What’s New
For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, the maximum personal income tax rate is 9.3%. In addition, non-California partnerships are subject to withholding requirements on a sale of California real property at a rate of 3 1/3% (.0333) of sales price or 9.3% of gain. The alternative withholding rate for the gain on sale of California real property by S corporations is 10.8% and 12.8% for financial S corporations.
General Information
At the end of the taxable year, partnerships and limited liability companies (LLCs) complete Form 592-F, Foreign Partner or Member Annual Return, to report the total withholding for the year and to allocate the income and related withholding to the foreign partners or members. When filing Form 592-F with the Franchise Tax Board (FTB), the withholding agent is no longer required to submit to the FTB Form 592-B, Resident and Nonresident Withholding Tax Statement, for each partner or member. However, withholding agents must continue to provide the partners or members with copies of Form 592-B.
•For California withholding purposes, nonresident includes all of the following:
•Individuals who are not residents of California.
•Corporations not qualified through the California Secretary of State to do business in California or having no permanent place of business in California.
•Partnerships or LLCs with no permanent place of business in California.
•Any trust without a resident grantor, beneficiary, or trustee, or estates where the decedent was not a California resident.
•Foreign refers to non-U.S.
Withholding on foreign partners or members is remitted to the FTB using Form 592-A, Payment Voucher for Foreign Partner or Member Withholding. For more information on the withholding requirements or to send withholding payments during the year, get Form 592-A.
Round Cents To Dollars – Round cents to the nearest whole dollar. For example, round
$50.50 up to $51 or round $25.49 down to $25.
Backup Withholding – Beginning on or after January 1, 2010, with certain limited exceptions, payers that are required to withhold and remit backup withholding to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are also required to withhold and remit to the FTB. The California backup withholding rate is 7% of the payment. For California purposes, dividends, interests, and any financial institutions release of loan funds made in the normal course of business are exempt from backup withholding. For more information, go to ftb.ca.gov and search for backup withholding.
Submitting Payments – Use the Supplemental Payment Voucher from Form 592-A if you have a final withholding payment to remit with Form 592-F.
A Purpose
Use Form 592-F to report the total withholding for the year on foreign partners or members under California Revenue and Taxation Code (R&TC) Section 18666. Form 592-F is used by pass-through entities to flow-through withholding credit to their foreign partners or members. Caution: Real Estate Withholding should not be reported on this form.
Do not use Form 592-F if:
•You are reporting withholding on domestic nonresident partners or members. Use Form 592, Resident and Nonresident Withholding Statement.
•You are the buyer or escrow person withholding on the sale of real estate. Use Form 593, Real Estate Withholding Tax Statement, to report real estate withholding.
B When and Where to File
For withholding on foreign partners or members, file Form 592-F, on or before the 15th day of the 4th month following the close of the partnership’s or LLC’s taxable year.
If all the partners or members are foreign, Form 592-F must be filed on or before the 15th day of the 6th month after the close of the partnership’s or LLC’s taxable year. The withholding agent retains this form for a minimum of four years and must provide it to the FTB upon request.
Mail Form 592-F, the Supplemental Payment Voucher from Form 592-A, and payment to:
WITHHOLDING SERVICES AND COMPLIANCE
FRANCHISE TAX BOARD PO BOX 942867 SACRAMENTO CA 94267-0651
0-Day Notiication – California follows federal law, which requires that withholding agents notify foreign payees within 10 days of any tax withheld. For California withholding purposes, withholding agents should make a similar notification to nonresident payees. No particular form is required for this notification, and it is commonly done on the statement accompanying the distribution or payment. However, the withholding agent may choose to report the tax withheld to the payee on a Form 592-B.
C Amending Form 592-F
Amended forms can only be filed by the withholding agent. To amend Form 592-F:
•Complete a new Form 592-F with the correct information.
•Check the “Amended” box at the top of the revised form.
•Include a letter explaining what changes were made and why.
•Send the amended Form 592-F and letter to the address on the form.
D Federal Extension
Check the “Federal Extension” box at the top of the form if you filed for an extension to file federal Form 8804, Annual Return for Partnership Withholding Tax.
Caution: An extension to file is not an extension to pay. The final withholding payment is due on or before the original due date for Form 592-F regardless of an extension to file.
EElectronic Filing Requirements
Form 592-F information must be filed with the FTB electronically, using FTB’s Secure Web Internet File Transfer (SWIFT), instead of paper when the number of payees on Form 592-F is 250 or more. However, withholding agents must continue to provide payees with paper copies of Form 592-B. To submit your Form 592-F for electronic filing, submit your file using the SWIFT process as outlined in FTB Pub. 923, SWIFT Guide for Resident, Nonresident, and Real Estate Withholding.
For the required file format and record layout for electronic filing, get FTB Pub. 1023S, Resident and Nonresident Withholding Electronic Submission Requirements. If you are the preparer for more than one withholding agent, provide a separate electronic file for each withholding agent.
For electronic filing submit your payment using EFT or Form 592-A.
F Interest and Penalties
Interest on late payments is computed from the due date of the withholding to the date paid. Failure to withhold may result in the withholding agent being personally liable for the amount of tax that should have been withheld and for interest and penalties.
A penalty will be assessed for failure to file complete, correct, and timely information returns (Form 592-F schedule of payees) to the FTB. The penalty is calculated per payee:
•$15 if filed 1 to 30 days after the due date.
•$30 if filed 31 days to 6 months after the due date.
•$50 if filed more than 6 months after the due date.
Specific Instructions
Taxable Year
•Enter the beginning and ending dates for the partnership’s or LLC’s taxable year.
•Make sure the year in the upper left corner of the form matches the ending date of the taxable year.