This tax must be paid for on a quarterly basis. The amount is based on sales to California customers.

Filing

  1. Navigate to https://onlineservices.cdtfa.ca.gov/.
  2. Click “File a Return” under the Express Login box, and then the “Sales and Use Tax” option.
  3. Use “Option 1: Account Number and Limited Access Code” and use the account number and limited access code found in our non-public corporate documentation under the “California Sales and Use Tax” heading.
  4. Proceed through the steps. The total sales to California customers for the quarter can be calculated using this Shopify report. Make sure you select the correct quarter for generating the report. Then take the tax amount collected for the state and divide by the tax rate to get the total sales.
  5. After filing, download the confirmation PDF. Rename it with the format California Sales and Use Tax Q1 2018 Filing. Then upload it to the year’s tax folder in Google Drive.

Filing is different than paying

Ok, you’ve just finished the filing. Now you need to make payment. Follow the instructions below.

Making payment

  1. Navigate to https://onlineservices.cdtfa.ca.gov/.
  2. Click “Make a payment” under the Express Login box.
  3. Select “Pay now with checking or savings (no fee)”.
  4. Select “No” when asked if we received a bill from the CDTFA.
  5. Enter contact information.
  6. Under “Option 1: Account Number and Limited Access Code”, select Business Checking Account and use the account number and limited access code found in our non-public corporate documentation under the “California Sales and Use Tax” heading.
  7. Enter payment amount. The amount due is the sum of all California state sales taxes collected for the quarter, which can be calculated using this Shopify report. Make sure you select the correct quarter for generating the report. You will also need the business checking account’s account and routing numbers, which can be found in our non-public corporate documentation under the “Bank Account Info” heading.
  8. After submitting payment, download the receipt as a PDF. Rename it with the format California Sales and Use Tax Q1 2018 Payment. Then upload the file to the year’s tax folder in Google Drive.