Form FTB 3536, Estimated Fee for LLCs – California

FTB 3536, Estimated Fee for LLCs, is the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) form a limited liability company (LLC) uses to remit the estimated fee it expects to owe for the current taxable year, with a check or money order, by the estimated fee due date.

The LLC must estimate the fee it will owe for the taxable year and make an estimated fee payment by the 15th day of the 6th month of the current taxable year. For a calendar-year LLC filing for 2026, that date is June 15, 2026. The same form can also be used to pay, by the due date of the LLC's return, any part of the LLC fee that was not paid as a timely estimated fee payment.

The amount of payment is the amount you expect to enter on the LLC's 2026 Form 568, Limited Liability Company Return of Income, Side 1, line 2, Limited Liability Company fee. Because the fee may not be known by the due date, the instructions allow you to estimate it with the prior-year Schedule IW, LLC Income Worksheet, from the 2025 Form 568 Limited Liability Company Tax Booklet, using the income expected for 2026.

FTB 3536 is not the form for the annual LLC tax. The form itself says not to use it for that payment; use the 2026 form FTB 3522, LLC Tax Voucher, instead.

An LLC that owes an estimated fee for the taxable year completes FTB 3536 and mails it with its payment. If the LLC does not owe a fee, the instructions say not to complete or mail the form.

Do not use FTB 3536 in these situations:

• You are paying the 2026 annual LLC tax. Use form FTB 3522, LLC Tax Voucher.
• You pay the estimated fee electronically. If you pay with Web Pay or by credit card, do not file the form.
• The amount of payment is zero. The form says not to mail it.
• The LLC's taxable year ends before the 15th day of the 6th month of the taxable year. No estimated fee payment is due in that case, and the LLC fee is due on the due date of the LLC's return.

LLCs that make the estimated payment through tax preparation software using Electronic Funds Withdrawal (EFW) should check with their software provider whether it supports EFW for estimated fee payments.

File and pay by the 15th day of the 6th month of the current taxable year (fiscal year), or by June 15, 2026 for a calendar-year LLC. When that date falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline to file and pay without penalty moves to the next business day.

If the LLC's taxable year ends before the 15th day of the 6th month, no estimated fee payment is due and the fee is due with the LLC's return. Any fee not paid as a timely estimated payment can be paid with this form by the due date of the LLC's return. To avoid late payment penalties and interest, the LLC fee must be paid by that due date; penalty and interest are computed from the return's due date to the date of payment.

You can pay the estimated fee by mail with FTB 3536, or electronically without the form.

• By mail: make the check or money order payable to the "Franchise Tax Board" in U.S. dollars, drawn against a U.S. financial institution. Write the California Secretary of State (SOS) file number, FEIN and "2026 FTB 3536" on it. Detach the form at the bottom of the page, enclose the payment without stapling it, and mail to: FRANCHISE TAX BOARD, PO BOX 942857, SACRAMENTO CA 94257-0531.
• Web Pay for Businesses: pay online at ftb.ca.gov/pay, immediately or scheduled up to a year in advance. Do not file the form.
• Credit card: use Discover, MasterCard, Visa or American Express at officialpayments.com. ACI Payments, Inc. charges a convenience fee. Do not file the form.
• EFW: make the payment through tax preparation software if your provider supports it.

If no payment is due or you paid electronically, do not mail the form. FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the channels above.