Lancaster Business Filing Deadlines & Ongoing Requirements

Annual federal income tax return (extensions available via Form 7004 / 4868).

Free, one-time federal tax ID needed for tax filings, payroll and bank accounts.

Businesses holding property that has gone unclaimed — uncashed payroll or vendor checks, customer credits and refunds, unused gift cards, deposits — must report and turn it over to the state each year, after sending the owner a due diligence notice before the deadline. The annual report and payment are due October 31 for general property. California splits the filing: a preliminary report is due October 31 and the final remittance between June 1 and June 15. Which state's law applies depends on the owner's last known address, or the business's state of incorporation when there is none, so a business can owe reports to several states.

Fee: $20. Required to keep the entity in good standing.

A person or service with a physical California address to receive legal notices and service of process; listed with California Secretary of State.

Corporation franchise/income tax; $800 minimum franchise tax for LLCs and corporations.

Annual $800 minimum tax for LLCs (Form 3522), plus Form 568 / 100 / 100S return.

If personal information of residents of the state is acquired without authorization, notify affected residents within 30 days of discovering the breach and the Attorney General if more than 500 residents are affected (Cal. Civ. Code 1798.82 as amended effective January 1, 2026). This is an event-driven duty, so it has no calendar date. Sources in the PR describe the state's rule in different words; check the statute for the exact trigger and content of the notice.

California business property statements (Form 571-L) are due April 1 and a 10% penalty applies if not filed by May 7. This is the Business Property Statement; businesses with $100,000 or more of taxable property must file even without a request.

Every California city levies a business license tax; unincorporated areas use the county. Fictitious names are filed with the county clerk.

The commercial space must be approved for its intended use before operating.

A business license is mandatory for anyone conducting business within city limits; renewals can be filed online.

Withheld income tax, Social Security and Medicare, plus employer share, via EFTPS.

Quarterly reconciliation of wages and payroll taxes.

Annual FUTA return and payment.

Wage statements to employees and transmittal to the SSA.

Employment eligibility verification, retained for 3 years after hire or 1 year after termination.

Employers must post the FLSA minimum wage, FMLA (50+ employees), EEO, OSHA, USERRA and related notices in a conspicuous place.

Employer account for state unemployment insurance contributions.

Withhold state income tax from wages and remit on the assigned deposit schedule; file annual reconciliation and W-2s.

Quarterly wage report and contribution payment. California taxes the first $7,000 of each employee's wages (2026); new employers pay 3.4%, and experience-rated rates range from 1.5% to 6.2%.

Federal law requires reporting each new hire within 20 days of hire (some states require sooner).

Required at: 1 employee.

Employers withhold SDI from wages and report it with the quarterly payroll return (DE 9).

Employers with at least one W-2 employee that do not offer a qualified plan must register and enroll eligible employees, or certify an exemption. The 1 to 4 employee deadline was December 31, 2025; a secondary source says employers that first have an employee in 2026 have until December 31, 2026. Penalty reported as $250 per eligible employee after 90 days of noncompliance, and another $500 after 180 days.

California requires employers with 1+ employees to provide paid sick leave, post notice and keep records.

State minimum wage, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation and anti-discrimination notices must be posted where employees can see them.

Employers with five or more employees must give supervisors two hours and other employees one hour of harassment prevention training every two years, and to new hires within six months of hire or promotion to supervisor (Government Code 12950.1).

Employers with more than 10 employees keep Forms 300 and 301 for work-related injuries and illnesses, and post the Form 300A summary for the previous year at each establishment from February 1 through April 30. Records are kept five years. Report a work-related fatality within 8 hours and an inpatient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours.

Applicable large employers (50 or more full-time employees, counting part-time hours as full-time equivalents) give each full-time employee a Form 1095-C. The January 31 deadline is extended automatically by 30 days, to March 2 in most years (March 1 for the 2026 forms).

The transmittal Form 1094-C and each Form 1095-C are due to the IRS at the end of February on paper or March 31 electronically; employers filing 10 or more information returns in total must file electronically. Penalties apply per late or incorrect form.

Private employers with 100 or more employees file annually through the EEOC's online system; federal contractors with 50 or more employees and certain contracts have also filed. The EEOC sets each year's window (the 2024 report was due June 24, 2025, with no extensions), so check its data collections page.

Establishments with 250 or more employees submit their Form 300A summary through OSHA's Injury Tracking Application by March 2. Establishments with 20 to 249 employees in designated higher-hazard industries must also submit the summary, and those with 100 or more in the most hazardous industries submit Forms 300 and 301 data.

Tiered annual fee for LLCs with California-source gross receipts of $250,000 or more.

Quarterly estimated payments by owners on business income (Form 1040-ES), including self-employment tax.

Under the Freelance Worker Protection Act (SB 988, from January 1, 2025), hiring a single-person freelancer for $250 or more, counting contracts in the previous 120 days, requires a written contract itemizing the services, their value and the rate and method of pay, with the parties' names and mailing addresses and the payment date. Give the freelancer a signed copy and keep it four years; pay by the contract date or within 30 days of completing the work. Retaliation is prohibited. Damages are in Business and Professions Code section 18100 and following.

California presumes a worker is an employee unless the business shows all three prongs of the ABC test: the worker is free from its control, does work outside its usual course of business, and is customarily engaged in an independent business (Labor Code section 2775, AB 5), with exemptions for some occupations. Misclassification means back wages, payroll taxes, unemployment and disability contributions and penalties.

Required for each non-employee paid $2,000 or more in the year (payments made after 2025).

Required before making taxable sales; register with the state tax agency.

Collect sales tax from customers and remit on the filing frequency assigned by the state. Local sales taxes are collected and remitted on the same state return; the rate depends on the delivery location.

Home-based businesses need a home occupation permit and must comply with zoning limits (signage, customers, employees).

California registers sole proprietors' and partnerships' assumed names at the county level, in each county where business is conducted.