Web Pay Checklist
Make sure the payment is for the correct year
- “Calendar year” and “tax year” are very often two different things. For instance, you will make your tax payment for the 2024 tax year in 2025. Make sure you enter the tax year (e.g., 2024) and not the year the payment is made (e.g., 2025) when making your Web Pay payment.
- Estimated tax payments are made in advance, so the tax year for the 2025 estimated tax payments is 2025, even if you are making the fourth quarter estimate payment in January 2026.
- Extension payments are always made in the year following the tax year, so an extension payment for the 2024 tax year is made in 2025. You should enter “2024” for the tax year.
Make sure you are paying the tax for the right taxpayer
- Sole proprietors should use the Personal Web Pay tab, not the Business Web Pay tab.
- Passthrough entity elective tax payments must be made using the Business Web Pay tab, not the Personal Web Pay tab. This is true for both the June 15 prepayment and tax return payment. If you make the payment as an estimated tax payment through the Personal tab rather than the Business tab, the payment cannot be “moved,” and you will be ineligible to make the passthrough entity tax election.
- Entities making a payment for their nonresident partners or shareholders on a group nonresident or composite return should use the Personal Web Pay tab. See www.ftb.ca.gov/pay/bank-account/help-with-bank-account-payments.html for additional information as to how to do this.
Enter the correct entity identification (ID) number
- General partnerships must use an FTB-issued ID number. If you can’t locate this number, you can:
- Call the FTB to obtain the number (you will need your federal entity identification number (FEIN)); or
- Look it up on your MyFTB account.
- Corporations should use their seven-digit entity number provided by the Secretary of State’s office (SOS).
- Limited partnerships and LLCs should use either their nine- or 12-digit SOS number.
Make sure you are making the right payment type
Your tax professional will indicate which type of tax payment and form you should use when making your payment, e.g., “Estimated Tax Payment (Form 100ES).”
Key things to keep in mind:
- Even if your LLC is taxed as a partnership, check the LLC entity type, not the partnership entity.
- If you’re making a passthrough entity elective tax payment, you must use the Business Web Pay tab and check the passthrough entity tax payment (not the estimated tax payment). This is true for both the June 15 prepayment and the payment made by the March 15 or April 15 due date (or original due date of the return for fiscal-year taxpayers).
- Passthrough entity elective tax payments, estimated tax payments, and extension tax payments are very different types of payments. Make sure you are checking the right box. If you are unclear, contact your tax professional before scheduling the payment.
- Only select the amended tax return payment if you are filing an amended return (e.g., Form 540X, 100X, etc.). Do not check this box if you receive a Notice of Tax Return Change (NTRC) from the FTB. If you receive a NTRC from the FTB, you should check the “Bill Payment” bullet.
- When in doubt, call your tax professional to make sure you are checking the right payment type! It can create a headache for your tax professional to correct errors after you have made a payment and received an FTB notice.
Make sure you make a payment from the correct type of account
- The FTB will only accept payments from accounts that authorize electronic debiting. This can be an issue with certain accounts such as money market accounts, CD accounts, IRAs, and brokerage accounts. Confirm with the financial institution holding these accounts that electronic debiting is allowed and whether the account is considered a savings or checking account.
Make sure your payment clears the bank
- A confirmation from the FTB that the Web Pay request was made does not mean that the payment was actually made. All too frequently an error will occur, and the payment does not clear the bank account. The FTB will impose a late-payment penalty if this occurs, so make sure your payment clears your bank account in the days following your Web Pay submission. If there is a problem, contact the FTB right away to see if a penalty can be abated. Unless action is taken immediately, penalty relief may not be available.
Scheduling a Web Pay payment
- A Web Pay payment can be scheduled up to one year in advance. A scheduled payment can be canceled up to two business days before the scheduled payment date.
Other common issues
- Individual taxpayers who’ve never filed a California return before will have to contact the FTB for assistance in making their first Web Pay payment.
- A taxpayer whose name has changed since they filed their last return must sign in using the name used on their last filed return.
