ARTICLE 1. Definitions and General Provisions [23101. - 23114.]

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC 1.

in effect

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 23101. Section 23101.

(a) “Doing business” means actively engaging in any transaction for the purpose of financial or pecuniary gain or profit. (b) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, a taxpayer is doing business in this state for a taxable year if any of the following conditions has been satisfied: (1) The taxpayer is organized or commercially domiciled in this state. (2) Sales, as defined in subdivision (e) or (f) of Section 25120 as applicable for the taxable year, of the taxpayer in this state exceed the lesser of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) or 25 percent of the taxpayer’s total sales. For purposes of this paragraph, sales of the taxpayer include sales by an agent or independent contractor of the taxpayer. For purposes of this paragraph, sales in this state shall be determined using the rules for assigning sales under Sections 25135 and 25136 and the regulations thereunder, as modified by regulations under Section 25137. (3) The real property and tangible personal property of the taxpayer in this state exceed the lesser of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or 25 percent of the taxpayer’s total real property and tangible personal property. The value of real and tangible personal property and the determination of whether property is in this state shall be determined using the rules contained in Sections 25129 to 25131, inclusive, and the regulations thereunder, as modified by regulation under Section 25137. (4) The amount paid in this state by the taxpayer for compensation, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 25120, exceeds the lesser of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or 25 percent of the total compensation paid by the taxpayer. Compensation in this state shall be determined using the rules for assigning payroll contained in Section 25133 and the regulations thereunder, as modified by regulations under Section 25137. (c) (1) The Franchise Tax Board shall annually revise the amounts in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of subdivision (b) in accordance with subdivision (h) of Section 17041. (2) For purposes of the adjustment required by paragraph (1), subdivision (h) of Section 17041 shall be applied by substituting “2012” in lieu of “1988.” (d) The sales, property, and payroll of the taxpayer include the taxpayer’s pro rata or distributive share of pass-through entities. For purposes of this subdivision, “pass-through entities” means a partnership or an “S” corporation.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 23101.5. Section 23101.5.

(a) The Franchise Tax Board may determine that a corporation is not doing business in this state for purposes of this chapter or deriving income from sources within this state for purposes of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 23501) if its only activities within this state are either or both of the following: (1) The purchase of personal property or services solely for its own use or use by its affiliate outside this state if: (A) The corporation does not have more than 100 employees in this state, whose duties are limited to solicitation, negotiation, liaison, monitoring, auditing, and inspecting the personal property or services acquired, or providing technical advice with respect to its requirements, and (B) The corporation does not have more than 200 employees in this state, whose duties are limited to solicitation, negotiation, liaison, monitoring, auditing, and inspecting the personal property or services acquired, or providing technical advice with respect to its requirements, and the personal property or services purchased by the corporation or its affiliate are used for the construction or modification of a physical plant or facility located outside the state, and (C) The combined number of employees in this state pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) does not exceed 200. (2) The presence of employees in this state only for the purpose of attending a public or private school, college, or university. (b) A corporation may petition the Franchise Tax Board for a determination in accord with procedures established by the Franchise Tax Board. The filing of that petition shall be deemed a waiver of the confidentiality provisions of Section 19542 with respect to the facts alleged in the petition and any additional evidence produced with respect to those facts. (c) If the determination is made, it shall remain in force for five years as long as the corporation continues to meet the above criteria. However, with respect to corporations meeting the above criteria on or before January 1, 1978, the determination shall remain in force indefinitely so long as the corporation continues to meet the above criteria. (d) The corporation shall annually confirm with the Franchise Tax Board within two months and 15 days after the close of its fiscal year, in the manner as the Franchise Tax Board may prescribe, that the facts relevant to the granting of the determination then in effect remain unchanged or shall state and explain any changes that have occurred since the preceding report was filed. (e) Where a corporation applying for or relying on the determination is engaged in a unitary business, the limitation of 100 or 200 employees, as applicable, that is specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall apply to the aggregation of all corporations within the unitary group. (f) Each taxpayer that sells property or services to a corporation with more than 100 employees in this state, with respect to which the determination has been made, shall file annually with the Franchise Tax Board, in the manner as the Franchise Tax Board may prescribe, a report identifying the number of its employees within this state directly attributable to the construction or modification of a physical plant or facility located outside the state. (g) This section shall become operative on January 1, 1994.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 23102. Section 23102.

Any corporation holding or organized to hold stock or bonds of any other corporation or corporations, and not trading in stock or bonds or other securities held, and engaging in no activities other than the receipt and disbursement of dividends from stock or interest from bonds, is not a corporation doing business in this State for the purposes of this chapter.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 23104. Section 23104.

(a) For purposes of this part only, any corporation that is not incorporated under the laws of this state and whose sole activity in this state is engaging in convention and trade show activities, as described in Section 513(d)(3)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code, for seven or fewer calendar days, or any portion thereof, during the taxable year and that does not derive more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) of gross income reportable to this state from those activities during that taxable year is not a corporation doing business in this state. (b) For purposes of this section, the determination of gross income reportable to this state of a taxpayer shall be made by including the gross income reportable to this state of each member of the “commonly controlled group” (as defined by Section 25105) of which the taxpayer is a member.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 23113. Section 23113.

The tax imposed under this chapter shall attach whether a taxpayer has a taxable year of twelve months or less.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 23114. Section 23114.

(a) A corporation shall not be subject to the taxes imposed by this chapter if the corporation did no business in this state during the taxable year and the taxable year was 15 days or less. (b) The period of time for which a corporation is not subject to taxes imposed by this chapter as provided in subdivision (a) may not be considered a taxable year for purposes of subdivision (e) or paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of Section 23153.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026