FTB Web Pay: 3522 + 3536
Most California LLCs make two payments a year before they ever file a return: the $800 annual tax in April and, if receipts are $250,000 or more, the fee estimate in June. Web Pay takes both online without a paper voucher. Here is what to select, what to pay, and what to keep.
Before you start
- Your LLC's California Secretary of State file number (and FEIN if you have one): this is how the FTB matches the payment to the entity.
- The tax year you are paying for.
- A US bank account (routing and account number). Web Pay debits it with no fee; card payments go through a third-party processor that charges one.
Payment 1: the $800 (Form 3522) — April 15
- Open FTB Web Pay for businesses and choose the LLC entity type.
- Select the payment type for the LLC annual tax / tax voucher (3522).
- Enter the tax year. The April payment is for the current year: the April 15, 2026 payment is 2026's tax, not 2025's.
- Enter $800, the debit date (on or before the due date), and submit.
A new LLC's first $800 is due by the 15th day of the 4th month after formation, whatever month that falls in. See 3522 vs 3536 for who owes what.
Payment 2: the fee estimate (Form 3536) — June 15
- Project the year's California total income (receipts plus cost of goods sold, as on Schedule IW).
- Find the tier: $900, $2,500, $6,000, or $11,790 (full table).
- In Web Pay choose the estimated fee (3536) payment type, the current tax year, and the amount.
Safe harbor: if your June 15 payment is at least last year's total fee, the 10% underpayment penalty can't apply, even if this year lands in a higher tier. The difference is then due with Form 568. For a growing LLC, paying last year's fee in June is the simplest way to stay penalty-free.
Worked example
An LLC paid a $900 fee for 2025 and expects about $620,000 of California receipts in 2026, which would put it in the $2,500 tier. Paying $900 by June 15, 2026 meets the safe harbor. When it files Form 568 in 2027, it pays the remaining $1,600 with no estimate penalty. If it instead paid nothing in June, the penalty would be 10% of $2,500: $250.
Record-keeping that survives an audit
After each Web Pay session, save the confirmation number, the payment date and amount, and a PDF of the confirmation screen: the FTB does not mail receipts. Name files like 2026-3522-800.pdf and 2026-3536-900.pdf and keep them with the Form 568 workpapers. When a payment is applied to the wrong year or entity (it happens), the confirmation number resolves it in one call. Generate a specimen voucher first in filing packets if you prefer to pay by mail.