State of Emergency Tax Relief

Emergency tax or fee relief is available from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) for business owners and feepayers that have been directly affected by disasters declared as state of emergencies over the past three years. Relief may include the extension of tax return due dates, relief of penalty and interest, or replacement copies of records lost due to disasters.

State of emergencies declared in California for the past three years.

Month/Year Impacted Counties Disaster Type
10/2019 Statewide Wind
10/2019 Los Angeles and Riverside Fire
07/2019 Kern and San Bernardino Earthquake
02/2019 Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Los Angeles, Marin, Mendocino, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Shasta, Sonoma, Tehama, Trinity, Ventura, and Yolo Winter Storm
11/2018 Butte, Los Angeles, and Ventura Fire
08/2018 Orange and Riverside Fire
07/2018 Lake, Mariposa, Mendocino, Napa, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Shasta, and Siskiyou Fire
07/2018 San Bernardino Rainstorm
06/2018 Lake Fire
04/2018 Amador, Fresno, Kern, Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne Rainstorm
01/2018 Santa Barbara and Ventura Mudslides
12/2017 Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Fire
10/2017 Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Solano, Sonoma, and Yuba Fire
10/2017 Inyo and Mono Winter Storm
09/2017 Los Angeles, Madera, and Mariposa Fire
08/2017 Butte, Madera, Mariposa, Tulare, and Trinity Fire
07/2017 Butte, Mariposa, Modoc, and Santa Barbara Fire
07/2017 San Bernardino Rainstorm
02/2017 Butte, Sutter, and Yuba Rainstorm
01/2017 Alameda, Alpine, Butte, Calaveras, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Humboldt, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Benito, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Ventura, Yolo, and Yuba Rainstorm
12/2016 Siskiyou Rainstorm

State of emergencies declared nationally.

Emergency tax or fee relief is available from the CDTFA for business owners and feepayers that have been directly affected by disasters declared as state of emergencies nationally (other than California) over the past three years. Relief may include the extension of tax return due dates, relief of penalty and interest, or replacement copies of records lost due to disasters.

Extension of Filing Deadline

An extension of up to three months* to file and pay taxes or fees is available in all of the following CDTFA administered programs:

  • Alcoholic Beverage Tax
  • California Tire Fee
  • Cannabis Tax
  • Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Fee
  • Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax
  • Covered Electronic Waste Recycling Fee
  • Diesel Fuel Tax
  • Emergency Telephone Users Surcharge
  • Energy Resources Surcharge
  • Fire Prevention Fee
  • Hazardous Waste Activity Fee
  • Hazardous Waste Disposal Fee
  • Hazardous Waste Environmental Fee
  • Hazardous Waste Facility Fee
  • Hazardous Waste Generator Fee
  • Integrated Waste Management Fee
  • Interstate User Diesel Fuel Tax
  • Jet Fuel Tax
  • Lead Acid Battery Fees
  • Lumber Products Assessment Fee
  • Marine Invasive Species Fee
  • Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax
  • Natural Gas Surcharge
  • Occupational Lead Poisoning Prevention Fee
  • Oil Spill Response, Prevention, and Administration Fee
  • Prepaid Mobile Telephony Services (MTS) Surcharge
  • Regional Railroad Accident Preparedness and Immediate Response Fee
  • Sales and Use Tax
  • Timber Yield Tax
  • Underground Storage Tank Maintenance Fee
  • Use Fuel Tax
  • Water Rights Fee

This relief is offered to any business owner or feepayer who was directly affected by the disasters in the counties listed above, and who, as a result, cannot meet their filing and payment deadlines. The CDTFA has also extended the deadline for filings that were delayed by disruption of service of the United States Postal Service or private mail and freight companies.

*Effective September 9, 2016, the extension available for tax or fee payers affected by a disaster was increased from one-month to up to three months (Assembly Bill 1559).

Online Relief Request of Interest and Penalties

Relief from interest and penalties may be provided for those persons who are unable to file their returns and pay taxes and fees when due. This relief may be provided for the programs listed above. To request a filing extension or relief from interest and penalties visit our Relief Request webpage.

Please note: The relief program for interstate user tax under the International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) applies to California tax only. California is unable to waive interest and penalties for another jurisdiction. For information regarding IFTA, please call our Customer Service Center at 1-800-400-7115.

Copies of CDTFA Tax Records

Business owners and fee payers who need to obtain copies of CDTFA tax records will be able to receive replacements free of charge. To obtain copies of critical tax records on file with the CDTFA, please call us toll-free at 1-800-400-7115. These forms may include copies of prior tax returns filed with the CDTFA, audits, or permit applications.

For more information

For any additional questions regarding tax and fee relief, please call our Customer Service Center at 1-800-400-7115 (TTY:711) where staff is available to assist you weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time), except state holidays. All of us at the CDTFA extend our deepest sympathies to everyone affected by a disaster.