra money, to a new California Sea Otter Voluntary Tax Contribution Fund on their state income tax return. The checkoff runs for a set number of years and ends early if donations fall short.
July 2027 1
New state tax credit for film and TV post-production done in California
Productions doing editing, sound, effects or music scoring in California can get a tax credit of 35% of qualifying costs, more for work outside the Los Angeles area or for shooting at least half in the state. The yearly total is whatever the Legislature sets in each budget, plus unused credits.
January 2028 1
Hemp concentrates count as cannabis, and sellers of presumed cannabis products owe excise tax
Anyone selling a product presumed to be cannabis, such as an unlicensed cannabinoid product not shown to meet hemp rules, owes cannabis excise tax plus a penalty of at least $500. Hemp concentrates count as cannabis concentrate, and the licensed market's temporary hemp ban ends.