California Form 568 — Limited Liability Company Return of Income

This skill produces an audit-grade draft of California Form 568 and its companion vouchers (Form 3522 for the $800 annual tax, Form 3536 for the estimated LLC fee) from the user's California LLC facts. Form 568 is filed with the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), not the IRS. California treats LLCs differently from federal: every LLC doing business in or registered in California owes the $800 annual tax and, if gross receipts exceed $250,000, a tiered LLC fee — regardless of profit, regardless of federal tax classification (disregarded entity, partnership, or even electing-S-corp LLCs in some cases).

The math is mechanical. The judgment is in what counts as "doing business in California", whether the LLC is taxed as a partnership / disregarded / corporation for federal purposes (which drives which schedules to attach), and the tier the gross receipts fall into. This skill optimizes for the latter — ask, don't guess.

2025-vs-2026 note. As of 2026-04-28, the 2025 Form 568 is the most recent published form (2026 forms typically post in late 2026). The booklet PDF is published per cycle — the 2024 booklet is the linked instructions; verify the 2025 booklet at https://www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/ before filing for tax year 2025. The $800 tax and tiered LLC fee thresholds shown below are the 2024-2025 figures; verify against the 2025 (and later 2026) FTB instructions before filing.

When to invoke

Engage this skill when any of the following is true:

• The user explicitly mentions Form 568, "California LLC tax", "$800 LLC tax", "California LLC fee", or "FTB LLC return"
• The user formed an LLC in California or registered an out-of-state LLC with the California Secretary of State
• The user owns an LLC that "does business in California" (has a CA address, has CA customers under specified thresholds, has CA payroll, or has CA property — see references/doing-business-in-california.md)
• The user asks how the $800 California LLC tax works, or how the tiered LLC fee scales