Fill - Free fillable California 540 2015 Personal Income Tax Booklet (California) PDF form

Forms & Instructions

California 540

2015 Personal Income Tax Booklet

Members of the

Franchise Tax Board

Betty T. Yee, Chair

Jerome E. Horton, Member

Michael Cohen, Member

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Page 2 Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015

Table of Contents

Important Dates 2

Do I Have to File? 3

What’s New and Other Important Information for 2015 4

Which Form Should I Use? 7

Instructions for Form 540 9

Nonrefundable Renter’s Credit Qualiﬁcation Record 21

Additional Information 22

Frequently Asked Questions 23

Credit Chart 24

Voluntary Contribution Fund Descriptions 25

Form 540, California Resident Income Tax Return 27

Schedule CA (540), California Adjustments — Residents 33

Instructions for Schedule CA (540) 35

Schedule D (540), California Capital Gain or Loss Adjustment 43

Instructions for Schedule D (540) 45

FTB 3885A, Depreciation and Amortization Adjustments

FTB 3519, Payment for Automatic Extension for Individuals 49

Form 540-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals 50

Instructions for Form 540-ES 53

FTB 3506, Child and Dependent Care Expenses Credit 55

Instructions for Form FTB 3506 57

FTB 3514, California Earned Income Tax Credit 61

Instructions for Form FTB 3514 63

FTB 3532, Head of Household Filing Status Schedule 71

Instructions for Form FTB 3532 73

2015 California Tax Table 75

2015 California Tax Rate Schedules 80

How To Get California Tax Information 82

Privacy Notice 82

Automated Phone Service 83

Important Dates

When the due date falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline to ﬁle and pay without penalty is extended to the next business day.

April 18, 2016**

**Due to the Emancipation Day holiday on April 16, 2016, tax returns ﬁled and payments mailed or submitted on

April 18, 2016, will be considered timely.

Last day to ﬁle and pay the 2015 amount you owe to avoid penalties and interest.*

* If you are living or traveling outside the United States on April 18, 2016, the dates for ﬁling your tax return and paying

your tax are different. See form FTB 3519 for more information.

See form FTB 3519 for more information.

October 17, 2016 Last day to ﬁle or e-ﬁle your 2015 tax return to avoid a late ﬁling penalty and interest computed from the original due date

of April 15, 2016.

April 18, 2016*

*Due to the Emancipation Day holiday on April 16, 2016, tax returns ﬁled and payments mailed or submitted on

April 18, 2016, will be considered timely.

June 15, 2016

September 15, 2016

January 17, 2017

The dates for 2016 estimated tax payments. Generally, you do not have to make estimated tax payments if your California

withholding in each payment period totals 90% of your required annual payment. Also, you do not have to make estimated tax

payments if you will pay enough through withholding to keep the amount you owe with your tax return under $500 ($250 if

married/registered domestic partner (RDP) ﬁling separately). However, if you do not pay enough tax either through withholding or

by making estimated tax payments, you may have an underpayment penalty. See Form 540-ES instructions for more information.

$$$ for You

Earned Income Tax Credit

• Federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC) – EIC reduces your federal tax

obligation, or allows a refund if no federal tax is due. You may qualify if you

earned less than $47,747 ($53,267 if married ﬁling jointly) and have qualifying

children or you have no qualifying children and you earned less than $14,820

($20,330 if married ﬁling jointly). Call the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) at

800.829.4477 and when instructed enter topic 601, see the federal income tax

booklet, or go to the IRS website at irs.gov and search for eitc assistant.

• California Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – EITC reduces your California

tax obligation, or allows a refund if no California tax is due. You may qualify if

you have wage income earned in California of less than $13,870. You do not

need a child to qualify. For more information go to ftb.ca.gov and search for

EITC or get form FTB 3514 – California Earned Income Tax Credit.

Refund of Excess State Disability Insurance (SDI) – If you worked for at least

two employers during 2015 who together paid you more than $104,378 in wages,

you may qualify for a refund of excess SDI. See the instructions on page 14.

Common Errors and How to Prevent Them

Help us process your tax return quickly and accurately. When we ﬁnd an error,

it requires us to stop to verify the information on the tax return, which slows

processing. The most common errors consist of:

• Claiming the wrong amount of estimated tax payments.

• Claiming the wrong amount of standard deduction or itemized deductions.

• Making tax computation errors.

• Entering the amounts on the wrong line.

• Claiming the wrong amount of withholding by incorrectly totaling or

transferring the amounts from your W-2.

• Failing to transfer amounts correctly.

• Failing to enter all required information or attach required schedules.

• Claiming the wrong amount of withholding tax credit by incorrectly totaling or

transferring the amounts from your withholding documents.

To avoid errors and help process your tax return faster, use these helpful hints

when preparing your tax return.

Claiming estimated tax payments:

• Verify the amount of estimated tax payments claimed on your tax return

matches what you sent to the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) for that year. Go

to ftb.ca.gov and search for myftb account to view your total estimated tax

payments before you ﬁle your tax return.

• Verify the overpayment amount from your 2014 tax return you requested to

be applied to your 2015 estimated tax.

• If the FTB records do not match the amount of estimated tax payments

claimed, a “Return Information Notice” will be sent explaining the difference.

Claiming state disability insurance:

• Verify the amount of State Disability Insurance (SDI) used to ﬁgure the

amount of excess SDI claimed on Form 540, line 74, matches amounts from

your W-2’s.

Claiming standard deduction or itemized deductions:

• Verify the adjusted gross income amount on Form 540, line 17 is calculated

correctly.

• See Form 540, line 18 instructions and worksheets for the amount of standard

deduction or itemized deductions you can claim.

Computing your tax:

• Verify the total tax amount on Form 540, line 64 is calculated correctly.

• Go to ftb.ca.gov and search for tax calculator to compute your tax with the

tax calculator or with the tax tables.

• Locate the correct tax amount from the tax table (page 75) and transfer it to

your tax return correctly.

• Verify any affected schedule to ensure that the total tax amount is correctly

transferred over.

Use e-ﬁle:

• By using e-ﬁle, you can eliminate many common errors. Go to

ftb.ca.gov and search for eﬁle options.

By using the helpful hints above, you assist in preventing delays in processing

your tax return and unnecessary account adjustments.

Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015 Page 3

Do I Have to File?

Steps to Determine Filing Requirement

Step 1: Is your gross income (all income received from all sources in the form of

money, goods, property, and services that are not exempt from tax) more than

the amount shown in the California Gross Income chart below for your ﬁling

status, age, and number of dependents? If yes, you have a ﬁling requirement. If

no, go to Step 2.

Step 2: Is your adjusted gross income (federal adjusted gross income from all

sources reduced or increased by all California income adjustments) more than the

amount shown in the California Adjusted Gross Income chart below for your ﬁling

status, age, and number of dependents? If yes, you have a ﬁling requirement. If

no, go to Step 3.

Step 3: If your income is less than the amounts on the chart you may still have a

ﬁling requirement. See “Requirements for Children with Investment Income” and

“Other Situations When You Must File.” Do those instructions apply to you? If

yes, you have a ﬁling requirement. If no, go to Step 4.

Step 4: Are you married/registered domestic partner (RDP) ﬁling separately with

separate property income? If no, you do not have a ﬁling requirement. If yes,

prepare a tax return. If you owe tax, you have a ﬁling requirement.

On 12/31/15,

my ﬁling status was:

and on 12/31/15,

my age was:

(If your 65th birthday is on January 1,

2016, you are considered to be age 65 on

December 31, 2015)

California Gross Income California Adjusted Gross Income

Dependents Dependents

0 1

or more 0 1

or more

Single or

Head of household

Under 65 16,256 27,489 35,914 13,005 24,238 32,663

65 or older 21,706 30,131 36,871 18,455 26,880 33,620

Married/RDP ﬁling jointly

Under 65 (both spouses/RDPs) 32,514 43,747 52,172 26,012 37,245 45,670

Married/RDP ﬁling separately

(The income of both spouses/RDPs must

be combined; both spouses/RDPs may be

required to ﬁle a tax return even if only one

spouse/RDP had income over the amounts

listed.)

65 or older (one spouse/RDP)

65 or older (both spouses/RDPs)

37,964

43,414

46,389

51,839

53,129

58,579

31,462

36,912

39,887

45,337

46,627

52,077

Qualifying widow(er) Under 65

65 or older

27,489

30,131

35,914

36,871

24,238

26,880

32,663

33,620

Dependent of another person

Any ﬁling status

Any age More than your standard deduction (Use the California Standard Deduction

Worksheet for Dependents on page 11 to ﬁgure your standard deduction.)

Requirements for Children with Investment Income

California law conforms to federal law which allows parents’ election to report

a child’s interest and dividend income from children under age 19 or a student

under age 24 on the parent’s tax return. For each child under age 19 or student

under age 24 who received more than $2,100 of investment income in 2015,

complete Form 540 and form FTB 3800, Tax Computation for Certain Children

with Investment Income, to ﬁgure the tax on a separate Form 540 for your child.

If you qualify, you may elect to report your child’s income of $10,500 or less

(but not less than $1,050) on your tax return by completing form FTB 3803,

Parents’ Election to Report Child’s Interest and Dividends. To make this election,

your child’s income must be only from interest and/or dividends. To get forms

FTB 3800 or FTB 3803, see “Order Forms and Publications” or go to ftb.ca.gov.

Other Situations When You Must File

If you have a tax liability for 2015 or owe any of the following taxes for 2015, you

must ﬁle Form 540.

• Tax on a lump-sum distribution.

• Tax on a qualiﬁed retirement plan including an Individual Retirement

Arrangement (IRA) or an Archer Medical Savings Account (MSA).

• Tax for children under age 19 or student under age 24 who have investment

income greater than $2,100 (see paragraph above).

• Alternative minimum tax.

• Recapture taxes.

• Deferred tax on certain installment obligations.

• Tax on an accumulation distribution from a trust.

Filing Status

Use the same ﬁling status for California that you used for your federal income tax

return, unless you are a registered domestic partnership (RDP). If you are an RDP

and ﬁle single for federal, you must ﬁle married/RDP ﬁling jointly or married/RDP

ﬁling separately for California. If you are an RDP and ﬁle head of household for

federal purposes, you may ﬁle head of household for California purposes only if

you meet the requirements to be considered unmarried or considered not in a

domestic partnership.

Exception: If you ﬁle a joint tax return for federal purposes, you may ﬁle

separately for California if either spouse was:

• An active member of the United States armed forces or any auxiliary military

branch during 2015.

• A nonresident for the entire year and had no income from California sources

during 2015.

Community Property States: If the spouse earning the California source

income is domiciled in a community property state, community income will

be split equally between the spouses. Both spouses will have California source

income and they will not qualify for the nonresident spouse exception.

If you had no federal ﬁling requirement, use the same ﬁling status for California

that you would have used to ﬁle a federal income tax return.

If you ﬁled a joint tax return and either you or your spouse/RDP was a

nonresident for 2015, ﬁle the Long or Short Form 540NR, California Nonresident

or Part-Year Resident Income Tax Return.

Single

You are single if any of the following was true on December 31, 2015:

• You were not married or an RDP.

• You were divorced under a ﬁnal decree of divorce, legally separated under

a ﬁnal decree of legal separation, or terminated your registered domestic

partnership.

• You were widowed before January 1, 2015, and did not remarry or enter into

another registered domestic partnership in 2015.

Married/RDP Filing Jointly

You may ﬁle married/RDP ﬁling jointly if any of the following is true:

• You were married or an RDP as of December 31, 2015, even if you did not live

with your spouse/RDP at the end of 2015.

• Your spouse/RDP died in 2015 and you did not remarry or enter into another

registered domestic partnership in 2015.

• Your spouse/RDP died in 2016 before you ﬁled a 2015 tax return.

Married/RDP Filing Separately

• Community property rules apply to the division of income if you use

the married/RDP ﬁling separately status. For more information, get FTB

Pub. 1031, Guidelines for Determining Resident Status, FTB Pub. 737, Tax

Information for Registered Domestic Partners, FTB Pub. 1051A, Guidelines for

Married/RDP Filing Separate Returns, or FTB Pub. 1032, Tax Information for

Military Personnel. To get forms see “Order Forms and Publications” or go to

ftb.ca.gov.

• You cannot claim a personal exemption credit for your spouse/RDP even if

your spouse/RDP had no income, is not ﬁling a tax return, and is not claimed

as a dependent on another person’s tax return.

• You may be able to ﬁle as head of household if your child lived with you

and you lived apart from your spouse/RDP during the entire last six months

of 2015.

Head of Household

For the speciﬁc requirements that must be met to qualify for head of household

(HOH) ﬁling status, get FTB Pub. 1540, California Head of Household Filing

Status. In general, head of household ﬁling status is for unmarried individuals

and certain married individuals or RDPs living apart who provide a home for a

speciﬁed relative. You may be entitled to use head of household ﬁling status if all

of the following apply:

• You were unmarried and not in a registered domestic partnership, or you met

the requirements to be considered unmarried or considered not in a registered

domestic partnership on December 31, 2015.

Page 4 Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015

• You paid more than one-half the cost of keeping up your home for the year in

2015.

• For more than half the year, your home was the main home for you and one of

the speciﬁed relatives who by law can qualify you for head of household ﬁling

status.

• You were not a nonresident alien at any time during the year.

For a child to qualify as your foster child for head of household purposes, the

child must either be placed with you by an authorized placement agency or by

order of a court.

California requires taxpayers who use head of household ﬁling status to ﬁle form

FTB 3532, Head of Household Filing Status Schedule to report how the HOH ﬁling

status was determined.

For more information, get FTB Pub. 1540 at ftb.ca.gov or see code 934 on

page 83 to order FTB Pub.1540 by telephone.

Qualifying Widow(er) with Dependent Child

Check the box on Form 540, line 5 and use the joint return tax rates for 2015 if all

ﬁve of the following apply:

• Your spouse/RDP died in 2013 or 2014 and you did not remarry or enter into

another registered domestic partnership in 2015.

• You have a child, stepchild, adopted child, or foster child whom you claim as

a dependent.

• This child lived in your home for all of 2015. Temporary absences, such as for

vacation or school, count as time lived in the home.

• You paid over half the cost of keeping up your home for this child.

• You could have ﬁled a joint tax return with your spouse/RDP the year he or

she died, even if you actually did not do so.

What’s New and Other Important Information for 2015

Differences between California and Federal Law

In general, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015, California law

conforms to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) as of January 1, 2015. However,

there are continuing differences between California and federal law. When

California conforms to federal tax law changes, we do not always adopt all of the

changes made at the federal level. For more information, go to ftb.ca.gov and

search for conformity. Additional information can be found in FTB Pub. 1001,

Supplemental Guidelines to California Adjustments, the instructions for California

Schedule CA (540), and the Business Entity tax booklets.

The instructions provided with California tax forms are a summary of California

tax law and are only intended to aid taxpayers in preparing their state income

tax returns. We include information that is most useful to the greatest number

of taxpayers in the limited space available. It is not possible to include all

requirements of the California Revenue and Taxation Code (R&TC) in the tax

booklets. Taxpayers should not consider the tax booklets as authoritative law.

Conformity – For updates regarding federal acts, go to ftb.ca.gov and search for

conformity.

2015 Tax Law Changes/What’s New

Voluntary Contributions – You may contribute to the following new funds:

• State Children’s Trust Fund for the Prevention of Child Abuse

• Prevention of Animal Homelessness & Cruelty Fund

Earned Income Tax Credit – For taxable years beginning on or after January 1,

2015, the refundable California Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is available to

taxpayers who earned wage income within California. This credit is similar to

the federal Earned Income Credit (EIC). This credit is available to taxpayers with

earned income of less than $13,870. Additional information can be found on

California Form FTB 3514 - California Earned Income Tax Credit.

Payments and Credits Applied to Use Tax – For taxable years beginning on or

after January 1, 2015, if a taxpayer includes use tax on their personal income tax

return, payments and credits will be applied to use tax ﬁrst, then towards income

tax, interest, and penalties. Additional information can be found in the instructions

for California Form 540.

Dependent Social Security Number (SSN) – For taxable years beginning on

or after January 1, 2015, taxpayers claiming an exemption credit must write

each dependent’s SSN in the spaces provided within Line 10 for the California

Form 540 and California Form 540NR (long and short).

Financial Incentive for Seismic Improvement – For taxable years beginning on

or after January 1, 2015, taxpayers can exclude from gross income any amount

received as loan forgiveness, grant, credit, rebate, voucher, or other ﬁnancial

incentive issued by the California Residential Mitigation Program or the California

Earthquake Authority to assist a residential property owner or occupant with

expenses paid, or obligations incurred, for earthquake loss mitigation. Additional

information can be found in the instructions for California Schedule CA (540 and

540NR).

Natural Heritage Preservation Credit – For qualiﬁed contributions made on or

after January 1, 2015, the credit carryover period has been extended to 15 years

or until exhausted, whichever occurs ﬁrst. Any unused credits remaining before

January 1, 2015, will remain subject to an eight-year carryover provision. In

addition, the period for when a qualiﬁed contribution is made, for which a tax

credit will be allowed, has been extended to June 30, 2020.

Disaster Losses – For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2014,

and before January 1, 2024, taxpayers may deduct a disaster loss for any loss

sustained in any city, county, or city and county in California that is proclaimed

by the Governor to be in a state of emergency. For these Governor-only declared

disasters, subsequent state legislation is not required to activate the disaster loss

provisions. Additional information can be found in the instructions for California

form FTB 3805V, Net Operating Loss (NOL) Computation and NOL and Disaster

Loss Limitations – Individuals, Estates, and Trusts.

Slain Ofﬁcer Family Support Contribution – California does not conform to

the federal Slain Ofﬁcer Family Support Act of 2015, enacted April 1, 2015.

For federal, taxpayers can choose to treat cash contributions for the relief of

the families of slain New York Police Department detectives made between

January 1, 2015 and April 15, 2015, as if made on December 31, 2014. Eligible

contributions can be claimed on either a 2014 or 2015 federal tax return, but not

both. Contributions made after April 14, 2015, but on or before December 31,

2015, can only be claimed on a 2015 federal tax return. For California purposes,

contributions may only be claimed on your 2015 tax return. If you claimed

contributions under the Slain Ofﬁcer Family Support Act on your 2014 federal tax

return, make an adjustment to your 2015 California tax return to add the amount

of the contribution to your charitable deductions. If you erroneously deducted the

contribution on your 2014 California tax return, you will need to amend your 2014

tax return to reduce the contribution.

Head of Household – For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015,

California requires taxpayers who use head of household (HOH) ﬁling status to

ﬁle form FTB 3532 – Head of Household Filing Status Schedule, to report how the

HOH ﬁling status was determined.

Other Important Information

Financial Incentive for Turf Removal – For taxable years beginning on or after

January 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2019, taxpayers can exclude from gross

income any amount received as a rebate, voucher, or other ﬁnancial incentive

issued by a local water agency or supplier for participation in a turf removal water

conservation program. Additional information can be found in the instructions for

California Schedule CA (540 and 540NR).

Penalty Assessed by Professional Sports League – For taxable years beginning

on or after January 1, 2014, an owner of all or part of a professional sports

franchise will not be allowed a deduction for the amount of any ﬁne or penalty

paid or incurred, that was assessed or imposed by the professional sports

league that includes that franchise. Additional information can be found in the

instructions for California Schedule CA (540 and 540NR).

New Employment Credit – For taxable years beginning on or after January 1,

2014, and before January 1, 2021, the New Employment Credit (NEC) is

available to a qualiﬁed taxpayer that hires a qualiﬁed full-time employee on or

after January 1, 2014, and pays or incurs qualiﬁed wages attributable to work

performed by the qualiﬁed full-time employee in a designated census tract or

economic development area, and receives a tentative credit reservation for that

qualiﬁed full-time employee. In addition, an annual certiﬁcation of employment

is required with respect to each qualiﬁed full-time employee hired in a previous

taxable year. In order to be allowed a credit, the qualiﬁed taxpayer must have a

net increase in the total number of full-time employees in California. Any credits

not used in the taxable year may be carried forward up to ﬁve years. If a qualiﬁed

employee is terminated within the ﬁrst 36 months after beginning employment,

the employer may be required to recapture previously taken credits. For more

information, go to ftb.ca.gov and search for nec or get form FTB 3554, New

Employment Credit.

Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015 Page 5

Repeal of Geographically Targeted Economic Development Area Tax

Incentives – The California legislature repealed and made changes to all

of the Geographically Targeted Economic Development Area (G-TEDA) Tax

Incentives. Enterprise Zones (EZ) and Local Agency Military Base Recovery Areas

(LAMBRA) were repealed on January 1, 2014. The Targeted Tax Areas (TTA) and

Manufacturing Enhancement Areas (MEA) both expired on December 31, 2012.

For more information, go to ftb.ca.gov and search for repeal tax incentives.

California Competes Tax Credit – For taxable years beginning on and after

January 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2025, the California Competes Tax Credit

is available to businesses that want to come to California or stay and grow in

California. Tax credit agreements will be negotiated by the Governor’s Ofﬁce of

Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) and approved by the California

Competes Tax Credit Committee. The California Competes Tax Credit only applies

to state income or franchise tax. Taxpayers who are awarded a contract by the

committee will claim the credit on their income or franchise tax returns using

credit code 233. The credit can reduce tax below the tentative minimum tax. Any

credits not used in the taxable year may be carried forward up to six years. For

more information, go to the GO-Biz website at business.ca.gov or ftb.ca.gov and

search for ca competes or get form FTB 3531, California Competes Tax Credit.

Like-Kind Exchanges – For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2014,

California requires taxpayers who exchange property located in California for

like-kind property located outside of California, and meet all of the requirements

of the Internal Revenue Code Section 1031, to ﬁle an annual information return

with the Franchise Tax Board (FTB). For more information, get form FTB 3840,

California Like-Kind Exchanges, or go to ftb.ca.gov and search for like kind.

College Access Tax Credit – For taxable years beginning on or after

January 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2017, a credit is available to taxpayers

who contribute to the College Access Tax Credit Fund. Taxpayers who receive a

certiﬁcate from the California Educational Facilities Authority (CEFA) may claim

the credit on their income or franchise tax returns using credit code 235. The

CEFA will provide a copy of each credit certiﬁcate issued, to the Franchise Tax

Board (FTB). Any credits not used in the taxable year may be carried forward

up to six years. For more information, go to treasurer.ca.gov/cefa or get form

FTB 3592, College Access Tax Credit.

Minimum Wage – On and after July 1, 2014, the minimum wage for all industries

shall not be less than nine dollars ($9) per hour.

Cancellation of Debt Income (CODI) – For taxable years beginning on or after

January 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2019, California did not conform to the

federal recognition of business debt reacquisition CODI under IRC Section 108(i).

If you recognized the CODI for federal tax purposes, then you must deduct the

federal CODI amount. See Sch. CA (540/540NR) line 12 instructions for more

information.

Net Operating Loss (NOL) Carryback – NOLs incurred in taxable years beginning

on or after January 1, 2013, shall be carried back to each of the preceding two

taxable years.

The allowable NOL carryback percentage varies. For an NOL incurred in a taxable

year beginning on or after:

• January 1, 2013, and before January 1, 2014, the carryback amount shall not

exceed 50% of the NOL.

• January 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2015, the carryback amount shall not

exceed 75% of the NOL.

• January 1, 2015, the carryback amount shall be 100% of the NOL.

Individuals, Estates, and Trusts compute the NOL carryback in Part IV of form

FTB 3805V. For more information, get form FTB 3805V.

Election to Waive Carryback – Any taxpayer entitled to a carryback period

pursuant to Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 172(b)(3) may elect to

relinquish/waive the entire carryback period with respect to an NOL incurred in

the 2013 taxable year. By making the election, the taxpayer is electing to carry an

NOL forward instead of carrying it back in the previous two years.

To make the election, check the box in Part I under Section C – Election to Waive

Carryback, of form FTB 3805V, and attach form FTB 3805V to the tax return. For

more information, get form FTB 3805V.

Mandatory Electronic Payments – You are required to remit all your payments

electronically once you make an estimate or extension payment exceeding

$20,000 or you ﬁle an original tax return with a total tax liability over $80,000.

Once you meet this threshold, all subsequent payments regardless of amount, tax

type, or taxable year must be remitted electronically. The ﬁrst payment that would

trigger the mandatory e-pay requirement does not have to be made electronically.

Individuals that do not send the payment electronically will be subject to a 1%

noncompliance penalty.

You can request a waiver from mandatory e-pay if one or more of the following

is true:

• You have not made an estimated tax or extension payment in excess of

$20,000 during the current or previous taxable year.

• Your total tax liability reported for the previous taxable year did not exceed

$80,000.

• The amount you paid is not representative of your total tax liability.

For more information or to obtain the waiver form, go to ftb.ca.gov and search

for mandatory epay. Electronic payments can be made using Web Pay on FTB’s

website, electronic funds withdrawal (EFW) as part of the e-ﬁle return, or your

credit card.

Estimated Tax Payments – Taxpayers are required to pay 30% of the required

annual payment for the 1st required installment, 40% of the required annual

payment for the 2nd required installment, no installment is due for the 3rd

required installment, and 30% of the required annual payment for the 4th

required installment.

Taxpayers with a tax liability less than $500 ($250 for married/RDP ﬁling

separately) do not need to make estimated tax payments.

Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief – California law does not conform to federal

law regarding the discharge of indebtedness from the disposition of your

principal residence occurring on or after January 1, 2014. For more information,

get Schedule CA (540).

Backup Withholding – 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 on income sourced to California.

If the payee has backup withholding, the payee must contact the FTB to provide

a valid taxpayer identiﬁcation number, before ﬁling the tax return. Failure to

provide a valid taxpayer identiﬁcation number may result in a denial of the backup

withholding credit. For more information, go to ftb.ca.gov and search for backup

withholding.

Registered Domestic Partners (RDP) – Under California law, RDPs must ﬁle

their California income tax return using either the married/RDP ﬁling jointly or

married/RDP ﬁling separately ﬁling status. RDPs have the same legal beneﬁts,

protections, and responsibilities as married couples unless otherwise speciﬁed.

If you entered into a same sex legal union in another state, other than a marriage,

and that union has been determined to be substantially equivalent to a California

registered domestic partnership, you are required to ﬁle a California income tax

return using either the married/RDP ﬁling jointly or married/RDP ﬁling separately

ﬁling status.

For purposes of California income tax, references to a spouse, husband, or wife

also refer to a California RDP, unless otherwise speciﬁed. When we use the initials

RDP they refer to both a California registered domestic “partner” and a California

registered domestic “partnership,” as applicable. For more information on RDPs,

get FTB Pub. 737, Tax Information for Registered Domestic Partners.

Direct Deposit Refund – You can request a direct deposit refund on your tax

return whether you e-ﬁle or ﬁle a paper tax return. Be sure to ﬁll in the routing

and account numbers carefully and double-check the numbers for accuracy to

avoid it being rejected by your bank.

Direct Deposit for ScholarShare 529 College Savings Plans – If you have a

ScholarShare 529 College Savings Plan account maintained by the ScholarShare

Investment Board, you may have your refund directly deposited to your

ScholarShare account.

California Disclosure Obligations – If the individual was involved in a reportable

transaction, including a listed transaction, the individual may have a disclosure

requirement. Attach federal Form 8886, Reportable Transaction Disclosure

Statement, to the back of the California tax return along with any other supporting

schedules. If this is the ﬁrst time the reportable transaction is disclosed on the

tax return, send a duplicate copy of the federal Form 8886 to the address below.

The FTB may impose penalties if the individual fails to ﬁle federal Form 8886, or

fails to provide any other required information. A material advisor is required to

provide a reportable transaction number to all taxpayers and material advisors for

whom the material advisor acts as a material advisor.

TAX SHELTER FILING

ATSU 398 MS F385

FRANCHISE TAX BOARD

PO BOX 1673

SACRAMENTO CA 95812-9900

For more information, go to ftb.ca.gov and search for disclosure obligation.

Page 6 Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015

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Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015 Page 7

✓

Which Form Should I Use?

Tip

e-ﬁle and you won’t have to

decide which form to use!

The software will select the

correct form for you.

Were you and your spouse/RDP residents during the entire year 2015?

Yes. Check the chart below to see which form to use.

No. Use the Long or Short Form 540NR. To download or order the California Nonresident or Part-Year

Resident Income Tax Booklet, go to ftb.ca.gov or see, “Where to Get Income Tax Forms and

Publications.”

Form 540 2EZ Form 540

Form not included in this booklet. If you qualify

to use Form 540 2EZ, see “Where To Get Income

Tax Forms and Publications” to download or

order this form.

Filing Status

Single, married/RDP ﬁling jointly, head of

household, qualifying widow(er)

Any ﬁling status

Dependents

0-3 allowed All dependents you are entitled to claim

Amount of Income

Total income of:

• $100,000 or less if single or head of household

• $200,000 or less if married/RDP ﬁling jointly or

qualifying widow(er)

You cannot use Form 540 2EZ if you (or your

spouse/RDP) can be claimed as a dependent

by another taxpayer, and your TOTAL income is

less than or equal to $13,394 if single; $26,838 if

married/RDP ﬁling jointly or qualifying widow(er); or

$19,038 if head of household.

Any amount of income

Sources of Income

Only income from:

• Wages, salaries, and tips

• Taxable interest, dividends, and pensions

•

Taxable scholarship and fellowship grants (only if

reported on Form(s) W-2)

• Capitalgainsfrommutualfunds(reportedon

Form 1099-DIV, box 2a only)

• Unemployment compensation reported on

Form 1099-G

• Paid Family Leave Insurance

• U.S. social security beneﬁts

• Tier 1 and tier 2 railroad retirement payments

All sources of income

Adjustments to

Income

No adjustments to income All adjustments to income

Standard Deduction

Allowed Allowed

Itemized Deductions

No itemized deductions All itemized deductions

Payments

Only withholding shown on Form(s) W-2 and

1099-R

• Withholding from all sources

• Estimated tax payments

• Payments made with extension

• Excess State Disability Insurance (SDI) or

Voluntary Plan Disability Insurance (VPDI)

Tax Credits

•Californiaearnedincometaxcredit

• Personal exemption credit

• Senior exemption credit

• Up to three dependent exemption credits

• Nonrefundable renter’s credit

All tax credits

Other Taxes

Only tax computed using the 540 2EZ Table All taxes

✓Tip

IfyouqualifytouseForm5402EZ,youmaybeeligibletouseCalFile.

Visit ftb.ca.gov and search for calﬁle. It’s fast, easy, and free.

Ifyoudon’tqualifyforCalFile,youqualifyfore-le.

Go to ftb.ca.gov and search for eﬁle options.

Page 8 Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015

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Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015 Page 9

2015 Instructions for Form 540 — California Resident Income Tax Return

References in these instructions are to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) as of January 1, 2015, and the California Revenue and Taxation Code (R&TC).

Before You Begin

Complete your federal income tax return (Form 1040, Form 1040A, or

Form 1040EZ) before you begin your California Form 540. Use information from

your federal income tax return to complete your Form 540. Complete and mail

Form 540 by April 18, 2016. Due to the Emancipation Day holiday on April 16,

2016, tax returns ﬁled and payments mailed or submitted on April 18, 2016, will

be considered timely. If unable to mail your tax return by this date, see page 2.

✓Tip

You may qualify for the federal earned income credit. See

page 2 for more information.

Note: The lines on Form 540 are numbered with gaps in the line number

sequence. For example, lines 20 through 30 do not appear on Form 540, so

the line number that follows line 19 on Form 540 is line 31.

Caution: Form 540 has ﬁve sides. When ﬁling Form 540, you must send all

ﬁve sides to the Franchise Tax Board (FTB).

Filling in Your Tax Return

• Use black or blue ink on the tax return you send to the FTB.

• Enter your social security number(s) (SSN) or individual taxpayer

identiﬁcation number(s) (ITIN) at the top of Form 540, Side 1.

• Print numbers and CAPITAL LETTERS between the combed lines. Be sure

to line up dollar amounts.

•

If you do not have an entry for a line, leave it blank unless the

instructions for a line speciﬁcally tell you to enter -0-. Do not enter a

dash, or the word “NONE.”

Name(s) and Address

Print your ﬁrst name, middle initial, last name, and street address in the

spaces provided at the top of the form.

Sufﬁx

Use the Sufﬁx ﬁeld for generational name sufﬁxes such as “SR”, “JR”,

“III”, “IV”. Do not enter academic, professional, or honorary sufﬁxes.

Additional Information

Use the Additional Information ﬁeld for “In-Care-Of” name and other

supplemental address information only.

Foreign Address

If you have a foreign address, follow the country’s practice for entering the

city, county, province, state, country, and postal code, as applicable, in the

appropriate boxes. Do not abbreviate the country name.

Principal Business Activity (PBA) Code

For federal Schedule C (Form 1040), Proﬁt or Loss From Business (Sole

Proprietorship) business ﬁlers, enter the numeric PBA code from federal

Schedule C (Form 1040), line B.

Date of Birth (DOB)

Enter your DOBs (mm/dd/yyyy) in the spaces provided. If your ﬁling status is

married/RDP ﬁling jointly or married/RDP ﬁling separately, enter the DOBs in

the same order as the names.

Prior Name

If you or your spouse/RDP ﬁled your 2014 tax return under a different last

name, write the last name only from the 2014 tax return.

Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual

Taxpayer Identiﬁcation Number (ITIN)

Enter your SSN in the spaces provided. If ﬁling a joint tax return, enter the

SSNs in the same order as the names.

If you do not have an SSN because you are a nonresident or resident alien

for federal tax purposes, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued you

an ITIN, enter the ITIN in the space for the SSN. An ITIN is a tax processing

number issued by the IRS to foreign nationals and others who have a federal

tax ﬁling requirement and do not qualify for an SSN. It is a nine-digit number

that always starts with the number 9.

Filing Status

Line 1 through Line 5 – Filing Status

Check only one box for line 1 through line 5. Enter the required additional

information if you checked the box on line 3 or line 5. For ﬁling status

requirements, see page 3.

Use the same ﬁling status for California that you used for your federal

income tax return.

Exception: If you ﬁle a joint tax return for federal, you may ﬁle separately for

California if either spouse was:

•

An active member of the United States armed forces or any auxiliary

military branch during 2015.

•

A nonresident for the entire year and had no income from California

sources during 2015.

Caution – Community Property States: If the spouse earning the

California source income is domiciled in a community property state,

community income will be split equally between the spouses. Both

spouses will have California source income and they will not qualify for

the nonresident spouse exception.

If you had no federal ﬁling requirement, use the same ﬁling status for

California you would have used to ﬁle a federal income tax return.

Registered domestic partners (RDPs) who ﬁle single for federal must ﬁle

married/RDP ﬁling jointly or married/RDP ﬁling separately for California.

If you are an RDP and ﬁle head of household for federal purposes, you

may ﬁle head of household for California purposes only if you meet the

requirements to be considered unmarried or considered not in a domestic

partnership.

If you ﬁled a joint tax return and either you or your spouse/RDP was

a nonresident for 2015, you must ﬁle the Long or Short Form 540NR,

California Nonresident or Part-Year Resident Income Tax Return.

Exemptions

Line 6 – Can be Claimed as Dependent



601

Check the box on line 6 if someone else can claim you or your

spouse/RDP as a dependent on their tax return, even if they

chose not to.

Line 7 – Personal Exemptions

Did you check the box on line 6?

No Follow the instructions on line 7.

Yes Ignore the instructions on line 7. Instead, enter in the box on line 7 the

amount shown below for your ﬁling status:

•

Single or married/RDP ﬁling separately, enter -0-.

• Head of household, enter -0-.

• Married/RDP ﬁling jointly and both you and your spouse/RDP can

be claimed as dependents, enter -0-.

•

Married/RDP ﬁling jointly and only one spouse/RDP can be claimed

as a dependent, enter 1.

Do not claim this credit if someone else can claim you as a dependent on

their tax return.

Line 8 – Blind Exemptions

The ﬁrst year you claim this exemption credit, attach a doctor’s statement

to the back of Form 540 indicating you or your spouse/RDP are visually

impaired. Visually impaired means not capable of seeing better than 20/200

while wearing glasses or contact lenses, or if your ﬁeld of vision is not more

than 20 degrees.

Do not claim this credit if someone else can claim you as a dependent on

their tax return.

Line 9 – Senior Exemptions

If you were 65 years of age or older by December 31, 2015,* you should

claim an additional exemption credit on line 9. If you are married or an RDP,

each spouse/RDP 65 years of age or older should claim an additional credit.

You may contribute all or part of this credit to the California Seniors Special

Fund. See “Voluntary Contribution Fund Descriptions” for more information.

*If your 65th birthday is on January 1, 2016, you are considered to be

age 65 on December 31, 2015.

Do not claim this credit if someone else can claim you as a dependent on

their tax return.

Page 10 Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015

Instructions: Form 540 e-ﬁle at ftb.ca.gov

Line 10 – Dependent Exemptions

To claim an exemption credit for each of your dependents, you must write

each dependent’s ﬁrst and last name, SSN and relationship to you in the

space provided. If you are claiming more than three dependents, attach a

statement with the required dependent information to your tax return. Count

the number of dependents listed and enter the total in the box on line 10.

Multiply the number you entered by the pre-printed dollar amount and enter

the result.

If your dependent child was born and died in 2015 and you do not have

an SSN for the child, enter “Died” in the space provided for the SSN and

include a copy of the child’s birth certiﬁcate, death certiﬁcate, or hospital

records. The document must show the child was born alive.

Line 11 – Exemption Amount

Add line 7 through line 10 and enter the total dollar amount of all exemptions

for personal, blind, senior, and dependent.

Taxable Income

Refer to your completed federal income tax return to complete this section.

Line 12 – State Wages



204

Enter the total amount of your state wages from all states from

each of your Form(s) W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. This

amount appears on Form W -2, box 16.

If you received wages and do not have a Form W-2, see “Attachments to

your tax return.”

Line 13 – Federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) from

Form 1040, line 37; 1040A, line 21; or 1040EZ, line 4

RDPs who ﬁle a California tax return as married/RDP ﬁling jointly and have

no RDP adjustments between federal and California, combine their individual

AGIs from their federal tax returns ﬁled with the IRS. Enter the combined AGI

on line 13.

RDP adjustments include but are not limited to the following:

•

Transfer of property between spouses/RDPs

• Capital loss

• Transactions between spouses/RDPs

• Sale of residence

• Dependent care assistance

• Investment interest

• Qualiﬁed residence interest acquisition loan & equity loan

• Expense depreciation property limits

• Individual Retirement Account

• Interest education loan

• Rental real estate passive loss

• Rollover of publicly traded securities gain into specialized small business

investment companies

RDPs ﬁling as married/RDP ﬁling separately, former RDPs ﬁling separately,

and RDPs with RDP adjustments will use the California RDP Adjustments

Worksheet in FTB Pub. 737, Tax Information for Registered Domestic

Partners, or complete a federal pro forma Form 1040. Transfer the amount

from the California RDP Adjustments Worksheet, line 37, column D, or

federal pro forma Form 1040, line 37, to Form 540, line 13.

Line 14 – California Adjustments – Subtractions

[from Schedule CA (540), line 37, column B]

If there are no differences between your federal and California

income or deductions, do not ﬁle a Schedule CA (540), California

Adjustments — Residents.

If there are differences between your federal and California income or

deductions, complete Schedule CA (540). Follow the instructions for

Schedule CA (540). Enter on line 14 the amount from Schedule CA (540),

line 37, column B. If a negative amount, see Schedule CA (540), line 37

instructions.

Line 15 – Subtotal

Subtract the amount on line 14 from the amount on line 13. Enter the

result on line 15. If the amount on line 13 is less than zero, combine

the amounts on line 13 and line 14 and enter the result in parentheses.

For example: “(12,325).”

Line 16 – California Adjustments – Additions

[from Schedule CA (540), line 37, column C]

If there are differences between your federal and California income or

deductions, complete Schedule CA (540). Follow the instructions for

Schedule CA (540). Enter on line 16 the amount from Schedule CA (540),

line 37, column C. If a negative amount, see Schedule CA (540), line 37

instructions.

Line 18 – California Itemized Deductions or California

Standard Deduction

Decide whether to itemize your charitable contributions, medical expenses,

mortgage interest paid, taxes, etc., or take the standard deduction. Your

California income tax will be less if you take the larger of:

•

Your California itemized deductions.

• Your California standard deduction.

California itemized deductions may be limited based on federal AGI. To

compute limitations, use Schedule CA (540). RDPs use your recalculated

federal AGI to ﬁgure your itemized deductions.

On federal tax returns, individual taxpayers who claim the standard deduction

are allowed an additional deduction for net disaster losses. For California,

deductions for disaster losses are only allowed for those individual taxpayers

who itemized their deductions.

If married or an RDP and ﬁling separate tax returns, you and your spouse/

RDP must either both itemize your deductions (even if the itemized

deductions of one spouse/RDP are less than the standard deduction) or

both take the standard deduction.

If someone else can claim you as a dependent, you may claim the greater of

the standard deduction or your itemized deductions. To ﬁgure your standard

deduction, use the Form 540 – California Standard Deduction Worksheet for

Dependents.

Itemized deductions.

Figure your California itemized deductions by

completing Schedule CA (540), Part II, line 38 through line 44. Enter the

result on Form 540, line 18.

If you did not itemize deductions on your federal income tax return but will

itemize deductions for your Form 540, ﬁrst complete federal Schedule A

(Form 1040), Itemized Deductions. Then complete Schedule CA (540),

Part II, line 38 through line 44. Attach both the federal Schedule A

(Form 1040) and California Schedule CA (540) to the back of your tax return.

Standard deduction. Find your standard deduction on the California

Standard Deduction Chart for Most People. If you checked the box on

Form 540, line 6, use the California Standard Deduction Worksheet for

Dependents.

California Standard Deduction Chart for Most People

Do not use this chart if your parent, or someone else, can claim you

(or your spouse/RDP) as a dependent on their tax return.

Your Filing Status Enter On Line 18

1 – Single ........................................... $4,044

2 – Married/RDP ﬁling jointly ............................ $8,088

3 – Married/RDP ﬁling separately . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $4,044

4 – Head of household

................................. $8,088

5 – Qualifying widow(er)................................ $8,088

The California standard deduction amounts are less than the federal

standard deduction amounts.

Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015 Page 11

e-ﬁle is fast, easy, and secure! Instructions: Form 540

California Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents

Use this worksheet only if your parent, or someone else, can claim you (or

your spouse/RDP) as a dependent on their return. Use whole dollars only.

1. Enter your earned income from: line 1 of the

“Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents’’

in the instructions for federal Form 1040;

Form 1040A; or from line A of the worksheet

on the back of Form 1040EZ.

.................. 1

2. Minimum standard deduction .................. 2 $1,050.00

3. Enter the larger of line 1 or line 2 here ........... 3

4. Enter the amount shown for your ﬁling status

• Single or married/RDP ﬁling separately,

enter $4,044.............................

•

Married/RDP ﬁling jointly, head of household,

or qualifying widow(er), enter $8,088

4 ____________

...........

5. Standard deduction. Enter the smaller of

line 3 or line 4 here and on Form 540, line 18

}

....... 5____________

Line 19 – Taxable Income

Capital Construction Fund (CCF). If you claim a deduction on your federal

Form 1040, line 43 for the contribution made to a capital construction fund

set up under the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, reduce the amount you

would otherwise enter on line 19 by the amount of the deduction. Next to

line 19, enter “CCF” and the amount of the deduction. For details, see federal

Publication 595, Capital Construction Fund for Commercial Fishermen.

Tax

When ﬁguring your tax, use the correct ﬁling status and taxable income

amount.

Line 31 – Tax

To ﬁgure your tax, use one of the following methods and check the matching

box on line 31:

•

Tax Table. If your taxable income on line 19 is $100,000 or less, use the

tax table beginning on page 75. Use the correct ﬁling status column in

the tax table.

•

Tax Rate Schedules. If your taxable income on line 19 is over $100,000,

use the tax rate schedule for your ﬁling status on page 80.

•

FTB 3800. Generally, use form FTB 3800, Tax Computation for Certain

Children with Investment Income, to ﬁgure the tax on a separate

Form 540 for your child who was 18 and under or a student under age 24

on January 1, 2016, and who had more than $2,100 of investment

income. Attach form FTB 3800 to the child’s Form 540.

•

FTB 3803. If, as a parent, you elect to report your child’s interest and

dividend income of $10,500 or less (but not less than $1,050) on your

tax return, complete form FTB 3803, Parents’ Election to Report Child’s

Interest and Dividends. File a separate form FTB 3803 for each child

whose income you elect to include on your Form 540. Add the amount

of tax, if any, from each form FTB 3803, line 9, to the amount of your tax

from the tax table or tax rate schedules and enter the result on Form 540,

line 31. Attach form(s) FTB 3803 to your tax return.

To prevent possible delays in processing your tax return or refund, enter the

correct tax amount on this line. To automatically ﬁgure your tax or to verify

your tax calculation, use our online tax calculator. Go to ftb.ca.gov and

search for tax calculator.

✓Tip

CalFile or e-ﬁle and you won’t have to do the math. Go to

ftb.ca.gov and search for eﬁle.

Line 32 – Exemption Credits

Exemption credits reduce your tax. If your federal adjusted gross income

(AGI) on line 13 is more than the amount shown below for your ﬁling status,

your credits will be limited.

For purposes of computing limitations based upon AGI, RDPs, recalculate

their AGI using a federal pro forma or California RDP Adjustments Worksheet

(located in FTB Pub. 737). If your recalculated federal AGI is more than the

amount shown below for your ﬁling status, your credits will be limited.

If your ﬁling status is: Is line 13 more than:

Single or married/RDP ﬁling separately

..................... $178,706

Married/RDP ﬁling jointly or qualifying widow(er)

............. $357,417

Head of household

..................................... $268,063

Yes Complete the AGI Limitation Worksheet below.

No Follow the instructions on Form 540, line 32.

AGI Limitation Worksheet

Use whole dollars only.

a Enter the amount from line 13

.........................a______



Enter the amount for your ﬁling status on line b:

• Singleormarried/RDPlingseparately.....$178,706

• Married/RDPlingjointlyor

qualifying widow(er) ...................$357,417 ______

• Headofhousehold.....................$268,063

}

Subtract line b from line a ............................c______

d Divide line c by $2,500 ($1,250 if married/RDP ﬁling

separately). If the result is not a whole number, round it

to the next higher whole number.......................d______

e Multiply line d by $6 ................................e______

f Add the numbers from the boxes on

lines 7, 8, and 9 (not the dollar amounts) ................ f______

g Multiply line e by line f ..............................g______

h Add the total dollar amount from lines 7, 8, and 9 .........h______

i Subtract line g from line h. If zero or less, enter -0- ........ i______

j Enter the number from the box on

line 10 (not the dollar amount) ........................ j______

k Multiply line e by line j...............................k______

l Enter the dollar amount from line 10 ................... l______

m Subtract line k from line l. If zero or less, enter -0- ........ m______

n Add line i and line m. Enter the result here and on line 32....n______

Line 34 – Tax from Schedule G-1 and Form FTB 5870A

If you received a qualiﬁed lump-sum distribution in 2015 and you were born

before January 2, 1936, get California Schedule G-1, Tax on Lump-Sum

Distributions to ﬁgure your tax by special methods that may result in less

tax.

If you received accumulation distributions from foreign trusts or from certain

domestic trusts, get form FTB 5870A, Tax on Accumulation Distribution of

Trusts, to ﬁgure the additional tax.

To get these forms, see “Order Forms and Publications.”

Special Credits and Nonrefundable Credits

A variety of California tax credits are available to reduce your tax if you

qualify. To ﬁgure and claim most special credits, you must complete a

separate form or schedule and attach it to your Form 540. The Credit Chart

on page 24 describes the credits and provides the name, credit code, and

number of the required form or schedule. Many credits are limited to a

certain percentage or a certain dollar amount. In addition, the total amount

you may claim for all credits is limited by tentative minimum tax (TMT); go

to Box A to see if your credits are limited.

If you are not claiming any special credits go to line 40 and line 46 to see if

you qualify for the nonrefundable child and dependent care expenses credit

or the nonrefundable renter’s credit.

Page 12 Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015

Instructions: Form 540 e-ﬁle at ftb.ca.gov

Box A – Did you complete federal Schedule C, D, E, or F and claim or receive

any of the following (Note: If your business gross receipts are less

than $1,000,000 from all trades or businesses, you do not have to

report alternative minimum tax (AMT). For more information, see

line 61 instructions.):

• Accelerated depreciation in excess of straight-line

• Intangible drilling costs

• Depletion

• Circulation expenditures

• Research and experimental expenditures

• Mining exploration/development costs

• Amortization of pollution control facilities

• Income/loss from tax shelter farm activities

• Income/loss from passive activities

• Income from long-term contracts using the percentage of

completion method

• Pass-through AMT adjustment from an estate or trust

reported on Schedule K-1 (541)

Yes Complete Schedule P (540). See “Order Forms and

Publications.”

No Go to Box B.

Box B – Did you claim or receive any of the following:

• Investment interest expense  226

•

Income from incentive stock options in excess of the amount

reported on your tax return  225

• Income from installment sales of certain property

Yes Complete Schedule P (540). See “Order Forms and

Publications.”

No Go to Box C.

Box C – If your ﬁling status is: Is Form 540, line 17 more than:

Single or head of household........................$246,451

Married/RDP ﬁling jointly or qualifying widow(er) .......$328,601

Married/RDP ﬁling separately.......................$164,299

Yes Complete Schedule P (540). See “Order Forms and

Publications.”

No Your credits are not limited. Go to the instructions for

line 40.

Line 40 – Nonrefundable Child and Dependent Care

Expenses Credit

Claim this credit if you paid someone to care for your qualifying child under

the age of 13, other dependent who is physically or mentally incapable of

caring for him or herself, or spouse/RDP if physically or mentally incapable

of caring for him or herself. The care must be provided in California. To

claim this credit, your federal AGI must be $100,000 or less and you must

complete and attach form FTB 3506, Child and Dependent Care Expenses

Credit, included in this booklet.

Line 43 through Line 45 – Additional Special Credits

A code identiﬁes each credit. To claim only one or two credits, enter the

credit name, code, and amount of the credit on line 43 and line 44.

To claim more than two credits, use Schedule P (540), Part III. See

Schedule P (540) instructions, “How to Claim Your Credits.”

Important: Attach Schedule P (540) and any supporting schedules or

statements to your Form 540.

Carryovers: If you claim a credit with carryover provisions and the amount

of the credit available this year exceeds your tax, carry over any excess

credit to future years until the credit is used (unless the carryover period

is a ﬁxed number of years). If you claim a credit carryover for an expired

credit, use form FTB 3540, Credit Carryover and Recapture Summary, to

ﬁgure the amount of the credit. Otherwise, enter the amount of the credit on

Schedule P (540), Part III, and do not attach form FTB 3540.

Credit for Joint Custody Head of Household — Code 170

You may not claim this credit if you used the married/RDP ﬁling jointly, head

of household, or qualifying widow(er) ﬁling status.

Claim the credit if unmarried and not an RDP at the end of 2015 (or if

married/or an RDP, you lived apart from your spouse/RDP for all of 2015

and you used the married/RDP ﬁling separately ﬁling status); and if you

furnished more than one-half the household expenses for your home that

also served as the main home of your child, step-child, or grandchild for at

least 146 days but not more than 219 days of the taxable year. If the child

is married or an RDP, you must be entitled to claim a dependent exemption

credit for the child.

Also, the custody arrangement for the child must be part of a decree of

dissolution or legal separation or part of a written agreement between the

parents where the proceedings have been initiated, but a decree of dissolution

or legal separation has not yet been issued.

Use the worksheet below to ﬁgure the Joint Custody Head of Household

credit using whole dollars only.

1. Enter the amount from Form 540, line 35 ...........1

2. Credit percentage — 30%.......................2 x .30

3. Credit amount. Multiply line 1 by line 2.

Enter the result or $431, whichever is less

..........3

If you qualify for the Credit for Joint Custody Head of Household and the

Credit for Dependent Parent, claim only one credit. Select the credit that

allows the maximum beneﬁt.

Credit for Dependent Parent — Code 173

You may not claim the Credit for Dependent Parent if you used the single,

head of household, qualifying widow(er), or married/RDP ﬁling jointly ﬁling

status.

Claim this credit only if all of the following apply:

•

You were married/or an RDP at the end of 2015 and you used the

married/RDP ﬁling separately ﬁling status.

•

Your spouse/RDP was not a member of your household during the last

six months of the year.

•

You furnished over one-half the household expenses for your dependent

mother’s or father’s home, whether or not she or he lived in your home.

To ﬁgure the amount of this credit, use the worksheet above for the Credit

for Joint Custody Head of Household. If you qualify for the Credit for Joint

Custody Head of Household and the Credit for Dependent Parent, claim only

one. Select the credit that will allow the maximum beneﬁt.

Credit for Senior Head of Household — Code 163

You may claim this credit if you:

•

Were 65 years of age or older on December 31, 2015.*

• Qualiﬁed as a head of household in 2013 or 2014 by providing a

household for a qualifying individual who died during 2013 or 2014.

• Did not have AGI over $69,902 for 2015.

* If your 65th birthday is on January 1, 2016, you are considered to be

age 65 on December 31, 2015.

If you meet all the conditions listed above, you do not need to qualify to use

the head of household ﬁling status for 2015 in order to claim this credit.

Use this worksheet to ﬁgure this credit using whole dollars only.

1. Enter the amount from line 19.....................1

2. Credit percentage — 2%.........................2 x .02

3. Credit amount. Multiply line 1 by line 2.

Enter the result or $1,317, whichever is less

..........3

Credit for Child Adoption Costs — Code 197

For the year in which an adoption decree or an order of adoption is entered

(e.g., adoption is ﬁnal), claim a credit for 50% of the cost of adopting a child

who was both:

•

A citizen or legal resident of the United States.

• In the custody of a California public agency or a California political

subdivision.

Treat a prior unsuccessful attempt to adopt a child (even when the costs were

incurred in a prior year) and a later successful adoption of a different child as

one effort when computing the cost of adopting the child. Include the following

costs if directly related to the adoption process:

•

Fees for Department of Social Services or a licensed adoption agency.

• Medical expenses not reimbursed by insurance.

• Travel expenses for the adoptive family.

Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015 Page 13

e-ﬁle is fast, easy, and secure! Instructions: Form 540

Note:

•

This credit does not apply when a child is adopted from another country

or another state, or was not in the custody of a California public agency

or a California political subdivision.

•

Any deduction for the expenses used to claim this credit must be reduced

by the amount of the child adoption costs credit claimed.

Use the worksheet below to ﬁgure this credit using whole dollars only.

If more than one adoption qualiﬁes for this credit, complete a separate

worksheet for each adoption. The maximum credit is limited to $2,500 per

minor child.

1. Enter qualifying costs for the child ................1

2. Credit percentage — 50%.......................2 x .50

3. Credit amount. Multiply line 1 by line 2.

Do not enter more than $2,500

...................3

Your allowable credit is limited to $2,500 for 2015. Carry over the excess

credit to future years until the credit is used.

Line 46 – Nonrefundable Renter’s Credit

If you paid rent for at least six months in 2015 on your principal residence

located in California you may qualify to claim the nonrefundable renter’s

credit which may reduce your tax. Complete the qualiﬁcation record on

page 21.

Line 48

Subtract the amount on line 47 from the amount on line 35. Enter the result

on line 48. If the amount on line 47 is more than the amount on line 35,

enter -0-.

Other Taxes

Attach the speciﬁc form or statement required for each item below.

Line 61 – Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)

If you claim certain types of deductions, exclusions, and credits, you may

owe AMT if your total income is more than:

•

$87,627 married/RDP ﬁling jointly or qualifying widow(er)

• $65,721 single or head of household

• $43,812 married/RDP ﬁling separately

A child under age 19 or a student under age 24 may owe AMT if the sum of

the amount on line 19 (taxable income) and any preference items listed on

Schedule P (540) and included on the return is more than the sum of $7,400

and the child’s earned income.

AMT income does not include income, adjustments, and items of tax

preference related to any trade or business of a qualiﬁed taxpayer who has

gross receipts, less returns and allowances, during the taxable year of less

than $1,000,000 from all trades or businesses.

Get Schedule P (540) for more information. See “Order Forms and

Publications.”

Line 62 – Mental Health Services Tax

If your taxable income is more than $1,000,000, compute the Mental Health

Services Tax using whole dollars only:

1. Taxable income from line 19 .................. 1

2. Less..................................... 2 $(1,000,000)

3. Subtotal .................................. 3

4. Tax rate – 1%.............................. 4 x .01

5. Mental Health Services Tax – Multiply line 3 by

line 4. Enter this amount here and on line 62...... 5

Line 63 – Other Taxes and Credit Recapture

If you received an early distribution of a qualiﬁed retirement plan and were

required to report additional tax on your federal tax return, you may also

be required to report additional tax on your California tax return. Get form

FTB 3805P, Additional Taxes on Qualiﬁed Plans (including IRAs) and Other

Tax-Favored Accounts. If required to report additional tax, report it on line 63

and write “FTB 3805P” to the left of the amount.

California conforms to federal law for income received under IRC

Section 409A on a nonqualiﬁed deferred compensation (NQDC) plan and

discounted stock options and stock appreciation rights. Income received

under IRC Section 409A is subject to an additional 5% tax of the amount

required to be included in income plus interest. Include the additional tax, if

any, on line 63. Write “NQDC” on the dotted line to the left of the amount.

If you owe interest on deferred tax from installment obligations, include

the additional tax, if any, in the amount you enter on line 63. Write “IRC

Section 453A interest” and the amount on the dotted line to the left of the

amount on line 63.

If you used form(s):

•

FTB 3540, Credit Carryover and Recapture Summary

• FTB 3554, New Employment Credit

• FTB 3805Z, Enterprise Zone Deduction and Credit Summary

• FTB 3807, Local Agency Military Base Recovery Area Deduction and

Credit Summary

•

FTB 3808, Manufacturing Enhancement Area Credit Summary

• FTB 3809, Targeted Tax Area Deduction and Credit Summary

Include the additional tax for credit recapture, if any, on line 63. Write the

form number and the amount on the dotted line to the left of the amount on

line 63.

Payments

To avoid a delay in the processing of your tax return, enter the correct

amounts on line 71 through line 74.

Line 71 – California Income Tax Withheld

Enter the total California income tax withheld from your:

• Form(s) W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, box 17

• Form(s) W-2G, Certain Gambling Winnings, box 15

• Form(s) 1099-DIV, Dividends and Distributions, box 14

• Form(s) 1099-INT, Interest Income, box 17

• Form(s) 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income, box 16

• Form(s) 1099-OID, Original Issue Discount, box 13

• Form(s) 1099-R, Distributions from Pensions, Annuities, Retirement, or

Proﬁt Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc., box 12

Do not include city, local, or county tax withheld, tax withheld by other

states, or nonconsenting nonresident (NCNR) member’s tax from

Schedule K-1 (568), line 15e. Do not include withholding from Forms 592-B,

Resident and Nonresident Withholding Tax Statement, or Form 593, Real

Estate Withholding Tax Statement, on this line. For more details, see

instructions for line 73.

Generally, tax should not be withheld on federal Form 1099-MISC. If you

want to pre-pay tax on income reported on federal Form 1099-MISC, use

Form 540-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals.

Line 72 – 2015 CA Estimated Tax and Other Payments

Enter the total of any:

•

California estimated tax payments you made using 2015 Form 540-ES,

electronic funds withdrawal, Web Pay, or credit card.

•

Overpayment from your 2014 California income tax return that you

applied to your 2015 estimated tax.

•

Payment you sent with form FTB 3519, Payment for Automatic Extension

for Individuals.

•

California estimated tax payments made on your behalf by an estate,

trust, or S corporation on Schedule K-1 (541) or Schedule K-1 (100S).

✓Tip

To view payments made or get your current account balance,

go to ftb.ca.gov and search for myftb account.

If you and your spouse/RDP paid joint estimated taxes but are now ﬁling

separate income tax returns, either of you may claim the entire amount paid,

or each may claim part of the joint estimated tax payments. If you want the

estimated tax payments to be divided, notify the FTB before you ﬁle the tax

returns so the payments can be applied to the proper account. The FTB will

accept in writing, any divorce agreement (or court-ordered settlement) or

a statement showing the allocation of the payments along with a notarized

signature of both taxpayers.

Send statements to:

JOINT ESTIMATED CREDIT ALLOCATION MS F225

TAXPAYER SERVICES CENTER

FRANCHISE TAX BOARD

PO BOX 942840

SACRAMENTO, CA 94240-0040

If you or your spouse/RDP made separate estimated tax payments, but are

now ﬁling a joint income tax return, add the amounts you each paid. Attach

a statement to the front of Form 540 explaining that payments were made

under both SSNs.

Page 14 Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015

Instructions: Form 540 e-ﬁle at ftb.ca.gov

You do not have to make estimated tax payments if you are a nonresident or

new resident of California in 2016 and did not have a California tax liability

in 2015.

Line 73 – Withholding (Form 592-B and/or 593)

Enter the total of California withholding from Form 592-B, Resident

and Nonresident Withholding Tax Statement and Form 593, Real Estate

Withholding Tax Statement. Attach a copy of Form(s) 593 and 592-B to the

lower front of Form 540, Side 1.

If your marital or ﬁling status has changed after escrow closed and before

ﬁling your California tax return, please contact us at 888.792.4900, prior

to ﬁling your California tax return, for instructions on how to claim your

withholding credit.

Caution: Do not include withholding from federal Form(s) W-2, W-2G, or

1099, or NCNR member’s tax from Schedule K-1 (568), line 15e on this line.

Line 74 – Excess California SDI (or VPDI) Withheld

You may claim a credit for excess State Disability Insurance (SDI) or

Voluntary Plan Disability Insurance (VPDI) if you meet all of the following

conditions:

•

You had two or more California employers during 2015.

•

You received more than $104,378 in social security wages. (Box 3 on

your Form W-2) from California sources. If you have no social security

wages (Box 3) then use total wages (Box 16).

•

The amounts of SDI (or VPDI) withheld appear on your Form(s) W-2. Be

sure to attach your Form(s) W -2 to the lower front of your Form 540.

If SDI (or VPDI) was withheld from your wages by a single employer, at

more than 0.9% of your social security wages, you may not claim excess

SDI (or VPDI) on your Form 540. Contact the employer for a refund.

To determine the amount to enter on line 74, complete the Excess SDI (or

VPDI) Worksheet below. If married/RDP ﬁling jointly, ﬁgure the amount of

excess SDI (or VPDI) separately for each s

pouse/RDP.

Excess SDI (or VPDI) Worksheet

Use whole dollars only.

Follow the instructions below to ﬁgure the amount of excess SDI to enter

on Form 540, line 74. If you are married/RDP and ﬁle a joint return, you

must ﬁgure the amount of excess SDI (or VPDI) separately for each

spouse/RDP.

You

Your

Spouse/RDP

1. Add amounts of SDI (or VPDI) withheld

shown on your Forms W-2.

Enter the total here 1

2. 2015 SDI (or VPDI) limit 2

$939.40 $939.40

3. Excess SDI (or VPDI) withheld. Subtract

line 2 from line 1. Enter the results here.

Combine the amounts on line 3 and enter

the total, in whole dollars only on line 74

....................

................

If zero or less, enter -0- on line 74.

Line 75 – Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)

Enter your Earned Income Tax Credit from form FTB 3514, California Earned

Income Tax Credit.

Line 76

For the Claim of Right credit, follow the reporting instructions in

Schedule CA (540), line 41 under the Claim of Right.

Claim of Right: If you are claiming the tax credit on your California tax return,

include the amount of the credit in the total for this line. Write in “IRC 1341”

and the amount of the credit to the left of the amount column.

To determine if you are entitled to this credit, refer to your prior year

California Form 540, Form 540NR (Long or Short), or Schedule CA (540

or 540NR) to verify the amount was included in your CA taxable income.

If the amount repaid under a “Claim of Right” was not originally taxed by

California, you are not entitled to claim the credit.

Use Tax

Line 91 – Use Tax. This is not a total line.

You may owe use tax if you make purchases from out-of-state retailers

(for example, purchases made by telephone, online, by mail, or in person)

where sales or use tax was not paid and you use those items in California. If

you have questions about whether a purchase is taxable, go to the Board of

Equalization’s website at boe.ca.gov, or call its Customer Service Center at

1.800.400.7115 or (TTY) 711 (for hearing and speech disabilities.)

Some taxpayers are required to report business purchases subject to use

tax directly to the Board of Equalization. However, they may report certain

personal purchases subject to use tax on the FTB income tax return.

You may not report use tax for business purposes on your income tax return

if you:

• HaveorarerequiredtohaveaCaliforniaseller’spermit.

• AreabusinessnotrequiredtoholdaCaliforniaseller’spermit,butthat

received at least $100,000 per year in gross receipts.

• AreotherwiserequiredtoberegisteredwiththeBoardofEqualizationfor

sales or use tax purposes.

Note: You may not report use tax on your income tax return for certain types

of transactions. These types of transactions are described in detail below in

the instructions.

The Use Tax Worksheet and Estimated Use Tax Lookup Table will help you

determine how much use tax to report. If you owe use tax but you do not

report it on your income tax return, you must report and pay the tax to the

Board of Equalization. For information on how to report use tax directly to

the Board of Equalization, go to their website at boe.ca.gov and click on

Find Information About Use Tax under the heading How Do I.

Failure to report and pay timely may result in the assessment of interest,

penalties, and fees.

See page 22 for a general explanation of California use tax.

Use Tax Worksheet

You must use the Use Tax Worksheet to calculate your use tax liability, if any

of these apply:

•

You prefer to calculate the amount of use tax due based upon your actual

purchases subject to use tax, rather than based on an estimate.

•

You owe use tax on any item purchased for use in a trade or business not

registered with the Board of Equalization.

•

You owe use tax on purchases of individual items with a purchase price

of $1,000 or more each.

Example 1: You purchased a television for $2,000 from an out-of state

retailer that did not collect tax. You must use the Use Tax Worksheet to

calculate the tax due on the price of the television, since the price of the

television is $1,000 or more.

Example 2: You purchased a computer monitor for $300, a rare coin for

$500, and designer clothing for $250 from out-of-state retailers that did

not collect tax. Although the total price of all the items is $1,050, the price

of each item is less than $1,000. Since none of these individual items are

$1,000 or more, you are not required to use the Use Tax Worksheet and may

choose to use the Estimated Use Tax Lookup Table.

If you have a combination of individual items purchased for $1,000 or more,

and/or items purchased for use in a trade or business not registered with the

Board of Equalization, and individual, non-business items purchased for less

than $1,000, you may either:

•

Use the Use Tax Worksheet to compute use tax due on all purchases, or

• Use the Use Tax Worksheet to compute use tax due on all individual

items purchased for $1,000 or more plus items purchased for use in a

trade or business. Use the Estimated Use Tax Lookup Table to estimate

the use tax due on individual, non-business items purchased for less than

$1,000, then add the amounts and report the total use tax on line 91.

Example 3: The total price of the items you purchased from out-of-state

retailers that did not collect use tax is $2,300, which includes a $1,000

television, a $900 painting, and a $400 table for your living room.

•

You may choose to calculate the use tax due on the total price of $2,300

using the Use Tax Worksheet, or

•

You may choose to calculate the use tax due on the $1,000 price of the

television using the Use Tax Worksheet and estimate your use tax liability

for the painting and table by using the Estimated Use Tax Lookup Table,

then add the amounts and report the total use tax on line 91.

Use Tax Worksheet (See Instructions Below)

Use whole dollars only

1. Enter purchases from out-of-state sellers made without

payment of California sales/use tax. If you choose to

estimate the use tax due on individual, non-business

items purchased for less than $1,000 each, only enter

purchases of items with a purchase price of $1,000 or

more plus items purchased for use in a trade or business

not registered with the Board of Equalization $

2. Enter the applicable sales and use tax rate

3. Multiply line 1 by the tax rate on line 2.

Enter result here $

4. If you choose to estimate the use tax due on individual,

non-business items purchased for less than

$1,000 each, enter the use tax amount due from the

Estimated Use Tax Lookup Table. If all of your

purchases are included in line 1, enter -0-

5. Add lines 3 and 4. This is your total use tax $

6. Enter any sales or use tax you paid to another state for

purchases included on line 1.

See worksheet instructions below. $

7. Subtract line 6 from line 5. This is the total use tax due.

Enter the amount due on line 91. If the amount is less

than zero, enter -0-.. $

Worksheet, Line 1, Purchases Subject to Use Tax

Report purchases of items that would have been subject to sales tax if

purchased from a California retailer unless your receipt shows that California

tax was paid directly to the retailer. For example, generally, you would include

pur

chases of clothing, but not purchases of food products or prescription

medicine. For more information on nontaxable and exempt purchases, you

may visit the Board of Equalization’s website at boe.ca.gov.

•

Include handling charges.

• Do not include any other state’s sales or use tax paid on the purchases.

• Enter only purchases made during the year that corresponds with the tax

return you are ﬁling.

•

If you traveled to a foreign country and hand carried items back to

California, generally use tax is due on the purchase price of the goods

you listed on your U.S. Customs Declaration less an $800 per-person

exemption. For the hand carried items, you should report the amount

of purchases in excess of the $800 per person exemption. This $800

exemption does not apply to goods sent or shipped to California by mail

or other common carrier. For goods sent or shipped, you should report

the entire amount of the purchases.

•

If your ﬁling status is “married/RDP ﬁling separately,” you may elect to

report one-half of the use tax due or the entire amount on your income

tax return. If you elect to report one-half, your spouse/RDP may report

the remaining half on his or her income tax return or on the individual

use tax return available from the Board of Equalization.

Note: You must report and pay any use tax you owe on the following

purchases directly to the Board of Equalization, not on your income tax

return.

•

Vehicles, vessels, and trailers that must be registered with the

Department of Motor Vehicles.

•

Mobile homes or commercial coaches that must be registered annually

as required by the Health and Safety Code.

•

Vessels documented with the U.S. Coast Guard.

• Aircraft.

• Leases of machinery, equipment, vehicles, and other tangible personal

property.

•

Cigarettes and tobacco products when the purchaser is registered

with the Board of Equalization as a cigarette and/or tobacco products

consumer.

Worksheet, Line 2, Sales and Use Tax Rate

Enter the sales and use tax rate applicable to the place in California where the

property was used, stored, consumed, or given away. To ﬁnd your sales and

use tax rate using your computer or mobile device, please go to the Board

of Equalization’s website at boe.ca.gov. Look under the heading, Popular

Topics, then click on Latest Sales and Use Tax Rates. You may also call

their Customer Service Center at 800.400.7115 or (TTY) 711 (for hearing

and speech disabilities.)

Worksheet, Line 6, Credit for Tax Paid to Another State

This is a credit for tax paid to other states on purchases reported on Line 1.

You can claim a credit up to the amount of tax that would have been due if

the purchase had been made in California. For example, if you paid $8.00

sales tax to another state for a purchase, and would have paid $6.00 in

California, you can claim a credit of only $6.00 for that purchase.

Estimated Use Tax Lookup Table

You may use the Estimated Use Tax Lookup Table to estimate and report

the use tax due on individual non-business items you purchased for less

than $1,000 each. This option is only available if you are permitted to report

use tax on your income tax return and you are not required to use the Use

Tax Worksheet to calculate the use tax owed on all your purchases. Simply

include the use tax liability that corresponds to your California Adjusted

Gross Income (found on line 17) and enter it on line 91. You will not be

assessed additional use tax on the individual non-business items you

purchased for less than $1,000 each.

You may not use the Estimated Use Tax Lookup Table to estimate and

report the use tax due on purchases of items for use in your business or

on purchases of individual non-business items you purchased for $1,000

or more each. See the instructions for the Use Tax Worksheet if you have

a combination of purchases of individual non-business items for less than

$1,000 each and purchases of individual non-business items for $1,000 or

more.

Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Range Use Tax Liability

Less Than $10,000

$10,000 to $19,999 $5

$20,000 to $29,999

$30,000 to $39,999

$12

$40,000 to $49,999

$16

$50,000 to $59,999

$19

$60,000 to $69,999

$23

$70,000 to $79,999

$26

$80,000 to $89,999

$30

$90,000 to $99,999

$33

$100,000 to $124,999

$39

$125,000 to $149,999

$48

$150,000 to $174,999

$57

$175,000 to $199,999

$66

More than $199,999 – Multiply AGI by 0.035% (x0.00035)

Enter your use tax liability on Line 4 of the worksheet, or if you are not

required to use the worksheet, enter the amount on Line 91 of your income

tax return.

Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015 Page 15

e-ﬁle is fast, easy, and secure! Instructions: Form 540

. ........ ________.00

............ ___________

............................... ________.00

........... ________.00

. ......... ________.00

.................. ________.00

............................. ________.00

Page 16 Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015

Instructions: Form 540 e-ﬁle at ftb.ca.gov

Overpaid Tax or Tax Due

To avoid delay in processing of your tax return, enter the correct amounts on

line 94 through line 97.

Line 94 – Overpaid Tax

If the amount on line 92 is more than the amount on line 64, your payments

and credits are more than your tax. Subtract the amount on line 64 from the

amount on line 92. Enter the result on line 94.

✓Tip

Choose e-ﬁle and Direct Deposit and get your refund faster.

Line 95 – Amount You Want Applied to Your 2016

Estimated Tax

Apply all or part of the amount on line 94 to your estimated tax for 2016.

Enter on line 95 the amount of line 94 that you want applied to your 2016

estimated tax.

An election to apply an overpayment to estimated tax is binding. Once the

election is made, the overpayment cannot be applied to a deﬁciency after the

due date of the tax return.

Line 96 – Overpaid Tax Available This Year

If you entered an amount on line 95, subtract it from the amount on line 94.

Enter the result on line 96. Choose to have this entire amount refunded

to you or make voluntary contributions from this amount. See “Voluntary

Contribution Fund Descriptions” for more information.

Line 97 – Tax Due

If the amount on line 92 is less than the amount on line 64, subtract the

amount on line 92 from the amount on line 64. Enter the result on line 97.

Your tax is more than your payments and credits.

There is a penalty for not paying enough tax during the year. You may have

to pay a penalty if:

•

The tax due on line 97 is $500 or more ($250 or more if married/RDP

ﬁling separately).

•

The amount of state income tax withheld on line 71 is less than 90% of

the amount of your total tax on line 64.

If this applies to you, see instructions on line 113.

Increasing your withholding could eliminate the need to make a large

payment with your tax return. To increase your withholding, complete EDD

Form DE 4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certiﬁcate, and give it to your

employer’s appropriate payroll staff. Get this form from your employer or by

calling EDD at 888.745.3886

. Download the DE 4 at edd.ca.gov or to use

the online calculator, go to ftb.ca.gov and search for

de 4.

Form DE 4 speciﬁcally adjusts your California state withholding and is not

the same as the federal Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance

Certiﬁcate.

Contributions

You can make voluntary contributions to the funds listed on Side 4. See

“Voluntary Contributions Fund Descriptions” for more information.

You may also contribute any amount to the State Parks Protection Fund/

Parks Pass Purchase. To receive a single annual park pass, your contribution

must equal or exceed $195. When applicable, FTB will forward your name

and address from your tax return to the Department of Parks and Recreation

(DPR) who will issue a single Vehicle Day Use Annual Pass to you. Only

one pass will be provided per tax return. You may contact DPR directly to

purchase additional passes. If there is an error on your tax return in the

computation of total contributions or if we disallow the contribution you

requested because there is no credit available for the tax year, your name and

address will not be forwarded to DPR. Any contribution less than $195 will

be treated as a voluntary contribution and may be deducted as a charitable

contribution. For more information go to parks.ca.gov/annualpass/ or email

info@parks.ca.gov.

Amount You Owe

Add or subtract correctly to ﬁgure the amount you owe.

Line 111 – Amount You Owe

If you do not have an amount on line 96, add the amount on line 93, line 97,

and line 110, if any. Enter the result on line 111.

If you have an amount on line 96 and the amount on line 110 is more than

line 96, subtract line 96 from line 110 and enter the difference on line 111.

To avoid a late ﬁling penalty, ﬁle your Form 540 by the extended due date

even if you cannot pay the amount you owe.

Mandatory Electronic Payments. You are required to remit all your

payments electronically once you make an estimate or extension payment

exceeding $20,000 or you ﬁle an original return with a total tax liability over

$80,000. Once you meet this threshold, all subsequent payments regardless

of amount, tax type, or taxable year must be remitted electronically. The

ﬁrst payment that would trigger the mandatory e-pay requirement does not

have to be made electronically. Individuals that do not send the payment

electronically will be subject to a 1% noncompliance penalty.

You can request a waiver from mandatory e-pay if one or more of the

following is true:

•

You have not made an estimated tax or extension payment in excess of

$20,000 during the current or previous taxable year.

•

Your total tax liability reported for the previous taxable year did not

exceed $80,000.

•

The amount you paid is not representative of your total tax liability.

Electronic payments can be made using Web Pay on FTB’s website,

electronic funds withdrawal (EFW) as part of the e-ﬁle return, or your credit

card. For more information or to obtain the waiver form, go to ftb.ca.gov

and search for mandatory epay.

Payment Options

•

Electronic Funds Withdrawal – Instead of paying by check or money

order, use this convenient option if you e-ﬁle. Simply provide your bank

information, amount you want to pay, and the date you want the balance

due to be withdrawn from your account. Your tax preparation software

will offer this option.

•

Web Pay – Pay the amount you owe using our secure online payment

service. Go to ftb.ca.gov for more information.

• CreditCard– Use your Discover, MasterCard, Visa, or American Express

card to pay your tax. If you pay by credit card, do not mail form FTB 3519

to us. Call 800.272.9829 or go to the Ofﬁcial Payments Corp. website

at ofﬁcialpayments.com

, and use the jurisdiction code 1555. Ofﬁcial

Payments Corp. charges a convenience fee for using this service.

• CheckorMoneyOrder–Using black or blue ink, make your check or

money order payable to the “Franchise Tax Board.” Do not send cash.

Write your SSN or ITIN and “2015 Form 540” as applicable on the check or

money order. Enclose, but do not staple, your payment with your tax return.

Make all checks or money orders payable in U.S. dollars and drawn

against a U.S. ﬁnancial institution. Do not combine your 2015 tax

payment and any 2016 estimated tax payment in the same check.

Prepare two separate checks and mail each in a separate envelope.

If you e-ﬁled your tax return, mail your check or money order with form

FTB 3582, Payment Voucher for Individual e-ﬁled Returns. Do not mail a

copy of your e-ﬁled tax return.

A penalty may be imposed if your check is returned by your bank for

insufﬁcient funds.

Paying by Credit Card – Whether you e-ﬁle or ﬁle by mail, use your

Discover, MasterCard, Visa, or American Express card to pay your personal

income taxes (tax return balance due, extension payment, estimated tax

payment, or tax due with bill notice).

There is a convenience fee for this

service. This fee is paid directly to Ofﬁcial Payments Corp. based on the

amount of your tax payment.

Convenience Fee

•

2.30% of the tax amount charged (rounded to the nearest cent)

• Minimum fee: $1

Example:

Tax Payment = $753.56 Convenience Fee = $17.33

Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015 Page 17

e-ﬁle is fast, easy, and secure! Instructions: Form 540

When will my payments be effective?

Your payment is effective on the date you charge it.

What if I change my mind?

If you pay your tax liability by credit card and later reverse the credit card

transaction, you may be subject to penalties, interest, and other fees

imposed by the FTB for nonpayment or late payment of your tax liability.

How do I use my credit card to pay my income tax bill?

Once you have determined the type of payment and how much you owe,

have the following ready:

•

Your Discover, MasterCard, Visa, or American Express card

• Credit card number

• Expiration date

• Amount you are paying

• Your and your spouse’s/RDP’s SSN or ITIN

• First 4 letters of your and your spouse’s/RDP’s last name

• Taxable year

• Home phone number (including area code)

• ZIP Code for address where your monthly credit card bill is sent

• FTB Jurisdiction Code: 1555

Go to the Ofﬁcial Payments Corp. online payment center at

ofﬁcialpayments.com or call 800.2PAY.TAX or 800.272.9829 and follow the

recorded instructions. Ofﬁcial Payments Corp. provides customer assistance at

877.297.7457 Monday through Friday, 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST.

Payment Date: __________________

Conﬁrmation Number: ___________________

If you cannot pay the full amount or can only make a partial payment for

the amount shown on Form 540, line 114, see the information regarding

Installment Payments.

Interest and Penalties

If you ﬁle your tax return or pay your tax after the due date, you may owe

interest and penalties on the tax due.

Do not reduce the amount on line 94 or increase the amount on line 97 by

any penalty or interest amounts. Enter on Form 540, line 112 the amount of

interest and penalties.

Line 112 – Interest and Penalties

Interest. Interest will be charged on any late ﬁling or late payment penalty

from the original due date of the return to the date paid. In addition, if other

penalties are not paid within 15 days, interest will be charged from the date

of the billing notice until the date of payment. Interest compounds daily and

the interest rate is adjusted twice a year. The FTB website has a chart of

interest rates in effect since 1976. Go to ftb.ca.gov and search for interest

rates.

Late Filing of Tax Return. If you do not ﬁle your tax return by

October 17, 2016, you will incur a late ﬁling penalty plus interest from the

original due date of the tax return. The maximum total penalty is 25% of the

tax not paid if the tax return is ﬁled after October 17, 2016. The minimum

penalty for ﬁling a tax return more than 60 days late is $135 or 100% of the

balance due, whichever is less.

Late Payment of Tax. If you fail to pay your total tax liability by April 18, 2016,

you will incur a late payment penalty plus interest. The penalty is 5% of the

tax not paid when due plus 1/2% for each month, or part of a month, the tax

remains unpaid. We may waive the late payment penalty based on reasonable

cause. Reasonable cause is presumed when 90% of the tax shown on the

return is paid by the original due date of the return. However, the imposition

of interest is mandatory. If, after April 18, 2016, you ﬁnd that your estimate

of tax due was too low, pay the additional tax as soon as possible to avoid or

minimize further accumulation of penalties and interest.

Penalties. To avoid late payment penalties for use tax, you must report and

pay the use tax with a timely ﬁled income tax return, or California Individual

Use Tax return.

Other Penalties. We may impose other penalties if a payment is returned for

insufﬁcient funds. We may also impose penalties for negligence, substantial

understatement of tax, and fraud.

Line 113 – Underpayment of Estimated Tax

You may be subject to an estimated tax penalty if any of the following is true:

•

Your withholding and credits are less than 90% of your current tax year

liability.

•

Your withholding and credits are less than 100% of your prior year tax

liability (110% if AGI is more than $150,000 or $75,000 if married/RDP

ﬁling separately).

•

You did not pay enough through withholding to keep the amount you owe

with your tax return under $500 ($250 if married/RDP ﬁling separately).

The FTB can ﬁgure the penalty for you when you ﬁle your tax return and send

you a bill.

Is line 97 less than $500 ($250 if married/RDP ﬁling separately)?

Yes

Stop. You are not subject to an estimated payment penalty.

Continue. You may be subject to an estimated payment penalty.

Is line 97 less than 10% of the amount on line 48? Form 540 ﬁlers: this

excludes the tax on lump-sum distributions on Form 540, line 34.

Yes

Stop. You are not subject to an estimated payment penalty.

You may be subject to an estimated payment penalty; get form

FTB 5805, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals and

Fiduciaries (or form FTB 5805F, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by

Farmers and Fishermen).

The underpayment of estimated tax penalty shall not apply to the extent the

underpayment of an installment was created or increased by any provision

of law that is chaptered during and operative for the taxable year of the

underpayment. To request a waiver of the underpayment of estimated tax

penalty, get form FTB 5805 or form FTB 5805F. See “Where To Get Income

Tax Forms and Publications.”

If you complete one of these forms, attach it to the back of your

Form 540. Enter the amount of the penalty on line 113 and check the correct

box on line 113. Complete and attach the form if you claim a waiver, use the

annualized income installment method, or pay tax according to the schedule

for farmers and ﬁshermen, even if you do not owe a penalty.

See “Important Dates” for more information on estimated tax payments and

how to avoid the underpayment penalty.

See the instructions for Form 540, line 114 for information about ﬁguring

your payment, if any.

Line 114 – Total Amount Due

Is there an amount on line 111?

Yes

Add line 111, line 112, and line 113. Enter the result on line 114. For

payment options, see line 111 instructions.

Go to line 115.

Make all checks or money orders payable in U.S. dollars and drawn against a

U.S. ﬁnancial institution.

Refund or No Amount Due

Line 115 – Refund or No Amount Due

Did you report amounts on line 110, line 112, or line 113?

Enter the amount from line 96 on line 115. This is your refund

amount. If it is less than $1, attach a written statement to your

Form 540 requesting the refund.

Yes Combine the amounts from line 110, line 112, and line 113.

If the result is:

• Less than line 96, subtract the sum of line 110, line 112, and

line 113 from line 96 and enter on line 115. This is your refund

amount.

• More than line 96, subtract line 96 from the sum of line 110,

line 112, and line 113 and enter the result on line 114. This is your

total amount due. For payment options, see line 111 instructions.

Want a fast refund? Get your refund in 10 days or less when you e-ﬁle your

tax return.

Page 18 Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015

Instructions: Form 540 e-ﬁle at ftb.ca.gov

Direct Deposit (Refund Only)

Line 116 and Line 117 – Direct Deposit of Refund

Direct deposit is fast, safe, and convenient. To have your refund directly

deposited into your bank account, ﬁll in the account information on

line 116 and line 117. Fill in the routing and account numbers and indicate

the account type. Verify routing and account numbers with your ﬁnancial

institution. Do not attach a voided check or deposit slip. See the illustration

below.

Individual taxpayers may request that their refund be electronically deposited

into more than one checking or savings account. This allows more options

for managing your refund. For example, you can request part of your refund

go to your checking account to use now and the rest to your savings account

to save for later.

The routing number must be nine digits. The ﬁrst two digits must be 01

through 12 or 21 through 32. On the sample check, the routing number is

250250025. The account number can be up to 17 characters and can include

numbers and letters. Include hyphens but omit spaces and special symbols.

On the sample check, the account number is 202020.

Check the appropriate box for the type of account. Do not check more than

one box for each line.

Enter the portion of your refund you want directly deposited into each

account. Each deposit must be at least $1. The total of line 116 and line 117

must equal the total amount of your refund on line 115. If line 116 and

line 117 do not equal line 115, the FTB will issue a paper check.

Caution: Check with your ﬁnancial institution to make sure your deposit will

be accepted and to get the correct routing and account numbers. The FTB

is not responsible for a lost refund due to incorrect account information

entered by you or your representative.

Some ﬁnancial institutions will not allow a joint refund to be deposited to an

individual account. If the direct deposit is rejected, the FTB will issue a paper

check.

John Doe

Mary Doe

1234 Main Street

Anytown, CA 99999

1234

15-0000/0000

PAY TO THE

ORDER OF

ANYTOWN BANK

Anytown, CA 99999

I:250250025 I:202020•1234

DOLLARS

For

Do not include

the check number

Routing

number

Account

number



Direct Deposit for ScholarShare 529 College Savings Plans – If you

have a ScholarShare 529 College Savings Plan account maintained by

the ScholarShare Investment Board, you may have your refund directly

deposited to your ScholarShare account.

Fill in the routing number, account type and account number. To obtain the

nine-digit routing number go to scholarshare.com or call 800.544.5248.

Check “Checking” as type of account. Enter your complete account number

that includes (1) the “CA” preﬁx, (2) your four-digit investment portfolio

number, and (3) your ScholarShare account number (for account numbers

less than 11 digits, add leading zeros).

Type

Routing number

 Checking Account number

X X X X X X X X X

 Savings

C A X X X X 0 0 X X X X X X X X X



9-digit routing

number from

ScholarShare

website

(1)

“CA”

preﬁx

(2)

investment

portfolio

number

(3)

ScholarShare

account number

with leading zeroes

Sign Your Tax Return

You must sign your tax return in the space provided on Form 540, Side 5. If

you ﬁle a joint tax return, your spouse/RDP must sign the tax return also.

Include your phone number and email address in case the FTB needs to

contact you for information needed to process your tax return. By providing

this information the FTB will be able to process your tax return or issue your

refund faster.

Joint Tax Return. If you ﬁle a joint tax return, both you and your spouse/RDP

are generally responsible for the tax and any interest or penalties due on the

tax return. This means that if one spouse/RDP does not pay the tax due, the

other may be liable. See “Innocent Joint Filer Relief.”

Paid Preparer’s Information. If you pay a person to prepare your Form 540,

that person signs and completes the area at the bottom of Side 5 including

an identiﬁcation number. The IRS requires a paid tax preparer to get and

use a preparer tax identiﬁcation number (PTIN). If the preparer has a federal

employer identiﬁcation number (FEIN), it should be entered only in the space

provided. A paid preparer must give you a copy of your tax return to keep for

your records.

Third Party Designee. If you want to allow your preparer, a friend, family

member, or any other person you choose to discuss your 2015 tax return

with the FTB, check the “Yes” box in the signature area of your tax return.

Also print the designee’s name and telephone number.

If you check the “Yes” box you, and your spouse/RDP, if ﬁling a joint tax

return, are authorizing the FTB to call the designee to answer any questions

that may arise during the processing of your tax return. You are also

authorizing the designee to:

•

Give the FTB any information that is missing from your tax return.

• Call the FTB for information about the processing of your tax return or

the status of your refund or payments.

•

Receive copies of notices or transcripts related to your tax return, upon

request.

•

Respond to certain FTB notices about math errors, offsets, and tax return

preparation.

You are not authorizing the designee to receive any refund check, bind you

to anything (including any additional tax liability), or otherwise represent you

before the FTB. If you want to expand or change the designee’s authorization,

go to ftb.ca.gov and search for poa.

The authorization will automatically end no later than the due date (without

regard to extensions) for ﬁling your 2016 tax return. This is April 15, 2017,

for most people. If you wish to revoke the authorization before it ends,

notify us by telephone at 800.852.5711 or by writing to Franchise Tax Board,

PO Box 942840, Sacramento, CA 94240-0040, include your name, SSN, and

the designee’s name.

Power of Attorney. If another person prepared your tax return, he or

she is not automatically granted access to your tax information in future

dealings with us. At some point, you may wish to designate someone to

act on your behalf in matters related or unrelated to this tax return (e.g., an

audit examination). To protect your privacy, you must submit to us a legal

document called a “Power of Attorney” (POA) authorizing another person to

discuss or receive personal information about your income tax reco

rds.

For more information, go to ftb.ca.gov and search for poa.

Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015 Page 19

e-ﬁle is fast, easy, and secure! Instructions: Form 540

Filing Your Tax Return

Attachments to your tax return.

Do I need to attach a copy of federal Form 1040?

Other than Schedule A (Form 1040) or Schedule B (Form 1040), did you

attach any federal forms or schedules to your federal Form 1040?

If No, do not attach a copy of your federal Form 1040 return to Form 540.

If Yes, attach a copy of your federal Form 1040 return and all supporting

federal forms and schedules to Form 540.

Exception: If you did not itemize deductions on your federal tax return but

will itemize deductions on your California tax return, complete and attach

a copy of the federal Schedule A (Form 1040) to Form 540.

Do not attach any documents to your tax return unless speciﬁcally

instructed. This will help us reduce government processing and storage

costs.

Federal Form(s) W-2, W-2G, and 1099, and CA Form(s) 592-B and 593.

Attach all the Form(s) W-2 and W-2G you received to the lower front of

your tax return. Also, attach any Forms(s) 1099, 592-B, and 593 showing

California income tax withheld.

If you do not receive your Form(s) W-2 by January 31, 2016, contact your

employer or go to ftb.ca.gov and search for myftb account. Only your

employer can issue or correct a Form W-2. If you cannot get a copy of your

Form W-2, you must complete form FTB 3525, Substitute for Form W-2,

Wage and Tax Statement, or Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions,

Annuities, Retirement or Proﬁt Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts,

etc. See “Order Forms and Publications” or go to ftb.ca.gov.

If you forget to send your Form(s) W-2 or other withholding forms with your

income tax return, do not send them separately, or with another copy of your

tax return. Wait until the FTB requests them from you.

Assembling Your Tax Return

Assemble your tax return in the order shown below.

Copy of other state tax return (if required)

Copy of federal tax return (if required)

Supporting California Schedules

Side

Form 540

Side

Form 540

Side

Form 540

Side

Enclose, but do not

staple, any payment.

W-2

W-2G

1099

592-B

593

Caution: Form 540 has ﬁve sides. When ﬁling Form 540, you must send all

ﬁve sides to the FTB.

Mailing Your Tax Return

If your tax return has an amount due, mail your tax return to the following

address:

FRANCHISE TAX BOARD

PO BOX 942867

SACRAMENTO CA 94267-0001

If your tax return shows a refund or no amount due, mail your tax return to

the following address:

FRANCHISE TAX BOARD

PO BOX 942840

SACRAMENTO CA 94240-0001

Page 20 Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015

THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

Visit our website:

ftb.ca.gov

Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015 Page 21

Nonrefundable Renter’s Credit Qualiﬁcation Record

e-ﬁle and skip this page! The tax software product you use to e-ﬁle will help you ﬁnd out if you qualify for this credit and will ﬁgure the correct amount

of the credit automatically. Go to ftb.ca.gov to check your e-ﬁle options. You can claim the nonrefundable renter’s credit using CalFile.

If you were a resident of California and paid rent on property in California, which was your principal residence, you may qualify for a credit that you can use to reduce your

tax. Answer the questions below to see if you qualify. For purposes of California income tax, references to a spouse, husband, or wife also refer to a California Registered

Domestic Partner (RDP), unless otherwise speciﬁed. When we use the initials RDP they refer to both a California registered domestic “partner” and a California registered

domestic “partnership,” as applicable. For more information on RDPs, get FTB Pub. 737. Do not mail this record. Keep with your tax records.

Tip

1. Were you a resident of California for the entire year in 2015?

Military personnel. If you are not a legal resident of California, you do not qualify for this credit. However, your spouse/RDP may claim this credit if he or she was a

resident, did not live in military housing during 2015, and is otherwise qualiﬁed.

YES. Go to question 2. NO. Stop. File the Long or Short Form 540NR, California Nonresident or Part-Year

Resident Income Tax Return. See “Order Forms and Publications.”

2. Is your California adjusted gross income the amount on line 17:

• $38,259 or less if single or married/RDP ﬁling separately; or

• $76,518 or less if married/RDP ﬁling jointly, head of household, or qualifying widow(er)?

YES. Go to question 3. NO. Stop here. You do not qualify for this credit.

3. Did you pay rent, for at least half of 2015, on property (including a mobile home that you owned on rented land) in California, which was your

principal residence?

YES. Go to question 4. NO. Stop here. You do not qualify for this credit.

4. Can you be claimed as a dependent by a parent, foster parent, legal guardian, or any other person in 2015?

NO. Go to question 6. YES. Go to question 5.

5. For more than half the year in 2015, did you live in the home of the person who can claim you as a dependent?

NO. Go to question 6. YES. Stop here. You do not qualify for this credit.

6. Was the property you rented exempt from property tax in 2015?

You do not qualify for this credit if, for more than half of the year, you rented property that was exempt from property taxes. Exempt property includes most

government-owned buildings, church-owned parsonages, college dormitories, and military barracks. However, if you or your landlord paid possessory interest taxes for

the property you rented, then you may claim this credit.

NO. Go to question 7. YES. Stop here. You do not qualify for this credit.

7. Did you claim the homeowner’s property tax exemption anytime during 2015?

You do not qualify for this credit if you or your spouse/RDP received a homeowner’s property tax exemption at any time during the year. However, if you lived apart from

your spouse/RDP for the entire year and your spouse/RDP received a homeowner’s property tax exemption for a separate residence, then you may claim this credit if

you are otherwise qualiﬁed.

NO. Go to question 8. YES. If your ﬁling status is single or married/RDP ﬁling separately, stop here, you do not

qualify for this credit. If your ﬁling status is married/RDP ﬁling jointly, go to question 9.

8. Were you single in 2015?

YES. Go to question 11. NO. Go to question 9.

9. Did your spouse/RDP claim the homeowner’s property tax exemption anytime during 2015?

You do not qualify for this credit if you or your spouse/RDP received a homeowner’s property tax exemption at any time during the year. However, if you lived apart from

your spouse/RDP for the entire year and your spouse/RDP received a homeowner’s property tax exemption for a separate residence, then you may claim this credit if

you are otherwise qualiﬁed.

NO. Go to question 11. YES. If both you and your spouse/RDP claimed the homeowner’s property tax exemption,

stop here, you do not qualify for this credit. Otherwise, go to question 10.

10. Did you and your spouse/RDP maintain separate residences for the entire year in 2015?

YES. Go to question 11. NO. Stop here. You do not qualify for this credit.

11. If you are:

 • Single,enter$60online46.

 • Headofhouseholdorqualifyingwidow(er),enter$120online46.

 • Married/RDPlingseparately:ifyouandyourspouse/RDPlivedinthesamerentalpropertyandbothqualifyforthiscredit,onespouse/RDPmayclaimthefull

amount of the credit ($120), or each spouse/RDP may claim half the amount ($60 each). If you and your spouse/RDP lived apart for the entire year and you

qualify for this credit, you may claim half the amount of the credit ($60). Enter your credit amount on line 46.

 • Married/RDPlingjointly,enter$120online46.(Exception:Ifonespouse/RDPclaimedthehomeowner’staxexemptionandyoulivedapartfromyour

spouse/RDP for the entire year, enter $60 on line 46.)

Fill in the street address(es) and landlord information below for the residence(s) you rented in California during 2015, which qualiﬁed you for this credit.

Street Address City, State, and ZIP Code Dates Rented in 2015 (From______to______)

a_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Enter the name, address, and telephone number of your landlord(s) or the person(s) to whom you paid rent for the residence(s) listed above.

Name Street Address City, State, ZIP Code, and Telephone Number

a_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

✓

Page 22 Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015

Additional Information

California Use Tax General Information

The use tax has been in effect in California since July 1, 1935. It applies to

purchases of merchandise for use in California from out-of-state sellers and is

similar to the sales tax paid on purchases you make in California. If you have

not already paid all use tax due to the Board of Equalization, you may be able

to report and pay the use tax due on your state income tax return. See the

information below and the instructions for line 91 of your income tax return.

In general, you must pay California use tax on purchases of merchandise for use

in California made from out of state sellers, for example, by telephone, over the

Internet, by mail, or in person.

You must pay California use tax on taxable items if:

• The seller does not collect California sales or use tax, and

• You use, give away, store, or consume the item in this state.

Example: You live in California and purchase a dining table from a company in

North Carolina. The company ships the table from North Carolina to your home

for your use and does not charge California sales or use tax. You owe use tax on

the purchase.

However, not all purchases require you to pay use tax. For example, you would

include purchases of clothing, but not purchases of food products or prescription

medicine. For more information on nontaxable and exempt purchases, you may

refer to Publication 61, Sales and Use Taxes: Exemptions and Exclusions, on the

Board of Equalization’s website at boe.ca.gov.

For information about California use tax, please refer to the Board of

Equalization’s website at boe.ca.gov. Under the heading How Do I, click on Find

Information About Use Tax.

Complete the Use Tax Worksheet or use the Use Tax Lookup Table on page 15,

to calculate the amount due.

Extensions to File. If you request an extension to ﬁle your income tax return, wait

until you ﬁle your tax return to report your purchases subject to use tax and make

your use tax payment.

Interest, Penalties and Fees. Failure to timely report and pay the use tax due

may result in the assessment of interest, penalties, and fees.

Application of Payments. The application of payments and credits for use tax

reported on an income tax return has changed. Beginning with taxable years

starting on or after January 1, 2015, payments and credits will be applied ﬁrst to

the use tax liability, instead of income tax liabilities, penalties, and interest.

Changes in Use Tax Reported. Do not ﬁle an Amended Income Tax Return

(Form 540X) to revise the use tax previously reported. If you have changes to the

amount of use tax previously reported on the original return contact the Board of

Equalization.

For assistance with your use tax questions, go to the Board of Equalization’s

website at boe.ca.gov or call their Customer Service Center at 800.400.7115

or (TTY) 711 (for hearing and speech disabilities). For California income tax

information, contact the Franchise Tax Board at ftb.ca.gov.

Collection Fees

The FTB is required to assess collection and ﬁling enforcement cost recovery fees

on delinquent accounts.

Deceased Taxpayers

A ﬁnal return must be ﬁled for a person who died in 2015 if a tax return normally

would be required. The administrator or executor, if one is appointed, or

beneﬁciary must ﬁle the tax return. Print “deceased” and the date of death next to

the taxpayer’s name at the top of the tax return.

If you are a surviving spouse/RDP and no administrator or executor has been

appointed, ﬁle a joint tax return if you did not remarry or enter into another

registered domestic partnership during 2015. Indicate next to your signature that

you are the surviving spouse/RDP.

You may also ﬁle a joint tax return with an administrator or executor acting on

behalf of the deceased taxpayer.

If you ﬁle a tax return and claim a refund due to a deceased taxpayer, you are

certifying under penalty of perjury either that you are the legal representative of

the deceased taxpayer’s estate (in this case, attach certiﬁed copies of the letters

of administration or letters testamentary) or that you are entitled to the refund

as the deceased’s surviving relative or sole beneﬁciary under the provisions of

the California Probate Code. You must also attach a copy of federal Form 1310,

Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer, or a copy of the

death certiﬁcate when you ﬁle a tax return and claim a refund due.

Innocent Joint Filer Relief

If you ﬁle a joint tax return, both you and your spouse/RDP are generally

responsible for paying the tax and any interest or penalties due on the tax return.

However, you may qualify for relief of payment on all or part of the balance as an

innocent joint ﬁler. For more information, get FTB Pub. 705, Innocent Joint Filer -

Relief From Paying California Income Taxes, at ftb.ca.gov or call 916.845.7072,

Monday - Friday between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. except holidays.

Military Personnel

If you are a member of the military and need additional information on how to ﬁle

your tax return, get FTB Pub. 1032, Tax Information for Military Personnel. See

“Order Forms and Publications.”

Requesting a Copy of Your Tax Return

The FTB keeps personal income tax returns for three and one-half years from the

original due date. To get a copy of your tax return, write a letter or complete form

FTB 3516, Request for Copy of Personal Income Tax or Fiduciary Return. In most

cases, a $20 fee is charged for each taxable year you request. However, no charge

applies for victims of a designated California or federal disaster; or you request

copies from a ﬁeld ofﬁce that assisted you in completing your tax return. See

“Where To Get Tax Forms and Publications” to download or order form FTB 3516.

Local Beneﬁts

You cannot deduct the amounts you pay for local beneﬁts that apply to property

in a limited area (construction of streets, sidewalks, or water and sewer systems).

You must look at your real estate tax bill to determine if any nondeductible

itemized charges are included in your bill. For more information, go to ftb.ca.gov

and search for real estate tax or get federal Publication 17, Your Federal Income

Tax-For Individuals, Chapter 22.

Vehicle License Fees for Federal Schedule A

On your federal Schedule A (Form 1040), you may deduct the California motor

vehicle license fee listed on your Vehicle Registration Billing Notice from the

Department of Motor Vehicles. The other fees listed on your billing notice such as

registration fee, weight fee, and county fees are not deductible.

Voting Is Everybody’s Business

You may register to vote if you meet these requirements:

• You are a United States citizen.

• You are a resident of California.

• You will be 18 years old by the date of the next election.

• You are not in prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony.

You need to re-register every time you move, change your name, or wish to

change political parties. In order to vote in an election, you must be registered to

vote at least 15 days before that election. If you need to get a Voter Registration

Card, call the California Secretary of State’s voter hotline at 800.345.VOTE or go

to sos.ca.gov.

It’s Your Right . . . Register and Vote

If You File Electronically

If you e-ﬁle your tax return, make sure all the amounts entered on the paper copy

of your California return are correct before you sign form FTB 8453, California

e-ﬁle Return Authorization for Individuals, or form FTB 8879, California e-ﬁle

Signature Authorization for Individuals. If you are requesting direct deposit of

a refund, make sure your account and routing information is correct. Your tax

return can be transmitted to FTB by your preparer or electronic e-ﬁle service only

after you sign form FTB 8453 or form FTB 8879. The preparer or electronic e-ﬁle

service must provide you with:

• A copy of forms FTB 8453 or FTB 8879.

• Any original Forms W-2, 592-B, 593, 1099-G, and other Forms 1099 that you

provided.

• A paper copy of your California tax return showing the data transmitted to the

FTB.

You cannot retransmit an e-ﬁled tax return once we’ve accepted the original. You

can correct an error only by completing Form 540X, Amended Individual Income

Tax Return, and mailing the paper copy to us. See “Where To Get Income Tax

Forms and Publications.”

Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015 Page 23

Frequently Asked Questions

(Go to ftb.ca.gov for more frequently asked questions.)

1. What if I can’t ﬁle by April 18, 2016, and I think I owe tax?

You must pay 100% of the amount you owe by April 18, 2016, to avoid

interest and penalties. If you cannot ﬁle because you have not received all

your Form(s) W-2, estimate the amount of tax you owe by completing form

FTB 3519, Payment for Automatic Extension for Individuals. Mail it to the

FTB with your payment by April 18, 2016 or pay online at ftb.ca.gov. Then,

when you receive all your Form(s) W-2, complete and mail your tax return

by October 17, 2016 (you must use Form 540).

2. I never received a Form W-2. What should I do?



204

If all of your Form(s) W-2 were not received by January 31, 2016,

contact your employer. Only an employer issues or corrects

a Form W-2. For more information, call 800.338.0505, select

“Personal Income Tax,” then “Frequently Asked Questions,” and

enter code 204 when instructed.

If you cannot get a copy of your Form(s) W-2, complete form FTB 3525,

Substitute for Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, or Form 1099-R,

Distributions from Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Proﬁt Sharing Plans,

IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc. See “Where To Get Income Tax Forms and

Publications.” For online wage and withhold information, go to ftb.ca.gov

and search for myftb account.

3. How can I get help?

Throughout California more than 1,200 sites provide trained volunteers

offering free help during the tax ﬁling season to persons who need to ﬁle

simple federal and state income tax returns. Many military bases also

provide this service for members of the U.S. Armed Forces. Go to ftb.ca.gov

and search for vita to ﬁnd a list of participating locations or call the FTB at

800.852.5711 to ﬁnd a location near you.

4. What do I do if I can’t pay what I owe with my 2015

tax return?

Pay as much as possible when you ﬁle your tax return. If unable to pay

your tax in full with your tax return, make a request for monthly payments.

However, interest accrues and an underpayment penalty may be charged

on the tax not paid by April 18, 2016, even if your request for monthly

payments is approved. To make monthly payments, complete form

FTB 3567, Installment Agreement Request, online or mail it to the address

on the form. Do not mail it with your tax return.



949

The Installment Agreement Request might not be processed and

approved until after your tax return is processed, and you may

receive a bill before you receive approval of your request.

To order this form, go to ftb.ca.gov or call 800.338.0505, select

“Personal Income Tax,” then select “Forms and Publications,” and

enter code 949 when instructed.



610

For information on how to pay by credit card, go to ftb.ca.gov,

or call 800.338.0505, select “Personal Income Tax,” then select

“Frequently Asked Questions,” and enter code 610 when instructed.

5. How long will it take to get my refund?



112

If you e-ﬁle, you get the fastest possible refund. Your refund check

generally is mailed within seven to ten calendar days (or if you

request direct deposit, the refund generally posts to your checking

or savings account within ﬁve to seven banking days) from the time

the FTB receives your e-ﬁled return. For more information about

e-ﬁling, go to ftb.ca.gov and search for eﬁle or call 800.338.0505,

select “Personal Income Tax,” then select “Frequently Asked

Questions,” and enter code 112 when instructed.

If you do not e-ﬁle your tax return, you will generally receive your

refund check within six to eight weeks after you ﬁle your tax return.

If you request direct deposit, the refund posts to your account

within six to eight weeks after you ﬁle your tax return.

6. I expected my refund by now. How can I check on

the status?

Go to ftb.ca.gov and search for refund status. You will need your social

security number (SSN) or individual taxpayer identiﬁcation number (ITIN)

and the refund amount from your tax return.

You can also call our automated phone service. See page 83 for more

information.

7. I discovered an error on my tax return. What should I do?



908

If you discover that you made an error on your California income tax

return after you ﬁled it (paper or e-ﬁled), use Form 540X, Amended

Individual Income Tax Return, to correct your return. Get Form 540X

at ftb.ca.gov or call 800.338.0505 and enter code 908. You cannot

e-ﬁle an amended return.

8. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) made changes to my

federal tax return. What should I do?

If your federal income tax return is examined and changed by the IRS and

you owe additional tax, report these changes to the FTB within six months of

the date of the ﬁnal federal determination. If the changes the IRS made result

in a refund due for California, claim a refund within two years of the date of

the ﬁnal federal determination. Either use Form 540X to correct the California

income tax return you already ﬁled, or send a copy of the federal changes to:

ATTN RAR/VOL MS F310

FRANCHISE TAX BOARD

PO BOX 1998

RANCHO CORDOVA CA 95741-1998

or Fax the information to 916.843.2269.

If you have a question relating to the IRS audit adjustment

call 916.845.4028.

For general tax information or questions, call 800.852.5711.

Regardless of which method you use to notify the FTB, you must include a

copy of the ﬁnal federal determination along with all data and schedules on

which the federal adjustment was based. Get FTB Pub. 1008, Federal Tax

Adjustments and Your Notiﬁcation Responsibilities to California, for more

information. See “Order Forms and Publications.”

File Form 540X only if the change affected your California tax liability.

9. How long should I keep my tax information?

Requests for information regarding your California income tax return

usually occurs within the California statute of limitations period, which is

usually the later of four years from the due date of the tax return or four

years from the ﬁle date of the tax return. (Exception: An extended statute

of limitations period applies for California or federal tax returns related or

subject to a federal audit.)

Keep a copy of your tax return and the records that verify the income,

deductions, adjustments, or credits reported on your return. Some records

should be kept longer. For example, keep property records as long as

needed to ﬁgure the basis of the property or records needed to verify

carryover items (i.e., net operating losses) or records needed to track

deferred gains on a 1031 exchange.

10. I will be moving after I ﬁle my tax return. How do I notify

the FTB of my new address?

Notify the FTB of your new address by using form FTB 3533, Change of

Address. This form is available at ftb.ca.gov. You may also go to

ftb.ca.gov and search for myftb account or call 800. 852.5711, select

“Personal Income Tax,” then select option 6 to report a change of address.

If you change your address online or by phone, you do not need to ﬁle

form FTB 3533.

After ﬁling your tax return, report a change of address to us for up to four

years, especially if you leave the state and no longer have a requirement to

ﬁle a California tax return.

11. Are all domestic partners required to ﬁle joint or

separate tax returns?

No, only domestic partners who are registered with the California Secretary

of State are required to ﬁle using the married/RDP ﬁling jointly or married/

RDP ﬁling separately ﬁling status.

Page 24 Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015

CREDIT CHART

Credit Name Code Description

California Competes Tax – FTB 3531 233 The credit, which is allocated and certiﬁed by the California Competes Tax Credit Committee,

is available for businesses that want to come to California or to stay and grow in California.

Website: business.ca.gov

California Motion Picture and Television Production –

FTB 3541

223 The credit, which is allocated and certiﬁed by the California Film Commission, is 20% of

expenditures attributable to a qualiﬁed motion picture and 25% of production expenditures

attributable to an independent ﬁlm or a TV series that relocates to California.

Child Adoption Costs – Worksheet on page 13 197 50% of qualiﬁed costs in the year an adoption is ordered

Child and Dependent Care Expenses – FTB 3506

See the instructions on page 57

232 Similar to the federal credit except that the California credit amount is based on a speciﬁed

percentage of the federal credit.

College Access Tax – FTB 3592 235 The credit, which is allocated and certiﬁed by the California Educational Facilities Authority, is

available for taxpayers who contribute to the College Access Tax Credit Fund.

Website: treasurer.ca.gov/cefa

Community Development Financial Institutions

Investments – Certiﬁcation Required

209 20% of each qualiﬁed investment made to a community development ﬁnancial institution

Obtain certiﬁcation from: California Organized Investment Network (COIN), Department of Insurance,

300 Capitol Mall, Suite 1600, Sacramento CA 95814. Website: insurance.ca.gov.

Dependent Parent – See page 12 173 Must use married/RDP ﬁling separately status and have a dependent parent

Disabled Access for Eligible Small Business –

FTB 3548

205 Similar to the federal credit but limited to $125 based on 50% of qualiﬁed expenditures

that do not exceed $250

Donated Agricultural Products Transportation –

FTB 3547

204 50% of the costs paid or incurred for the transportation of agricultural products donated to nonproﬁt

charitable organizations

Donated Fresh Fruits or Vegetables – FTB 3811 224 10% of the donation’s costs for qualiﬁed taxpayers who donate fresh fruits or fresh vegetables to a

California food bank

Earned Income Tax – FTB 3514 None This credit is similar to the federal Earned Income Credit (EIC) but with different income limitations.

Enhanced Oil Recovery – FTB 3546 203 One third of the similar federal credit and limited to qualiﬁed enhanced oil recovery projects located

within California.

Enterprise Zone Hiring – FTB 3805Z 176 Hiring credit for an enterprise zone

Environmental Tax – FTB 3511 218 Five cents ($.05) for each gallon of ultra low sulfur diesel fuel produced during the taxable year by a

small reﬁner at any facility located in this state

Joint Custody Head of Household –

Worksheet on page 12

170 30% of tax up to $431 for taxpayers who are single or married/RDP ﬁling separately, who have a

child and meet the support test

Local Agency Military Base Recovery Area Hiring –

FTB 3807

198 Hiring credit for a local agency military base recovery area

Low-Income Housing – FTB 3521 172 Similar to the federal credit but limited to low-income housing in California

Manufacturing Enhancement Area Hiring – FTB 3808 211 Hiring credit for a manufacturing enhancement area

Natural Heritage Preservation – FTB 3503 213 55% of the fair market value of any qualiﬁed contribution of property donated to the state, any local

government, or any nonproﬁt organization designated by a local government

New Employment – FTB 3554 234 The credit is available for a taxpayer that hires a full-time employee and pays or incurs wages in a

designated census tract or economic development area, and receives a tentative credit reservation

for that full-time employee.

Nonrefundable Renter’s – See page 21 None For California residents who paid rent for their principal residence for at least 6 months in 2015 and

whose AGI does not exceed a certain limit

Other State Tax – Schedule S 187 Net income tax paid to another state or a U.S. possession on income also taxed by California

Prior Year Alternative Minimum Tax – FTB 3510 188 Must have paid alternative minimum tax in a prior year and have no alternative minimum tax liability

in 2015

Prison Inmate Labor – FTB 3507 162 10% of wages paid to prison inmates

Research – FTB 3523 183

Similar to the federal credit but limited to costs for research activities in California

Senior Head of Household –

Worksheet on page 12

163 2% of taxable income up to $1,317 for seniors who qualiﬁed for head of household in 2013 or 2014

and whose qualifying individual died during 2013 or 2014

Targeted Tax Area Hiring – FTB 3809 210 Hiring credit for a targeted tax area

Repealed Credits: The expiration dates for these credits have passed. However, these credits had carryover provisions. You may claim these credits only if you have an

unused carryover available from prior years. If you are not required to complete Schedule P (540), Alternative Minimum Tax and Credit Limitations –

Residents, get form FTB 3540, Credit Carryover and Recapture Summary to ﬁgure your credit carryover to future years. For LAMBRA or TTA credit

carryovers, get form FTB 3807 or form FTB 3809. See “Where To Get Income Tax Forms and Publications”.

Agricultural Products ......................175

Commercial Solar Electric System ............196

Commercial Solar Energy ...................181

Employer Childcare Contribution .............190

Employer Childcare Program ................189

Employee Ridesharing .....................194

Employer Ridesharing: Large employer......191

Small employer......192

Transit passes .......193

Energy Conservation.......................182

Enterprise Zone Sales or Use Tax.............176

Farmworker Housing.......................207

Joint Strike Fighter Wages ..................215

Joint Strike Fighter Property Cost ............. 216

Local Agency Military Base Recovery Area

Sales or Use Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

Low-Emission Vehicles.....................160

Manufacturers’ Investment ..................199

New Jobs ...............................220

Orphan Drug ............................. 185

Political Contributions...................... 184

Recycling Equipment ......................174

Residential Rental & Farm Sales .............. 186

Rice Straw...............................206

Ridesharing.............................. 171

Salmon & Steelhead Trout Habitat

Restoration ............................ 200

Solar Energy .............................180

Solar Pump..............................179

Solar or Wind Energy System ................ 217

Targeted Tax Area Sales or Use Tax............210

Water Conservation........................178

Young Infant ............................. 161

Owe Money? Web Pay lets you pay online, so you can schedule it and forget it! Go to ftb.ca.gov for more information.

Personal Income Booklet 2015 Page 25

Voluntary Contribution Fund Descriptions

Make voluntary contributions of $1 or more in whole dollar amounts to the funds listed below. To contribute to the California Seniors Special Fund, use

the instructions for code 400 below. The amount you contribute either reduces your overpaid tax or increases your tax due. You may contribute only

to the funds listed and cannot change the amount you contribute after you ﬁle your tax return. For more information, go to ftb.ca.gov and search for

voluntary contributions.

Code 400, California Seniors Special Fund – If you and/or your

spouse/RDP are 65 years of age or older as of January 1, 2016, and claim

the Senior Exemption Credit on line 7, you may make a combined total

contribution of up to $218 or $109 per spouse/RDP. Contributions made to

this fund will be distributed to the Area Agency on Aging Councils (TACC)

to provide advice on and sponsorship of Senior Citizens issues. Any excess

contributions not required by TACC will be distributed to senior citizen

service organizations throughout California for meals, adult day care, and

transportation.

Code 401, Alzheimer’s Disease/Related Disorders Fund – Contributions will

be used to provide grants to California scientists to study Alzheimer’s disease

and related disorders. This research includes basic science, diagnosis,

treatment, prevention, behavioral problems, and caregiving. With almost

600,000 Californians living with the disease and another 2 million providing

care to a loved one with Alzheimer’s, our state is in the early stages of a

major public health crisis. Your contribution will ensure that Alzheimer’s

disease receives the attention, research, and resources it deserves. For more

information go to cdph.ca.gov and search for Alzheimer.

Code 403, Rare and Endangered Species Preservation Program –

Contributions will be used to help protect and conserve California’s many

threatened and endangered species and the wild lands that they need to

survive, for the enjoyment and beneﬁt of you and future generations of

Californians.

Code 405, California Breast Cancer Research Fund – Contributions will

fund research toward preventing and curing breast cancer. Breast cancer

is the most common cancer to strike women in California. It kills 4,000

California women each year. Contributions also fund research on prevention

and better treatment, and keep doctors up-to-date on research progress. For

more about the research your contributions support, go to cbcrp.org. Your

contribution can help make breast cancer a disease of the past.

Code 406, California Fireﬁghters’ Memorial Fund – Contributions will be

used for the repair and maintenance of the California Fireﬁghters’ Memorial

on the grounds of the State Capitol, ceremonies to honor the memory of

fallen ﬁreﬁghters and to assist surviving loved ones, and for an informational

guide detailing survivor beneﬁts to assist the spouses/RDPs and children of

fallen ﬁreﬁghters.

Code 407, Emergency Food for Families Fund – Contributions will be used

to help local food banks feed California’s hungry. Your contribution will fund

the purchase of much-needed food for delivery to food banks, pantries, and

soup kitchens throughout the state. The State Department of Social Services

will monitor its distribution to ensure the food is given to those most in

need.

Code 408, California Peace Ofﬁcer Memorial Foundation Fund

–

Contributions will be used to preserve the memory of California’s fallen

peace ofﬁcers and assist the families they left behind. Since statehood,

over 1,300 courageous California peace ofﬁcers have made the ultimate

sacriﬁce while protecting law-abiding citizens. The non-proﬁt charitable

organization, California Peace Ofﬁcers’ Memorial Foundation, has accepted

the privilege and responsibility of maintaining a memorial for fallen ofﬁcers

on the State Capitol grounds. Each May, the Memorial Foundation conducts

a digniﬁed ceremony honoring fallen ofﬁcers and their surviving families by

offering moral support, crisis counseling, and ﬁnancial support that includes

academic scholarships for the children of those ofﬁcers who have made

the supreme sacriﬁce. On behalf of all of us and the law-abiding citizens of

California, thank you for your participation.

Code 410, California Sea Otter Fund – The California Coastal Conservancy

and the Department of Fish and Wildlife will each be allocated 50% of the

contributions. Contributions allocated to the California Coastal Conservancy

will be used for research, science, protection, projects, or programs related

to the Federal Sea Otter Recovery Plan or improving the nearshore ocean

ecosystem, including, program activities to reduce sea otter mortality.

Contributions allocated to the Department of Fish and Wildlife will be used

to establish a sea otter fund within the department’s index coding system for

increased investigation, prevention, and enforcement action.

Code 413, California Cancer Research Fund – Contributions will be used

to conduct research relating to the causes, detection, and prevention

of cancer and to expand community-based education on cancer, and to

provide prevention and awareness activities for communities that are

disproportionately at risk or afﬂicted by cancer.

Code 419, Child Victims of Human Trafﬁcking Fund – Contributions will be

used to fund, through grants, eligible community-based organizations that

agree to provide services to minors who are victims of human trafﬁcking.

Code 422, School Supplies for Homeless Children Fund – Contributions

will be used to provide school supplies and health-related products to

homeless children.

Code 423, State Parks Protection Fund/Parks Pass Purchase –

Contributions will be used for the protection and preservation of California’s

state parks and for the cost of a Vehicle Day Use Annual Pass valid at

most park units where day use fees are collected. The pass is not valid at

off-highway vehicle units, or for camping, oversized vehicle, extra vehicle,

per-person, or supplemental fees. If a taxpayer’s contribution equals or

exceeds $195 the taxpayer will receive a single Vehicle Day Use Annual Pass.

Amounts contributed in excess of the parks pass cost may be deducted as

a charitable contribution for the year in which the voluntary contribution

is made. Any contribution less than $195 will be treated as a voluntary

contribution and may be deducted as a charitable contribution. For more

information go to parks.ca.gov/annualpass/ or email info@parks.ca.gov.

Code 424, Protect Our Coast and Oceans Fund – Contributions will be used

to provide grants to community organizations working to protect, restore,

and enhance the California coast and ocean. Contributions will support

shoreline cleanups, habitat restoration, coastal access improvements, and

ocean education programs.

Code 425, Keep Arts in Schools Fund – Contributions will be used by the

Arts Council for the allocation of grants to individuals or organizations

administering arts programs for children in preschool through 12th grade.

Code 427, California Senior Legislature Fund – The California Senior

Legislature (CSL) is a non-partisan, all volunteer group of 120 senior

volunteers that work to identify senior issues statewide and write proposals

to improve those issues. Additionally, CSL works directly with the current

Legislators to get those proposals turned into bills and eventually into law.

In its 35+ years, over 198 CSL bills have been signed by the California

Governor. Laws that have been sponsored by CSL include those covering

Adult Day Health Care Centers, nutrition centers, respite care, long-term

care, elder abuse prevention programs, Alzheimer day care programs, and

more.

Code 428, Habitat for Humanity Fund – Contributions will be used to build

affordable housing in California.

Code 429, California Sexual Violence Victim Services Fund –

Contributions will be used to further the services that California’s rape crisis

centers provide for victims of rape or sexual assault.

Code 430, State Children’s Trust Fund for the Prevention of Child Abuse –

Contributions will be used to support child abuse prevention programs with

demonstrated success, public education efforts to change adult behaviors

and educate parents, innovative research to identify best practices, and the

replication of those practices to prevent child abuse and neglect.

Code 431, Prevention of Animal Homelessness & Cruelty Fund –

Contributions will be used to provide funding to programs designed to

prevent and eliminate animal homelessness and cruelty, research that

explores novel approaches to preventing and eliminating pet homelessness

and the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of animal cruelty and

neglect.

Page 26 Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015

THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

Visit our website:

ftb.ca.gov

3101153 Form 540 C1 2015 Side 1

TAXABLE YEAR

2015

California Resident Income Tax Return

FORM

540

Fiscal year ﬁlers only: Enter month of year end: month________ year 2016.

Your ﬁrst name Initial Last name Sufﬁx Your SSN or ITIN

If joint tax return, spouse's/RDP's ﬁrst name Initial Last name Sufﬁx Spouse's/RDP's SSN or ITIN

Additional information (see instructions) PBA code

Street address (number and street) or PO box Apt. no/ste. no. PMB/private mailbox

City (If you have a foreign address, see instructions) State ZIP code

Foreign country name Foreign province/state/county Foreign postal code

Date of

Birth

Your DOB (mm/dd/yyyy) Spouse's/RDP's DOB (mm/dd/yyyy)

 

Prior

Name

If you ﬁled your 2014 tax return under a different last name, write the last name only from the 2014 tax return.

Taxpayer Spouse/RDP

 

Filing

Status

1 m Single

2 m Married/RDP ﬁling jointly. See inst.

3 m Married/RDP ﬁling separately. Enter spouse’s/RDP’s SSN or ITIN above and full name here

4 m Head of household (with qualifying person). See instructions.

5 m Qualifying widow(er) with dependent child. Enter year spouse/RDP died

If your California ﬁling status is different from your federal ﬁling status, check the box here ............... m

6 If someone can claim you (or your spouse/RDP) as a dependent, check the box here. See inst......... 6 m

Exemptions



For line 7, line 8, line 9, and line 10: Multiply the amount you enter in the box by the pre-printed dollar amount for that line.

Whole dollars only

7 Personal: If you checked box 1, 3, or 4 above, enter 1 in the box. If you checked

box 2 or 5, enter 2, in the box. If you checked the box on line 6, see instructions.

. 7

X $109 = $

8 Blind: If you (or your spouse/RDP) are visually impaired, enter 1;

if both are visually impaired, enter 2

................................... 8

X $109 = $

9 Senior: If you (or your spouse/RDP) are 65 or older, enter 1;

if both are 65 or older, enter 2

.........................................

 9

X $109 = $

10 Dependents: Do not include yourself or your spouse/RDP.

Dependent 1 Dependent 2 Dependent 3

First Name

Last Name

SSN

Dependent's

relationship

to you

Total dependent exemptions.......................................... 10

X $337 =



11 Exemption amount: Add line 7 through line 10. Transfer this amount to line 32 ...................



11 $



Side 2 Form 540 C1 2015

3102153

Your name: Your SSN or ITIN:

Taxable Income

12 State wages from your Form(s) W-2, box 16 ....................... 12

13 Enter federal adjusted gross income from Form 1040, line 37; 1040A, line 21; or 1040EZ, line 4 13

14 California adjustments – subtractions. Enter the amount from Schedule CA (540), line 37, column B 14

15 Subtract line 14 from line 13. If less than zero, enter the result in parentheses. See instructions 15 ...

16 California adjustments – additions. Enter the amount from Schedule CA (540), line 37, column C 16..

17 California adjusted gross income. Combine line 15 and line 16 17.............................

18 Enter the

larger of:

Your California itemized deductions from Schedule CA (540), line 44; OR

Your California standard deduction shown below for your ﬁling status:

• Single or Married/RDP ﬁling separately..............................$4,044

• Married/RDP ﬁling jointly, Head of household, or Qualifying widow(er) .....$8,088

If Married/RDP ﬁling separately or the box on line 6 is checked, STOP. See instructions

19 Subtract line 18 from line 17. This is your taxable income. If less than zero, enter -0- 19...........

......



......

...



...



...



...



{

... 

Tax

31 Tax. Check the box if from:

Tax Table

Tax Rate Schedule



FTB 3800 

FTB 3803........................... 31

32 Exemption credits. Enter the amount from line 11. If your federal AGI is more than $178,706,

see instructions.

...



32.................................................................

33 Subtract line 32 from line 31. If less than zero, enter -0-

...



33..................................

34 Tax. See instructions. Check the box if from: 

Schedule G-1 

FTB 5870A

...

 34......

35 Add line 33 and line 34

...



....



...



{

............................................................

Special Credits

40 Nonrefundable Child and Dependent Care Expenses Credit. See instructions. .................. 40

43 Enter credit name code  and amount ...  43

44 Enter credit name code  and amount

...

 44

45 To claim more than two credits, see instructions. Attach Schedule P (540) .... 45....................

46 Nonrefundable renter’s credit. See instructions .........................................

....

 46

47 Add line 40 through line 46. These are your total credits ..................................

...



48 Subtract line 47 from line 35. If less than zero, enter -0- ..................................

...



Other Taxes

61 Alternative minimum tax. Attach Schedule P (540) ....................................... 61

...

 62 Mental Health Services Tax. See instructions 62............................................

63 Other taxes and credit recapture. See instructions ... 63........................................ 

64 Add line 48, line 61, line 62, and line 63. This is your total tax.................................. 64

Form 540 C1 2015 Side 33103153

Your name: Your SSN or ITIN:

Payments

71 California income tax withheld. See instructions ............................................ 71

72 2015 CA estimated tax and other payments. See instructions .................................. 72

73 Withholding (Form 592-B and/or 593). See instructions ...................................... 73

74 Excess SDI (or VPDI) withheld. See instructions ............................................ 74

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) ........................................................ 75

........



76 Add lines 71 through 75. These are your total payments. See instructions ...............

........



Use

Tax

91 Use Tax. This is not a total line. See instructions ................... 91

Overpaid Tax/

Tax Due

92 Payments balance. If line 76 is more than line 91, subtract line 91 from line 76............ 92

Use Tax balance. If line 91 is more than line 76, subtract line 76 from line 91.............

........



94 Overpaid tax. If line 92 is more than line 64, subtract line 64 from line 92................

........



95 Amount of line 94 you want applied to your 2016 estimated tax .......................

.........

 95

96 Overpaid tax available this year. Subtract line 95 from line 94 .........................

.........

 96

97 Tax due. If line 92 is less than line 64, subtract line 92 from line 64. ....................

........



This space reserved for 2D barcode

Side 4 Form 540 C1 2015 3104153Side 4 Form 540 C1 2015

Your name: Your SSN or ITIN:

Contributions

Code Amount

California Seniors Special Fund. See instructions

.........................................

400

Alzheimer’s Disease/Related Disorders Fund

............................................

401

Rare and Endangered Species Preservation Program

......................................

403

California Breast Cancer Research Fund

................................................

405

California Fireﬁghters’ Memorial Fund

.................................................

406

Emergency Food for Families Fund

....................................................

407

California Peace Ofﬁcer Memorial Foundation Fund

.......................................

408

California Sea Otter Fund

...........................................................

410

California Cancer Research Fund

.....................................................

413

Child Victims of Human Trafﬁcking Fund

...............................................

419

School Supplies for Homeless Children Fund

............................................

422

State Parks Protection Fund/Parks Pass Purchase

........................................

423

Protect Our Coast and Oceans Fund

...................................................

424

Keep Arts in Schools Fund

..........................................................

425

California Senior Legislature Fund

....................................................

427

Habitat for Humanity Fund

..........................................................

428

California Sexual Violence Victim Services Fund

.........................................

429

State Children’s Trust Fund for the Prevention of Child Abuse

...............................

430

Prevention of Animal Homelessness & Cruelty Fund

......................................

431

110 Add code 400 through code 431. This is your total contribution .............................

110

Form 540 C1 2015 Side 53105153

Your name: Your SSN or ITIN:

Amount

You Owe

111 AMOUNT YOU OWE. If you do not have an amount on line 96, add line 93, line 97, and line 110. See instructions. Do not send cash.

Mail to: FRANCHISE TAX BOARD

PO BOX 942867

SACRAMENTO CA 94267-0001 .........................................  111

Pay online – Go to ftb.ca.gov for more information.

Interest and

Penalties

112 Interest, late return penalties, and late payment penalties .......................................112 00

113 Underpayment of estimated tax. Check the box:  m FTB 5805 attached  m FTB 5805F attached

 113

114 Total amount due. See instructions. Enclose, but do not staple, any payment .......................114

Refund and Direct Deposit

115 REFUND OR NO AMOUNT DUE. Subtract the sum of line 110, line 112 and line 113 from line 96. See instructions.

Mail to: FRANCHISE TAX BOARD

PO BOX 942840

SACRAMENTO CA 94240-0001 ........................................ 115

Fill in the information to authorize direct deposit of your refund into one or two accounts. Do not attach a voided check or a deposit slip. See instructions.

Have you veriﬁed the routing and account numbers? Use whole dollars only.

All or the following amount of my refund (line 115) is authorized for direct deposit into the account shown below:



 Routing number

Type

m Checking

Savings

 Account number  116 Direct deposit amount

The remaining amount of my refund (line 115) is authorized for direct deposit into the account shown below:



 Routing number m

Type

Checking

Savings

 Account number  117 Direct deposit amount

IMPORTANT: See the instructions to ﬁnd out if you should attach a copy of your complete federal tax return.

To learn about your privacy rights, how we may use your information, and the consequences for not providing the requested information, go to ftb.ca.gov

and search for privacy notice. To request this notice by mail, call 800.852.5711. Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this tax return,

including accompanying schedules and statements, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, it is true, correct, and complete.

Your signature Date Spouse’s/RDP’s signature (if a joint tax return, both must sign)

Sign

Here

Your email address (optional). Enter only one email address. Daytime phone number (optional)

It is unlawful

to forge a

spouse’s/RDP’s

signature.

Paid preparer’s signature (declaration of preparer is based on all information of which preparer has any knowledge)

Firm’s name (or yours, if self-employed)  PTIN

Joint tax return?

(See instructions)

Firm’s address  FEIN

Do you want to allow another person to discuss this tax return with us? See instructions..... m Yes m No

Print Third Party Designee’s Name Telephone Number

( )

X X

Page 32 Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015

THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

Visit our website:

ftb.ca.gov

Schedule CA (540) 2015 Side 1

TAXABLE YEAR

2015

California Adjustments — Residents

SCHEDULE

CA (540)

Important: Attach this schedule behind Form 540, Side 5 as a supporting California schedule.

Name(s) as shown on tax return

SSN or ITIN

Part I Income Adjustment Schedule

Section A – Income

Federal Amounts

(taxable amounts from

your federal tax return)

Subtractions

See instructions C

Additions

See instructions

7 Wages, salaries, tips, etc. See instructions before making an entry in column B or C ....7



8 Taxable interest (b) .............................8(a)



9 Ordinary dividends. See instructions. (b) ...........9(a)



10 Taxable refunds, credits, offsets of state and local income taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10



11 Alimony received .......................................................11



12 Business income or (loss) ................................................12



13 Capital gain or (loss). See instructions ......................................13



14 Other gains or (losses)...................................................14



15 IRA distributions. See instructions. (a) ................15(b)



16 Pensions and annuities. See instructions. (a) . . . . . . . . . . .16(b)



17 Rental real estate, royalties, partnerships, S corporations, trusts, etc................17



18 Farm income or (loss) ...................................................18



19 Unemployment compensation .............................................19



20 Social security beneﬁts (a)



........................20(b)



21 Other income.



a California lottery winnings



b Disaster loss deduction from FTB 3805V



_____________



c Federal NOL (Form 1040, line 21)



d NOL deduction from FTB 3805V

e NOL from FTB 3805D, 3805Z,

3806, 3807, or 3809

f Other (describe):



22 Total. Combine line 7 through line 21 in column A. Add line 7 through line 21f in

column B and column C. Go to Section B.................................... 22



Section B – Adjustments to Income

23 Educator expenses ..................................................... 23



24 Certain business expenses of reservists, performing artists, and fee-basis

government ofﬁcials.................................................... 24



25 Health savings account deduction ......................................... 25



26 Moving expenses ...................................................... 26



27 Deductible part of self-employment tax ..................................... 27



28 Self-employed SEP, SIMPLE, and qualiﬁed plans .............................. 28



29 Self-employed health insurance deduction................................... 29



30 Penalty on early withdrawal of savings...................................... 30



31a Alimony paid. (b) Recipient’s: SSN



– –

Last name



... 31a



32 IRA deduction......................................................... 32



33 Student loan interest deduction ........................................... 33



34 Tuition and fees ....................................................... 34



35 Domestic production activities deduction.................................... 35



36 Add line 23 through line 31a and line 32 through line 35 in columns A, B, and C.

See instructions ....................................................... 36



37 Total. Subtract line 36 from line 22 in columns A, B, and C. See instructions . . . . . . . . 37



{

7731153

For Privacy Notice, get FTB 1131 ENG/SP.

Side 2 Schedule CA (540) 2015

7732153

Part II Adjustments to Federal Itemized Deductions

38 Federal itemized deductions. Enter the amount from federal Schedule A (Form 1040), lines 4, 9, 15, 19, 20, 27, and 28

......



39 Enter total of federal Schedule A (Form 1040), line 5 (State Disability Insurance, and state and local income tax, or

General Sales Tax) and line 8 (foreign income taxes only). See instructions ........................................



40 Subtract line 39 from line 38 ............................................................................



41 Other adjustments including California lottery losses. See instructions. Specify ....



42 Combine line 40 and line 41 .............................................................................



43 Is your federal AGI (Form 540, line 13) more than the amount shown below for your ﬁling status?

Single or married/RDP ﬁling separately ............................$178,706

Head of household ............................................$268,063

Married/RDP ﬁling jointly or qualifying widow(er) ....................$357,417

No. Transfer the amount on line 42 to line 43.

Yes. Complete the Itemized Deductions Worksheet in the instructions for Schedule CA (540), line 43 ....................



44 Enter the larger of the amount on line 43 or your standard deduction listed below

Single or married/RDP ﬁling separately. See instructions. ................$4,044

Married/RDP ﬁling jointly, head of household, or qualifying widow(er) ......$8,088

Transfer the amount on line 44 to Form 540, line 18 .........................................................



This space reserved for 2D barcode

Schedule CA (540) Instructions 2015 Page 35

2015 Instructions for Schedule CA (540)

References to these instructions are to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) as of January 1, 2015, and the California Revenue and Taxation Code (R&TC).

General Information

In general, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015, California

law conforms to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) as of January 1, 2015.

However, there are continuing differences between California and federal law.

When California conforms to federal tax law changes, we do not always adopt

all of the changes made at the federal level. For more information, go to

ftb.ca.gov and search for conformity. Additional information can be found in

FTB Pub. 1001, Supplemental Guidelines to California Adjustments, and the

Business Entity tax booklets.

The instructions provided with California tax forms are a summary of

California tax law and are only intended to aid taxpayers in preparing their

state income tax returns. We include information that is most useful to the

greatest number of taxpayers in the limited space available. It is not possible

to include all requirements of the California Revenue and Taxation Code

(R&TC) in the tax booklets. Taxpayers should not consider the tax booklets

as authoritative law.

Conformity

For updates regarding federal acts, go to ftb.ca.gov and search for

conformity.

Registered Domestic Partners (RDP) – RDPs will compute their limitations

based on the combined federal adjusted gross income (AGI) of each spouse’s

or partner’s individual tax return ﬁled with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

For column A, line 7 through line 21, and line 23 through line 35, combine

your federal amounts from each spouse’s or partner’s individual federal tax

return. For more information on RDPs, get FTB Pub. 737, Tax Information for

Registered Domestic Partners.

The combined federal AGI used to compute limitations is different from the

recalculated federal AGI used on Form 540, California Resident Income Tax

Return, line 13. In situations where RDPs have no RDP adjustments, these

amounts may be the same.

Military Personnel – Servicemembers domiciled outside of California,

and their spouses/RDPs, may exclude the servicemember’s military

compensation from gross income when computing the tax rate on

nonmilitary income. Requirements for military servicemembers domiciled in

California remain unchanged. Military servicemembers domiciled in California

must include their military pay in total income. In addition, they must include

their military pay as California source income when stationed in California.

However, military pay is not California source income when a servicemember

is permanently stationed outside of California. Beginning 2009, the federal

Military Spouses Residency Relief Act may affect the California income tax

ﬁling requirements for spouses of military personnel. For more information,

get FTB Pub. 1032, Tax Information for Military Personnel.

Purpose

Use Schedule CA (540), California Adjustments – Residents, to make

adjustments to your federal adjusted gross income and to your federal

itemized deductions using California law.

Speciﬁc Line Instructions

Part I Income Adjustment Schedule

Column A — Federal Amounts

Line 7 through Line 21

Enter on line 7 through line 21 the same amounts you entered on your

federal Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, line 7 through line 21;

Form 1040A, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, line 7 through line 14b;

or Form 1040EZ, Income Tax Return for Single and Joint Filers With No

Dependents, line 1, line 2, and line 3.

Line 22 – Total

Combine the amounts on line 7 through line 21.

Line 23 through Line 30 and Line 32 through Line 35

Enter the same amounts entered on your federal Form 1040, line 23 through

line 30 and line 32 through line 35 or Form 1040A, line 16 through line 19.

Line 31a and Line 31b

Enter on line 31a the same amount entered on your federal Form 1040,

line 31a. Enter on line 31b the social security number (SSN) or individual

taxpayer identiﬁcation number (ITIN) and last name of the person to whom

you paid alimony.

Line 36

Add line 23 through line 31a and line 32 through line 35. However, if you made

any of the adjustments described in the instructions for federal Form 1040,

line 36 or if you claimed the foreign housing deduction from federal Form 2555,

Foreign Earned Income, or Form 2555-EZ, Foreign Earned Income Exclusion,

enter the amount from Form 1040, line 36 on this line.

Line 37 – Total

Subtract line 36 from line 22. This amount should match the amount entered

on federal Form 1040, line 37.

Column B and Column C — Subtractions and Additions

Use these columns to enter subtractions and additions to the federal amounts

in column A that are necessary because of differences between California

and federal law. Enter all amounts as positive numbers unless instructed

otherwise.

You may need one or more of the following FTB publications to complete

column B and column C:

• 1001, Supplemental Guidelines to California Adjustments

• 1005, Pension and Annuity Guidelines

• 1031, Guidelines for Determining Resident Status

• 1032, Tax Information for Military Personnel

• 1100, Taxation of Nonresidents and Individuals Who Change Residency

To get forms and publications, go to ftb.ca.gov.

Line 7 – Wages, Salaries, Tips, etc.

Generally, you will not make any adjustments on this line. If you did not

receive any of the following types of income, make no entry on this line in

either column B or column C.

Active duty military pay. Special rules apply to active duty military taxpayers.

Get FTB Pub. 1032 for more information.

Sick pay received under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act and

Railroad Retirement Act. California excludes this item from income. Enter in

column B the amount of these beneﬁts included in the amount in column A.

Ridesharing fringe beneﬁt differences. Under federal law, qualiﬁed

transportation beneﬁts are excluded from gross income. Under the R&TC,

there are no monthly limits for the exclusion of these beneﬁts and California’s

deﬁnitions are more expansive. Enter the amount of ridesharing beneﬁts

received and included in federal income on line 7, column B.

Exclusion for compensation from exercising a California Qualiﬁed Stock

Option (CQSO). To claim this exclusion:

•

Your earned income is $40,000 or less from the corporation granting the

CQSO.

•

The market value of the options granted to you must be less than

$100,000.

•

The total number of shares must be 1,000 or less.

• The corporation issuing the stock must designate that the stock issued is a

CQSO at the time the option is granted.

If you included an amount qualifying for this exclusion in federal income,

enter that amount in column B.

Employer health savings account (HSA) contribution. Enter the amount of

any employer HSA contribution from federal Form W-2, box 12, code W on

line 7, column C.

Income exclusion for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) supplementary

payments – If you are an IHSS provider who received IHSS supplementary

payments that were included in federal wages, enter the IHSS supplementary

payments on line 7, column B. IHSS providers only receive a supplementary

payment if they paid a sales tax on the IHSS services they provide. The

supplementary payment is equal to the sales tax paid plus any increase in the

federal payroll withholding paid due to the supplementary payment.

Page 36 Schedule CA (540) Instructions 2015

Line 8 – Taxable Interest

If you did not receive any of the kinds of income listed below, make no entry

on this line in either column B or column C.

Enter in column B the interest you received from:

•

U.S. savings bonds (except for interest from series EE U.S. savings

bonds issued after 1989 that qualiﬁed for the Education Savings Bond

Program exclusion).

• U.S. Treasury bills, notes, and bonds.

• Any other bonds or obligations of the United States and its territories.

• Interest from Ottoman Turkish Empire Settlement Payments.

• Interest income from children under age 19 or students under age 24

included on the child’s federal tax return and reported on the California tax

return by the parent. For more information, get form FTB 3803, Parents’

Election to Report Child’s Interest and Dividends

Certain mutual funds pay “exempt-interest dividends.” If the mutual fund

has at least 50% of its assets invested in tax-exempt U.S. obligations and/or

in California or its municipal obligations, that amount of dividend is exempt

from California tax. The proportion of dividends that are tax-exempt will be

shown on your annual statement or statement issued with Form 1099-DIV,

Dividends and Distributions.

Enter in column C the interest you identiﬁed as tax-exempt interest on your

federal Form 1040 (or Form 1040A), line 8b, and which you received from:

•

The federally exempt interest dividends from other states, or their

municipal obligations and/or from mutual funds that do not meet the 50%

rule above.

•

Non-California state bonds.

• Non-California municipal bonds issued by a county, city, town, or other

local government unit.

•

Obligations of the District of Columbia issued after December 27, 1973.

• Non-California bonds if the interest was passed through to you from

S corporations, trusts, partnerships, or Limited Liability Companies

(LLCs).

•

Interest or other earnings earned from a Health Savings Account (HSA) are

not treated as taxed deferred. Interest or earnings in a HSA are taxable in

the year earned.

•

Interest on any bond or other obligation issued by the Government of

American Samoa.

•

Interest income from children under age 19 or students under age 24

included on the parent’s federal tax return and reported on the California

tax return by the child.

Make no entries in either column B or column C for interest you earned on

Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) Bonds, Government

National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) Bonds, and Federal Home

Loan Mortgage Corporations (FHLMC) securities, or grants paid to low

income individuals.

Get FTB Pub. 1001 if you received interest income from the items listed

above passed through to you from S corporations, trusts, estates,

partnerships, or LLCs.

Line 9 – Ordinary Dividends

Generally, no difference exists between the amount of dividends reported in

column A and the amount reported using California law. However, California

taxes dividends derived from other states and their municipal obligations.

Add dividends received from the following and enter in column B:

•

Dividend income from children under age 19 or students under age 24

included on the parent’s or child’s federal tax return and reported on the

California tax return by the opposite taxpayer. For more information, get

form FTB 3803.

Add dividends received from the following and enter in column C:

•

Controlled foreign corporation (CFC) dividends in the year distributed.

• Regulated investment company (RIC) capital gains in the year distributed.

• Distributions of pre-1987 earnings from an S corporation.

• Dividend income from children under age 19 or students under age 24

excluded on the parent’s or child’s federal tax return and reported on the

California tax return by the opposite taxpayer. For more information, get

form FTB 3803.

Get FTB Pub. 1001 if you received dividends from:

•

Non-cash patronage dividends from farmers’ cooperatives or

mutual associations.

• A CFC.

• Distributions of pre-1987 earnings from S corporations.

• Undistributed capital gains for RIC shareholders.

Line 10 – Taxable Refunds, Credits, or Offsets of State and Local Income

Taxes

California does not tax the state income tax refund received in 2015. Enter in

column B the amount of state tax refund entered in column A.

Line 11 – Alimony Received

If you are a nonresident alien and received alimony not included in your

federal income, enter the alimony on this line in column C. Otherwise, make

no entry on this line.

Line 12 – Business Income or (Loss)

Adjustments to federal business income or loss you reported in column A

generally are necessary because of the difference between California and

federal law relating to depreciation methods, special credits, and accelerated

write-offs. As a result, the recovery period or basis used to ﬁgure California

depreciation may be different from the amount used for federal purposes.

Adjustments are ﬁgured on form FTB 3885A, Depreciation and Amortization

Adjustments, and are most commonly necessary because of the following:

• BeforeJanuary1,1987, California did not allow depreciation under the

federal accelerated cost recovery system. Continue to ﬁgure California

depreciation for those assets in the same manner as prior years.

•

OnorafterJanuary1,1987,California provides special credits and

accelerated write-offs that affect the California basis of qualifying assets.

Refer to the bulleted list below.

Use form FTB 3801, Passive Activity Loss Limitations, to ﬁgure the total

adjustment for line 12 if you have:

•

One or more passive activities that produce a loss.

• One or more passive activities that produce a loss and any nonpassive

activity reported on federal Schedule C (Form 1040), Proﬁt or Loss

From Business.

Use form FTB 3885A to ﬁgure the total adjustment for line 12 if you have:

•

Only nonpassive activities which produce either gains or losses (or

combination of gains and losses).

•

Passive activities that produce gains.

Penalty Assessed by Professional Sports League – For taxable years

beginning on or after January 1, 2014, California does not allow a business

expense deduction for any ﬁne or penalty paid or incurred by an owner of a

professional sports franchise assessed or imposed by the professional sports

league that includes that franchise. If the ﬁne or penalty was deducted for

federal purposes, enter this amount in column C.

Cancellation of Debt Income (CODI). California did not conform to the

federal election under IRC Section 108(i) to defer the recognition of CODI

in connection with the reacquisition of an applicable debt instrument after

December 31, 2008, and before January 1, 2011. The deferral period is ﬁve

taxable years for CODI generated in 2009, or four taxable years for CODI

generated in 2010.

For federal tax purposes, at the end of the deferral period (taxable years

beginning on or after January 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2019), the

income is reported ratably over ﬁve years. If for California purposes, the

CODI had been included in income during previous taxable years and you

recognized the CODI for federal tax purposes in the current year, enter the

federal CODI amount on line 12, column B.

Get FTB Pub. 1001 for more information about:

Income related to:

•

Business, trade, or profession carried on within California that is an integral

part of a unitary business carried on both within and outside California.

• Pro-rata share of income received from a CFC by a U.S. shareholder.

Schedule CA (540) Instructions 2015 Page 37

Basis adjustments related to:

•

Property acquired prior to becoming a California resident.

• Sales or use tax credit for property used in a former EZ, Local Agency

Military Base Recovery Area (LAMBRA), Targeted Tax Area (TTA), or LARZ.

•

Reduced recovery periods for fruit-bearing grapevines replaced in a

California vineyard on or after January 1, 1992, as a result of phylloxera

infestation; or on or after January 1, 1997, as a result of Pierce’s disease.

•

Expenditures for tertiary injectants.

• Property placed in service on an Indian reservation after January 1, 1994,

and before January 1, 2014.

•

Amortization of pollution control facilities.

• Discharge of real property business indebtedness.

• Vehicles used in an employer-sponsored ridesharing program.

• An enhanced oil recovery system.

• Joint Strike Fighter property costs.

• The cost of making a business accessible to disabled individuals.

• Property for which you received an energy conservation subsidy from a

public utility on or after January 1, 1995, and before January 1, 1997.

•

Research and experimental expenditures.

• Reduction of capitalized costs attributable to the Work Opportunity Credit.

Business deductions related to:

•

Wages paid in a former EZ, LAMBRA, Manufacturing Enhancement Area

(MEA), or TTA.

•

Certain employer costs for employees who are also enrolled members of

Indian tribes.

•

Abandonment or tax recoupment fees for open-space easements and

timberland preserves.

•

Research expense.

• Employer wage expense for the Work Opportunity Credit.

• Pro-rata share of deductions received from a CFC by a U.S. shareholder.

• Interest paid on indebtedness in connection with company-owned life

insurance policies.

•

Premiums paid on life insurance policies, annuities, or endowment

contracts issued after June 8, 1997, where the owner of the business is

directly or indirectly a policy beneﬁciary.

•

Commercial Revitalization Deductions for Renewal Communities.

• Small Employer Health Insurance Credit

Line 13 – Capital Gain or (Loss)

Generally, no adjustments are made on this line. California taxes long and

short term capital gains as regular income. No special rate for long term

capital gains exists. However, the California basis of the assets listed below

may be different from the federal basis due to differences between California

and federal laws. If there are differences, use Schedule D (540), California

Capital Gain or Loss Adjustment, to calculate the amount to enter on line 13.

•

Gain on sale of qualiﬁed small business stock under IRC Section 1045 and

IRC Section 1202.

•

Basis amounts resulting from differences between California and federal

law in prior years.

•

Gain or loss on stock and bond transactions.

• Installment sale gain reported on form FTB 3805E, Installment Sale

Income.

•

Gain on the sale of personal residence where depreciation was allowable.

• Pass-through gain or loss from partnerships, ﬁduciaries, S corporations,

or LLCs.

• Capital loss carryover from your 2014 California Schedule D (540).

• Capital gain from children under age 19 or students under age 24 i ncluded

on the parent’s or child’s federal tax return and reported on the California

tax return by the opposite taxpayer. For more information, get form

FTB 3803.

Get FTB Pub. 1001 for more information about:

•

Disposition of S corporation stock acquired before 1987.

• Capital gain exclusion for sale of principal residence by a surviving spouse.

• Gain on sale or disposition of qualiﬁed assisted housing development

to low-income residents or to speciﬁed entities maintaining housing for

low-income residents.

• Undistributed capital gain for RIC shareholders.

• Gain or loss on the sale of property inherited before January 1, 1987.

• Capital loss carrybacks.

Line 14 – Other Gains or (Losses)

Generally, no adjustments are made on this line. However, the California basis

of your other assets may differ from your federal basis due to differences

between California and federal law. Therefore, you may have to adjust the

amount of other gains or losses. Get Schedule D-1, Sales of Business

Property.

Line 15 – IRA Distributions

Generally, no adjustments are made on this line. However, there may be

signiﬁcant differences in the taxable amount of a distribution (including a

distribution from conversion of a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA), depending

on when you made your contributions to the IRA. Differences also occur if

your California IRA deductions were different from your federal deductions

because of differences between California and federal self-employment

income.

If the taxable amount using California law is:

• Less than the amount taxable under federal law, enter the difference in

column B.

• More than the amount taxable under federal law, enter the difference in

column C.

Get FTB Pub. 1005 for more information and worksheets for ﬁguring the

adjustment to enter on line 15, if any.

If you have an IRA basis and were a nonresident in prior years, you may need

to restate your California IRA basis. Get FTB Pub. 1100 for more information.

Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA) formerly known as Education

(ED) IRA – If column A includes a taxable distribution from an ED IRA, you

may owe additional tax on that amount. Get form FTB 3805P, Additional Taxes

on Qualiﬁed Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts. Report

only the taxable amount of the distribution on line 21f.

Line 16 – Pensions and Annuities

Generally, no adjustments are made on this line. However, if you received

Tier 2 railroad retirement beneﬁts or partially taxable distributions from a

pension plan, you may need to make the following adjustments.

If you received a federal Form RRB-1099-R, Annuities or Pensions by the

Railroad Retirement Board, for railroad retirement beneﬁts and included all or

part of these beneﬁts in taxable income in column A, enter the taxable beneﬁt

amount in column B.

If you began receiving a retirement annuity between July 1, 1986, and

January 1, 1987, and elected to use the three-year rule for California purposes

and the annuity rules for federal purposes, enter in column C the amount of

the annuity payments you excluded for federal purposes.

You may have to pay an additional tax if you received a taxable distribution

from a qualiﬁed retirement plan before reaching age 59½ and the distribution

was not rolled over into another qualiﬁed plan. See Form 540, line 63

instructions; or form FTB 3805P.

Line 17 – Rental Real Estate, Royalties, Partnerships, S Corporations,

Trusts, etc.

Adjustments to federal income or loss you reported in column A generally

are necessary because of the difference between California and federal law

relating to depreciation methods, special credits, and accelerated write-offs.

As a result, the recovery period or basis used to ﬁgure California depreciation

may be different from the recovery period or amount used for federal. For

more information, see the instructions for column B and column C, line 12.

California law does not conform to federal law for material participation in

rental real estate activities. Beginning in 1994, and for federal purposes only,

rental real estate activities conducted by persons in real property business are

not automatically treated as passive activities. Get form FTB 3801 for more

information.

Use form FTB 3801 to ﬁgure the total adjustment for line 17 if you have:

•

One or more passive activities that produce a loss.

• One or more passive activities that produce a loss and any nonpassive

activity reported on federal Schedule E (Form 1040), Supplemental Income

and Loss.

Page 38 Schedule CA (540) Instructions 2015 (REV 08-16)

Use form FTB 3885A to ﬁgure the total adjustment for line 17 if you have:

•

Only nonpassive activities which produce either gains or losses (or

combination of gains and losses).

•

Passive activities that produce gains.

LLCs that are classiﬁed as partnerships for California purposes and

limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are subject to the same rules as

other partnerships. LLCs report distributive items to members on

Schedule K-1 (568), Member’s Share of Income, Deductions, Credits, etc.

LLPs report to partners on Schedule K-1 (565), Partner’s Share of Income,

Deductions, Credits, etc.

Get FTB Pub. 1001 for more information about accumulation distributions

to beneﬁciaries for which the trust was not required to pay California tax

because the beneﬁciary’s interest was contingent.

Line 18 – Farm Income or (Loss)

Adjustments to federal income or loss you report in column A generally

are necessary because of the difference between California and federal law

relating to depreciation methods, special credits, and accelerated write-offs.

As a result, the recovery period or basis you use to ﬁgure California

depreciation may be different from the amount used for federal purposes, and

you may need to make an adjustment to your farm income or loss. For more

information, see the instructions for column B and column C, line 12.

Use form FTB 3801 to ﬁgure the total adjustment for line 18 if you have:

•

One or more passive activities that produce a loss.

• One or more passive activities that produce a loss and any nonpassive

activity reported on federal Schedule F (Form 1040), Proﬁt or Loss From

Farming.

Use form FTB 3885A to ﬁgure the total adjustment for line 18 if you have:

•

Only nonpassive activities which produce either gains or losses (or

combination of gains and losses).

•

Passive activities that produce gains.

Line 19 – Unemployment Compensation

California excludes unemployment compensation from taxable income. Enter

on line 19, column B the amount of unemployment compensation shown in

column A.

Paid Family Leave Insurance (PFL) beneﬁts, also known as Family

Temporary Disability Insurance. Payments received from the PFL Program

are reported on Form 1099-G, Certain Government Payments. Enter on

line 19, column B the amount of PFL payments shown in column A. For more

information, get FTB Pub. 1001.

Line 20 – Social Security Beneﬁts

California excludes U.S. social security beneﬁts or equivalent Tier 1 railroad

retirement beneﬁts from taxable income. Enter in column B the amount of

taxable U.S. social security beneﬁts or equivalent Tier 1 railroad retirement

beneﬁts shown in column A, line 20(b).

Line 21 – Other Income

a. California Lottery Winnings. California excludes California lottery

winnings from taxable income. Enter in column B the amount of California

lottery winnings included in the federal amount on line 21 in column A.

Make no adjustment for lottery winnings from other states. They are taxable

by California. California and federal laws allow gambling losses only to the

extent of reported gambling income. If you reduced gambling income for

California lottery income, you may need to reduce the losses included in the

federal itemized deductions on line 38. Enter these losses on line 41 as a

negative number.

b. Disaster Loss Deduction.

If you have a California disaster loss carryover

deduction and there is income in the current taxable year, enter the total

amount from your 2014 form FTB 3805V, Net Operating Loss (NOL)

Computation and NOL and Disaster Loss Limitations – Individuals, Estates,

and Trusts, Part III, line 6, as a positive number in column B.

NOL Attributable to a Qualiﬁed Disaster – If you deduct a 2015 disaster loss

in the 2015 taxable year that results in an NOL, then the NOL must be carried

back or elected to be carried forward. Get FTB 3805V for more information.

c. Federal NOL from Form 1040, line 21. If the amount on line 21 in

column A includes a federal NOL, enter the amount of the federal NOL as a

positive number in column C. Get form FTB 3805V, to ﬁgure the allowable

California NOL.

d. NOL Carryover from Form FTB 3805V, Part III, line 5. The allowable NOL

carryover under California law is different from the allowable NOL carryover

under federal law. If you have a California NOL carryover from your 2014

form FTB 3805V, enter it as a positive number in column B.

e. NOL from Forms FTB 3805D, FTB 3805Z, FTB 3806, FTB 3807, or

FTB 3809. Enter in column B the total NOL ﬁgured on the following forms.

•

FTB 3805D, Net Operating Loss (NOL) Carryover Computation and

Limitation – Pierce’s Disease, line 7, column C

• FTB 3805Z, Enterprise Zone Deduction and Credit Summary, line 4b

• FTB 3806, Los Angeles Revitalization Zone Net Operating Loss (NOL)

Carryover, line 2b

•

FTB 3807, Local Agency Military Base Recovery Area Deduction and Credit

Summary, line 4b

•

FTB 3809, Targeted Tax Area Deduction and Credit Summary, line 3b

f. Other (describe).

Identify the type of income reported in the space provided. If there is more

than one item to report on line 21f, attach a statement that lists each item and

enter the total of all individual items in column B or column C as instructed

below.

Parents’ Election to Report Child’s Interest and Dividends. California

conforms to federal law for elections made by parents reporting their child’s

interest and dividends. Parents may elect to report their child’s income on

their California income tax return by completing form FTB 3803. If you make

this election, the child will not have to ﬁle a tax return. You may report your

child’s income on your California income tax return even if you do not do so

on your federal income tax return.

If the amount of your child’s income you are reporting on your California

income tax return is different than the amount you reported on your federal

income tax return, enter the difference on line 21f, column B or column C and

write “FTB 3803” on line 21f. Get form FTB 3803 for more information.

Reward from a crime hotline. Enter in column B the amount of a reward

authorized by a government agency received from a crime hotline established

by a government agency or nonproﬁt organization and that is included in the

amount on line 21, column A.

You may not make this adjustment if you are an employee of the hotline or

someone who sponsors rewards for the hotline.

Federal foreign earned income or housing exclusion.

Enter in column C the

amount deducted from federal income on Form 1040, line 21.

Beverage container recycling income. Enter in column B the amount of

recycling income included in the amount on line 21 in column A.

Rebates or vouchers from a local water agency, energy agency, or energy

supplier. California law allows an income exclusion for rebates or vouchers

from a local water agency, energy agency, or energy supplier for the purchase

and installation of water conservation appliances and devices. Enter in

column B the amount of this type of income included in the amount on

line 21, column A.

Financial Incentive for Turf Removal – California law allows an income

exclusion for rebates, vouchers or other ﬁnancial incentive issued by a local

water agency or supplier in a turf removal water conservation program. Enter

in column B the amount of this type of income included in the amount on

line 21, column A.

Financial Incentive for Seismic Improvement – For taxable years beginning

on or after July 1, 2015, California law allows an income exclusion for loan

forgiveness, grant, credit, rebate, voucher, or other ﬁnancial incentive issued

by the California Residential Mitigation Program or California Earthquake

Authority to assist a residential property owner or occupant with expenses

paid, or obligation incurred for earthquake loss mitigation. Enter in column B

the amount of this type of income included in the amount on line 21,

column A.

Original issue discount (OID) for debt instruments issued in 1985 and

1986. In the year of sale or other disposition, you must recognize the

difference between the amount reported on your federal tax return and

the amount reported for California purposes. Issuers: Enter the difference

between the federal deductible amount and the California deductible amount

on line 21f in column B. Holders: Enter the difference between the amount

included in federal gross income and the amount included for California

purposes on line 21f, column C.

Foreign income of nonresident aliens. Adjust federal income to reﬂect

worldwide income computed under California law

. Enter losses from foreign

sources in column B. Enter foreign source income in column C.

Cost-share payments received by forest landowners. Enter in column B

the cost-share payments received from the Department of Forestry and Fire

Protection under the California Forest Improvement Act of 1978 or from the

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, under the Forest

Stewardship Program and the Stewardship Incentives Program, pursuant to

the Cooperative Forestr

y Assistance Act.

Foreign income. If you excluded income exempted by U.S. tax treaties on

your federal Form 1040 (unless speciﬁcally exempt for state purposes), enter

the excluded amount in column C. If you claimed foreign earned income or

housing cost exclusion on your federal Form 1040 (under IRC Section 911),

see the instructions for line 21.

Compensation for false imprisonment. California excludes compensation

for false imprisonment from income. Enter the amount of compensation on

line 21f, column B.

Coverdell ESA distributions. If you received a distribution from a Coverdell

ESA, report only the taxable amount of the distribution on line 21f.

Grants paid to low-income individuals. California excludes grants paid to

low-income individuals to construct or retroﬁt buildings to make them more

energy efﬁcient. Federal has no similar exclusion. Enter on line 21f, column B

the amount of this type of income.

Health savings account (HSA) distributions for unqualiﬁed medical

expense. Distributions from an HSA not used for qualiﬁed medical expenses,

and included in federal income, are not taxable for California purposes. Enter

the distribution not used for qualiﬁed medical expenses on line 21f, column B.

California National Guard Surviving Spouse & Children Relief Act of 2004.

Death beneﬁts received from the State of California by a sur

viving spouse/

RDP or member-designated beneﬁciary of certain military personnel killed in

the performance of duty is excluded from gross income. Militar

y personnel

include the California National Guard, State Military Reserve, or the Naval

Militia. If you reported a death beneﬁt on line 21, column A, enter the death

beneﬁt amount in column B.

Ottoman Turkish Empire settlement payments. If you received settlement

payments as a person persecuted by the regime that was in control of the

Ottoman Turkish Empire from 1915 until 1923 your gross income does not

include those excludable settlement payments, or interest, received by you,

your heirs, or your estate for payments received on or after January 1, 2005.

If you reported settlement payments on line 21, column A, enter the amount

of settlement payments in column B.

Mortgage forgiveness debt relief. California law does not conform to federal

law regarding the discharge of indebtedness from the disposition of your

principal residence occurring on or after January 1, 2014. Enter the amount

of discharge on line 21f, column C.

Line 22 – Total

Add line 7 through line 21f in column B and column C. Enter the totals on

line 22.

Line 23 through Line 31a and Line 32 through Line 35 – California law is the

same as federal law with the exception of the following:

• Line 23 (Educator Expenses) – California does not conform to federal law

regarding educator expenses. Enter the amount from column A, line 23 to

column B, line 23.

• Line 24 (Certain Business Expense of Reservists, Performing Artists, and

Fee Basis Government Ofﬁcials) – If claiming a depreciation deduction

as an unreimbursed employee business expense on federal Form 2106,

Employee Business Expenses, or Form 2106-EZ, Unreimbursed Employee

Business Expenses, you may have an adjustment in column B or column C.

For more information, get FTB Pub. 1001.

• Line 25 (Health Savings Account (HSA) Deduction) – Federal law allows

a deduction for contributions to an HSA account. California does not

conform to this provision. Transfer the amount from column A, line 25, to

column B, line 25.

• Line 31a (Alimony Paid) – Enter the SSN or ITIN and last name of the

person to whom you paid alimony.

If you are a nonresident alien and did not deduct alimony on your federal

tax return, enter the amount you paid in column C.

•

Line 32 (IRA Deduction) – If you are an active duty military servicemember

domiciled outside of California, you may have an adjustment. See line 36.

• Line 33 (Student Loan Interest Deduction) – California conforms to federal

law regarding student loan interest deduction except for a spouse/RDP of a

non-California domiciled military taxpayer residing in a community property

state. Use the Student Loan Interest Deduction Worksheet to compute the

amount to enter on line 33. For more information, get FTB Pub. 1032.

Student Loan Interest Deduction Worksheet

1 Enter the total amount from Schedule CA (540),

line 33, column A. If the amount on line 1 is zero,

STOP. You are not allowed a deduction for California

Enter the total interest you paid in 2015

on qualiﬁed student loans but not more than $2,500 here

3 From Form 1040, add line 33

(student loan interest deduction) to

line 37 (AGI). Enter the result here

4 Enter the total military income

included in federal adjusted gross

income (get FTB Pub. 1032)

5 Subtract line 4 from line 3 5

6 Enter the amount shown below for

your ﬁling status.

• Single, head of household, or

qualifying widow(er) – $60,000

• Married/RDP ﬁling jointly – $120,000

}

7 Is the amount on line 5 more than the

amount on line 6?

No. Skip lines 7 and 8, enter -0- on

line 9, and go to line 10.

Yes. Subtract line 6 from line 5

8 Divide line 7 by $15,000 ($30,000 if married/RDP ﬁling

jointly). Enter the result as a decimal (rounded to at least

three places). If the result is 1.000 or more, enter 1.000

9 Multiply line 2 by line 8 9

10 Student loan interest deduction. Subtract line 9

from line 2 10

Student loan interest adjustment. If line 1 is less than

line 10, enter the difference here and

on Schedule CA (540), line 33, column C.

• Line 34 (Tuition and Fees) – California does not conform to federal law

regarding the tuition and fees deduction. Enter the amount from column A,

line 34 to column B, line 34.

•

Line 35 (Domestic Production Activities Deduction) – California does not

conform to the federal law regarding the domestic production activities

deduction. Enter the amount from column A, line 35, to column B, line 35.

Line 36 – Add line 23 through line 31a and line 32 through line 35 in

column B and column C.

If you claimed the foreign housing deduction, include that amount in the

total you enter in column B, line 36. Enter the amount and “Form 2555” or

“Form 2555-EZ” on the dotted line next to line 36.

Schedule CA (540) Instructions 2015 Page 39

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Page 40 Schedule CA (540) Instructions 2015 (REV 01-16)

If you are active duty military and not domiciled in California and your

IRA deduction was limited because of a federal AGI limitation, recalculate

your deduction excluding your active duty military pay. If the recalculated

amount is larger than the amount on line 32, column A, enter the difference

between the two amounts in column C, line 36. Enter the amount and “MPA

Adjustment” on the dotted line next to line 36.

Line 37 – Total

Subtract line 36 from line 22 in column B and column C.

Also, transfer the amount from:

•

Line 37, column B to Form 540, line 14

If column B is a negative number, transfer the amount as a positive number to

Form 540, line 16.

•

Line 37, column C to Form 540, line 16

If column C is a negative number, transfer the amount as a positive number to

Form 540, line 14.

Part II Adjustments to Federal Itemized Deductions

Line 38 – Federal Itemized Deductions

Enter the total amount of itemized deductions from your federal Schedule A

(Form 1040), Itemized Deductions, lines 4, 9, 15, 19, 20, 27, and 28.

Important: If you did not itemize deductions on your federal tax return but

will itemize deductions on your California tax return, ﬁrst complete and attach

federal Schedule A (Form 1040). Then complete Schedule CA (540), Part II,

line 38 through line 44.

Line 39 – State, Local, and Foreign Income Taxes; General Sales Tax

Add the following amounts from federal Schedule A (Form 1040) and enter

on line 39:

•

Line 5, state and local income tax (including limited partnership tax

and income or franchise tax paid by corporations) and State Disability

Insurance (SDI) or state and local general sales tax.

•

Line 8, foreign income taxes.

Line 41 – Other Adjustments

Slain Ofﬁcer Family Support Contribution – If you claimed contributions

under the Slain Ofﬁcer Family Support Act on your 2014 federal tax return,

enter the deduction as a positive amount on line 41.

Medical and Dental Expense Deduction – For federal purposes, a deduction

is allowed for unreimbursed allowable medical and dental expenses that

exceeds 10% of federal AGI. California allows a deduction for medical and

dental expenses that exceed 7.5% of federal AGI. To determine the amount of

the itemized deduction adjustment:

•

Calculate the medical and dental expense deduction for California.

• Calculate the medical and dental expense deduction for federal.

• Subtract the federal amount from the California amount. Enter the amount

on line 41, as a positive number.

College Access Tax Credit – If you deducted a charitable contribution amount

for the College Access Tax Credit Fund on your federal Schedule A (Form

1040) and are claiming the College Access Tax Credit on your Form 540, enter

the amount used to calculate the College Access Tax Credit on line 41 as a

negative number.

Adoption-Related Expenses – If you deducted adoption-related expenses

on your federal Schedule A (Form 1040) and are claiming the adoption cost

credit for the same amounts on your Form 540, enter the amount of the

adoption cost credit claimed as a negative number on line 41.

Mortgage Interest Credit – If you reduced your federal mortgage interest

deduction by the amount of your mortgage interest credit (from federal

Form 8396, Mortgage Interest Credit), increase your California itemized

deductions by the same amount. Enter the amount of your federal mortgage

interest credit as a positive number on line 41.

Nontaxable Income Expenses – If, on federal Schedule A (Form 1040), you

claim expenses related to producing income taxed under federal law but not

taxed by California, enter the amount as a negative number on line 41.

You may claim expenses related to producing income taxed by California law

but not taxed under federal law by entering the amount as a positive number

on line 41.

Employee Business Expense – If you completed federal Form 2106 or

Form 2106-EZ, prepare a second set of forms reﬂecting your employee

business expense using California amounts (i.e., following California law).

Generally, California law conforms with federal law and no adjustment is

needed. However, differences occur when:

•

Assets (requiring depreciation) were placed in service before January 1,

1987. Figure the depreciation based on California law.

•

Federal employees who were on temporary duty status. California does

not conform to the federal provision that expanded temporary duties to

include prosecution duties, in addition to investigative duties. Therefore,

travel expenses paid or incurred in connection with temporary duty

status (exceeding one year), involving the prosecution (or support of the

prosecution) of a federal crime, should not be included in the California

amount.

Compare federal Form 2106, line 10 or Form 2106-EZ, line 6 and the form

completed using California amounts. If the federal amount is larger, enter the

difference as a negative number on line 41. If the California amount is larger,

enter the difference as a positive number on line 41.

Investment Interest Expense –

Your California deduction for investment

interest expense may be different from your federal deduction. Use form

FTB 3526, Investment Interest Expense Deduction, to ﬁgure the amount to

enter on line 41.

Gambling Losses – California lottery losses are not deductible for California.

Enter the amount of California lottery losses shown on federal Schedule A

(Form 1040) as a negative number on line 41.

Federal Estate Tax – Federal estate tax paid on income in respect of a

decedent is not deductible for California. Enter the amount of federal estate

tax shown on federal Schedule A (Form 1040) as a negative number on

line 41.

Generation Skipping Transfer Tax – Tax paid on generation skipping transfers

is not deductible under California law. Enter the amount of expenses shown

on federal Schedule A (Form 1040) as a negative number on line 41.

State Legislator’s Travel Expenses – Under California law, deductible travel

expenses for state legislators include only those incurred while away from

their place of residence overnight. Figure the difference between the amount

allowed using federal law and the amount allowed using California law. Enter

the difference as a negative number on line 41.

Qualiﬁed Charitable Contributions – Your California deduction may be

different from your federal deduction. California limits the amount of your

deduction to 50% of your federal adjusted gross income. Figure the difference

between the amount allowed using federal law and the amount allowed using

California law. Enter the difference as a negative number on line 41.

Charitable Contribution Carryover Deduction – If deducting a prior year

charitable contribution carryover, and the California carryover is larger than

the federal carryover, enter the additional amount as a positive number on

line 41.

Health Savings Account (HSA) Distributions – If you received a tax-free HSA

distribution for qualiﬁed medical expenses, enter the qualiﬁed expenses paid

that exceed 7.5% of federal AGI as an adjustment to itemized deductions. To

determine the amount of the itemized deduction adjustment:

•

Calculate the medical expense deduction for California.

• Calculate the medical expense deduction for federal.

• Subtract the federal amount from the California amount. Enter the amount

on line 41, as a positive amount.

Carryover Deduction of Appreciated Stock Contributed to a Private

FoundationpriortoJanuary1,2002– If deducting a charitable contribution

carryover of appreciated stock donated to a private operating foundation prior

to January 1, 2002, and the fair market value allowed for federal purposes is

larger than the basis allowed for California purposes, enter the difference as a

negative number on line 41.

Schedule CA (540) Instructions 2015 (REV 08-16) Page 41

Interest on Loans from Utility Companies – Taxpayers are allowed a tax

deduction for interest paid or incurred on a public utility company ﬁnanced

loan that is used to purchase and install energy efﬁcient equipment or

products, including zone-heating products for a qualiﬁed residence located

in California. Federal law has no equivalent deduction. Enter the amount as a

positive number on line 41.

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) – If you took the deduction on federal

Schedule A (Form 1040), line 13, then subtract the same amount on line 41.

Claim of Right – If you had to repay an amount that you included in your

income in an earlier year, because at the time you thought you had an

unrestricted right to it, you may be able to deduct the amount repaid from

your income for the year in which you repaid it. Or, if the amount you repaid

is more than $3,000, you may take a credit against your tax for the year in

which you repaid it, whichever results in the least tax.

If the amount repaid was not taxed by California, then no deduction or credit

is allowed.

If you claimed a credit for the repayment on your federal tax return and are

deducting the repayment for California, enter the allowable deduction as a

positive amount on Schedule CA (540), line 41. Deductions of $3,000 or less

are subject to the 2% federal AGI limit.

If you deducted the repayment on your federal tax return and are taking a

credit for California, enter the amount of the federal deduction as a negative

amount on Schedule CA (540), line 41. To help you determine whether to take

a credit or deduction, see the Repayment section of federal Publication 525,

Taxable and Nontaxable Income. Remember to use the California tax rate in

your computations. If you choose to take the credit instead of the deduction

for California, add the credit amount on line 76, the total payment line, of the

Form 540. To the left of the total, write “IRC 1341” and the amount of the

credit.

Line 43 – California Itemized Deductions

Is the amount on Form 540, line 13 more than the amount shown below for

your ﬁling status?

Single or married/RDP ﬁling separately

$178,706

Head of household $268,063

Married/RDP ﬁling jointly or qualifying widow(er) $357,417

NO Transfer the amount from line 42 to line 43. Do not complete the

worksheet.

YES Complete the Itemized Deductions Worksheet below.

Note:

•

If married or an RDP and ﬁling a separate tax return, you and your

spouse/RDP must either both itemize your deductions (even if the itemized

deductions of one spouse/RDP are less than the standard deduction) or

both take the standard deduction.

• Also, if someone else can claim you as a dependent, claim the greater of

the standard deduction or your itemized deductions. See the instructions

for “California Standard Deduction Worksheet for Dependents” within the

Form 540 Personal Income Tax Booklet to ﬁgure your standard deduction.

Itemized Deductions Worksheet

1. Amount from Schedule CA (540), line 42 1

2. Using California amounts, add the amounts on federal

Schedule A (Form 1040), line 4, line 14, and line 20

plus any gambling losses included on line 28

3. Subtract line 2 from line 1

If zero, STOP. Enter the amount from line 1 on

Schedule CA (540), line 43.

4. Multiply line 3 by 80% (.80) 4

5. Amount from Form 540, line 13 5

6. Enter the amount shown above for your ﬁling status 6

7. Subtract line 6 from line 5

Note: If zero or less, STOP. Enter the amount from line 1

on Schedule CA (540), line 43.

8. Multiply line 7 by 6% (.06) 8

9. Compare line 4 and line 8. Enter the smaller

amount here 9

10. Total itemized deductions. Subtract line 9 from line 1.

Enter here and on Schedule CA (540), line 43 10

Line 44 – Amount from Line 43 or Standard Deduction

If your ﬁling status is Married/RDP ﬁling separately and your spouse itemizes,

enter the amount from line 43 (even if the standard deduction is larger).

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...... _______

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...................................... _______

. . . . . . . . . . . _______

Page 42 Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015

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Visit our website:

ftb.ca.gov

TAXABLE YEAR

2015

California Capital Gain or Loss Adjustment

SCHEDULE

D (540)

Do not complete this schedule if all of your California gains (losses) are the same as your federal gains (losses).

Name(s) as shown on return

SSN or ITIN

(a)

Description of property

Identify S corporation stock

Example: 100 shares of “Z” (S stock)

(b)

Sales price

(c)

Cost or other basis

(d)

Loss

If (c) is more than (b),

subtract (b) from (c)

(e)

Gain

If (b) is more than (c),

subtract (c) from (b)

2 Net gain or (loss) shown on California Schedule(s) K-1 (100S, 541, 565, and 568) 2

3 Capital gain distributions (federal Form 1099-DIV, box 2a) 3

Total 2015 gains from all sources. Add column (e) amounts of line 1, line 2, and line 3 4

5 2015 loss. Add column (d) amounts of line 1 and line 2. 5 (

)

California capital loss carryover from 2014, if any. See instructions. 6 ( )

Total 2015 loss. Add line 5 and line 6. 7 ( )

For Privacy Notice, get FTB 1131 ENG/SP.

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7761153 Schedule D (540) 2015 Side 1

8 Combine line 4 and line 7. If a loss, go to line 9. If a gain, go to line 10 8

If line 8 is a loss, enter the smaller of: (a) the loss on line 8.

(b) $3,000 ($1,500 if married/RDP ﬁling separate). See instructions 9 ( )

10 Enter the gain or (loss) from federal Form 1040, line 13 10

11 Enter the California gain from line 8 or (loss) from line 9 11

12 a If line 10 is more than line 11, enter the difference here and on Schedule CA (540), line 13, column B 12a

b If line 10 is less than line 11, enter the difference here and on Schedule CA (540), line 13, column C 12b

This space reserved for 2D barcode

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Side 2 Schedule D (540) 2015 7762153

Schedule D (540) Instructions 2015 Page 45

2015 Instructions for California Schedule D (540)

California Capital Gain or Loss Adjustment

References in these instructions are to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) as of January 1, 2015, and to the California Revenue and Taxation Code (R&TC).

General Information

In general, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015,

California law conforms to the IRC as of January 1, 2015. However,

there are continuing differences between California and federal law.

When California conforms to federal tax law changes, we do not always

adopt all of the changes made at the federal level. For more information,

go to ftb.ca.gov and search for conformity. Additional information

can be found in FTB Pub. 1001, Supplemental Guidelines to California

Adjustments, the instructions for California Schedule CA (540 or 540NR),

and the Business Entity tax booklets.

The instructions provided with California tax forms are a summary of

California tax law and are only intended to aid taxpayers in preparing

their state income tax returns. We include information that is most useful

to the greatest number of taxpayers in the limited space available. It is

not possible to include all requirements of the California Revenue and

Taxation Code (R&TC) in the tax booklets. Taxpayers should not consider

the tax booklets as authoritative law.

For purposes of California income tax, references to a spouse, husband,

or wife also refer to a California registered domestic partner (RDP),

unless otherwise speciﬁed. When we use the initials RDP they refer to

both a California registered domestic “partner” and a California registered

domestic “partnership,” as applicable. For more information on RDPs,

get FTB Pub. 737, Tax Information for Registered Domestic Partners.

Purpose

Use California Schedule D (540), California Capital Gain or Loss

Adjustment, only if there is a difference between your California and

federal capital gains and losses.

Get FTB Pub. 1001, for more information about the following:

•

Disposition of property inherited before 1987.

• Gain on the sale or disposition of a qualiﬁed assisted housin g

development to low-income residents or to speciﬁc entities

maintaining housing for low-income residents.

• Capital loss carryback.

Installment Sales. If you sold property at a gain (other than publicly

traded stocks or securities) and you will receive a payment in a tax year

after the year of sale, report the sale on the installment method unless

you elect not to do so. Get form FTB 3805E, Installment Sale Income.

Also, use that form if you received a payment in 2015, for an installment

sale made in an earlier year.

You may elect not to use the installment sale method for California by

reporting the entire gain on Schedule D (540) (or Schedule D-1, Sales of

Business Property, for business assets) in the year of the sale and ﬁling

your return on or before the due date.

At-Risk Rules and Passive Activity Limitations.

If you dispose of (1) an

asset used in an activity to which the at-risk rules apply, or (2) any part

of your interest in an activity to which the at-risk rules apply, and the

amounts in the activity for which you are not at risk, get and complete

federal Form 6198, At-Risk Limitations, using California amounts to

ﬁgure your California deductible loss under the at-risk rules. Once a

loss becomes allowable under the at-risk rules, it becomes subject to

the passive activity rules. Get form FTB 3801, Passive Activity Loss

Limitations.

Speciﬁc Line Instructions

Line 1 – List each capital asset transaction.

Column (a) – Description of Property. Describe the asset you sold or

exchanged.

Column (b) – Sales Price. Enter in this column either the gross sales

price or the net sales price. If you received a Form 1099-B, Proceeds

From Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions; Form 1099-S, Proceeds

From Real Estate Transactions; or similar statement showing the gross

sales price, enter that amount in column (b). However, if box 2a of

Form 1099-B indicates that gross proceeds less commissions and

option premiums were reported to the IRS, enter that net amount in

column (b). If you entered the net amount in column (b), do not include

the commissions and option premiums in column (c).

Column (c) – Cost or Other Basis. In general, the cost or other basis

represents the cost of the property plus purchase commissions and

improvements, minus depreciation, amortization, and depletion. Enter

the cost or adjusted basis of the asset for California purposes. Use your

records and California tax returns for years before 1987 to determine the

California amount to enter in column (c). If you used an amount other

than cost as the original basis, your federal basis may be different from

your California basis. Other reasons for differences include:

•

Depreciation Methods and Property Expensing – Before 1987,

California law disallowed the use of accelerated cost recovery system

and disallowed the use of an asset depreciation range 20% above or

below the standard rate. California has different limits on the expensing

of property under IRC Section 179. California law permits rapid

write-off of certain property such as solar energy systems, pollution

control devices, and property used in an Enterprise Zone, Local Agency

Military Base Recovery Area, Targeted Tax Area, or Los Angeles

Revitalization Zone.

•

Inherited Property – The California basis of property inherited from a

decedent is generally the fair market value at the time of death.

•

S Corporation Stock – Prior to 1987, California law did not recognize

S corporations; therefore, your California basis in S corporation stock

may differ from your federal basis. In general, your California basis

will be cost- adjusted for income, loss, and distributions received

after 1986, while your stock was California S corporation stock. Your

federal basis will be cost-adjusted for income, loss, and distributions

received during the time your stock qualiﬁed for federal S corporation

treatment. Effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1,

2002, any corporation with a valid federal S corporation election is

considered an S corporation for California purposes. Existing law

already requires federal C corporations to be treated as C corporations

for California purposes.

•

Special Credits – California law authorizes special tax credits not

allowed under federal law or computed differently under federal law. In

many instances if you claimed special credits related to capital assets,

you must reduce your basis in the assets by the amount of credit.

• QualedSmallBusinessStock– California does not conform to the

qualiﬁed small business stock deferral and gain exclusion under IRC

Section 1045 and IRC Section 1202. Enter the entire gain realized in

column (e).

Other adjustments may apply differently to the federal and California

basis of your capital assets. Figure the original basis of your asset using

the California law in effect when the asset was acquired, and adjust it

according to provisions of California law in effect during the period of

your ownership.

Line 2 – Net Gain or (Loss) Shown on California Schedule(s) K-1

(100S, 541, 565, and 568). Combine gain(s) and loss(es) from all

California Schedule(s) K-1 (100S, 541, 565, and 568), Share of Income,

Deductions, Credits, etc. See California Schedule K-1 (100S, 541,

565, and 568) instructions for more information on capital gains and

losses. Enter the net loss on line 2, column (d), or the net gain on line 2,

column (e).

Line 3 – Capital Gain Distributions. If you receive federal Form 2439,

Notice to Shareholder of Undistributed Long-Term Capital Gains, from a

mutual fund, do not include the undistributed capital gain dividends on

Schedule D (540). If you receive federal Form 1099-DIV, Dividends and

Distributions, enter the amount of distributed capital gain dividends.

Line 6 – 2014 California Capital Loss Carryover. If you were a resident

of California for all prior years, enter your California capital loss carryover

from 2014. However, if you were a nonresident of California during any

taxable year that generated a portion of your 2014 capital loss carryover,

recalculate your 2014 capital loss carryover as if you resided in California

for all prior years. Get FTB Pub. 1100, Taxation of Nonresidents and

Individuals Who Change Residency, for more information. Enter your

California capital loss carryover amount from 2014 on line 6.

Line 8 – Net Gain or Loss. If the amount on line 4 is more than the

amount on line 7, subtract line 7 from line 4. Enter the difference as a

gain on line 8.

If the amount on line 7 is more than the amount on line 4, subtract line 4

from line 7 and enter the difference as a negative amount on line 8.

Use the worksheet on this page to ﬁgure your capital loss carryover to

2016.

Line 9 – If line 8 is a net capital loss, enter the smaller of the loss on

line 8 or $3,000 ($1,500 if you are married or an RDP ﬁling a separate

return).

Line 12a – Compare the amounts entered on line 10 and line 11 to ﬁgure

the adjustment to enter on Schedule CA (540), line 13, column B.

For example:

Loss on line 10 is less than loss on line 11.

Federal loss on line 10 is ($1,000)

California loss on line 11 is ($2,000)

Difference between line 10 and line 11 $1,000

Gain on line 10 and loss on line 11.

Federal gain on line 10 is $3,000

California loss on line 11 is ($3,000)

Difference between line 10 and line 11 $6,000

Line 12b –

Compare the amounts on line 10 and 11 to ﬁgure the

adjustment to enter on Schedule CA (540), line 13, column C.

For example:

Loss on line 10 is more than loss on line 11.

Federal loss on line 10 is ($2,000)

California loss on line 11 is ($1,000)

Difference between line 11 and line 10

$1,000

Loss on line 10 and gain on line 11.

Federal loss on line 10 is ($2,000)

California gain on line 11 is $5,000

Difference between line 10 and line 11 $7,000

California Capital Loss Carryover Worksheet

1. Loss from Schedule D (540), line 11, stated as a

positive number

2. Amount from Form 540, line 17 2

3. Amount from Form 540, line 18 3

4. Subtract line 3 from line 2. If less than zero, enter

as a negative amount

5. Combine line 1 and line 4. If less than zero,

enter -0-

6. Loss from Schedule D (540), line 8 6

7. Enter the smaller of line 1 or line 5 7

8. Subtract line 7 from line 6. This is your capital loss

carryover to 2016

Page 46 Schedule D (540) Instructions 2015

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TAXABLE YEAR

2015

Depreciation and

Amortization Adjustments

CALIFORNIA FORM

3885A

Do not complete this form if your California depreciation amounts are the same as federal amounts.

Name(s) as shown on tax return

SSN or ITIN

Part I Identify the Activity as Passive or Nonpassive. (See instructions.)

This form is being completed for a passive activity.

This form is being completed for a nonpassive activity.

Business or activity to which form FTB 3885A relates

Part II Election to Expense Certain Tangible Property (IRC Section 179).

2 Enter the amount from line 12 of the Tangible Property Expense Worksheet in the instructions

......................



Part III Depreciation

(a)

Description of property placed

in service

(b)

Date placed in service

mm/dd/yyyy

(c)

California basis

for depreciation

(d)

Method

(e)

Life or

rate

(f)

California

depreciation deduction

4 Add the amounts on line 3, column (f) 4 .....................................................................

5 California depreciation for assets placed in service prior to 2015 5 ................................................

6 Total California depreciation from this activity. Add the amounts on line 2, line 4, and line 5 6 ............................

7 Total federal depreciation from this activity. Enter depreciation from federal Form 4562, line 22 7 .........................

8 a If line 6 is more than line 7, enter the difference here and see instructions 8a .....................................

b If line 6 is less than line 7, enter the difference here and see instructions 8b ......................................

Part IV Amortization

(a)

Description of cost

(b)

Date amortization begins

mm/dd/yyyy

(c)

California basis

for amortization

(d)

Code

section

(e)

Period or

percentage

(f)

California

amortization deduction

10 Total California amortization from this activity. Add the amounts on line 9, column (f) 10 ................................

11 California amortization of costs that began before 2015 11 ........................................................

12 Total California amortization from this activity. Add the amounts on line 10 and line 11 12 ...............................

13 Total federal amortization from this activity. Enter amortization from federal Form 4562, line 44 13 ........................

14 a If line 12 is more than line 13, enter the difference here and see instructions 14a ...................................

b If line 12 is less than line 13, enter the difference here and see instructions 14b ....................................

Instructions for Form FTB 3885A

Depreciation and Amortization Adjustments

References in these instructions are to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) as of January 1, 2015, and to the California Revenue and Taxation Code (R&TC).

General Information

In general, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015,

California law conforms to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) as of

January 1, 2015. However, there are continuing differences between

California and federal law. When California conforms to federal tax law

changes, we do not always adopt all of the changes made at the federal

level. For more information, go to ftb.ca.gov and search for conformity.

Additional information can be found in FTB Pub. 1001, Supplemental

Guidelines to California Adjustments, the instructions for California

Schedule CA (540 or 540NR), and the Business Entity tax booklets.

The instructions provided with California tax forms are a summary of

California tax law and are only intended to aid taxpayers in preparing

their state income tax returns. We include information that is most useful

to the greatest number of taxpayers in the limited space available. It is

not possible to include all requirements of the California Revenue and

Taxation Code (R&TC) in the tax booklets. Taxpayers should not consider

the tax booklets as authoritative law.

Purpose

Use form FTB 3885A, Depreciation and Amortization Adjustments, only if

there is a difference between the amount of depreciation and amortization

allowed as a deduction using California law and the amount allowed

using federal law. California law and federal law have not always allowed

the same depreciation methods, special credits, or accelerated write-offs.

As a result, the recovery periods or the basis on which the depreciation is

ﬁgured for California may be different from the amounts used for federal

purposes. You will probably have reportable differences if all or part of

your assets were placed in service:

•

Before January 1, 1987. California disallowed depreciation under the

federal accelerated cost recovery system (ACRS). Continue to ﬁgure

California depreciation for those assets in the same manner as in prior

years for those assets.

• On or after January 1, 1987. California provides special credits and

accelerated write-offs that affect the California basis of qualifying assets.

California did not conform to all changes to federal law enacted in 1993;

therefore, the California basis or recovery periods may be different for

some assets.

• On or after September 11, 2001. If you claimed the 30% additional

depreciation for federal purposes, California has not conformed to the

For Privacy Notice, get FTB 1131 ENG/SP.

7631153 FTB 3885A 2015

      

   

     

   

    

federal Job Creation and Worker Assistance Act of 2002 which allows

taxpayers to take an additional ﬁrst year depreciation deduction and

Alternative Minimum Tax depreciation adjustment for property placed

in service after September 10, 2001.

Get FTB Pub. 1001 for more information on differences between

California and federal law for the following items:

• Amortization of certain intangibles (IRC Section 197)

• Qualied Indian Reservation property

• Grapevines subject to Phylloxera or Pierce’s disease

• Additional depreciation (IRC Section 168(k))

• Startup expenses (IRC Section 195)

• Asset expense election (IRC Section 179)

California generally conforms to the federal 2003 increase (IRC

Section 280F) for the limitation on luxury automobile depreciation. In

addition, SUVs and minivans built on a truck chassis are included in

the deﬁnition of trucks and vans when applying the 6,000 pound gross

weight limit. However, California does not conform to the federal increase

to ﬁrst-year depreciation for qualiﬁed vehicles placed in service in 2010.

Differences may also occur for other less common reasons, and the

instructions for Schedule CA (540 or 540NR) list them on the line for

the type of income likely to be affected. Get FTB Pub. 1001 for more

information about ﬁguring and reporting these adjustments.

If reporting a difference for assets related to a passive activity, get form

FTB 3801, Passive Activity Loss Limitations, for more information about

passive activities.

Do not use form FTB 3885A to report depreciation expense from federal

Form2106, Employee Business Expenses. Instead, see the instructions

for Schedule CA (540 or 540NR), line 41.

Speciﬁc Line Instructions

Prepare and ﬁle a separate form FTB 3885A for each business or activity

on your tax return that has a difference between California and federal

depreciation or amortization. Enter the name of the business or activity in

the space provided at the top of the form. If you need more space, attach

additional sheets. However, complete Part II, Election to Expense Certain

Tangible Property (IRC Section 179), only once.

Part I Identify the Activity as Passive or Nonpassive

Line 1 – Check the box to identify the activity as passive or nonpassive.

A passive activity is any activity involving the conduct of any trade or

business in which you did not materially participate. Get form FTB 3801

for more information.

If the activity is passive, use this form as a worksheet to ﬁgure the

depreciation adjustment to carry to form FTB 3801. Beginning in 1994,

and for federal purposes only, rental real estate activities of persons in

real property business are not automatically treated as passive activities.

California did not conform to this provision.

Part II Election To Expense Certain Tangible Property

If you qualify, you may elect to expense part of the cost of depreciable

personal property used in your trade or business and certain other

property described in federal Publication 946, How to Depreciate

Property. To qualify, you must have purchased property, as deﬁned in

the IRC Section 179(d)(2), and placed it in service during 2015, or have

a carryover of unused cost from 2014. If you elect this deduction, you

must reduce your California depreciable basis by the IRC Section 179

expense.

Federal limitation amounts may be different than California limitation

amounts. For California purposes, the maximum IRC Section 179

expense deduction allowed for 2015 is $25,000.

Complete the worksheet in the next column to ﬁgure IRC Section 179

expense for California. Include all assets qualifying for the deduction

because the limit applies to all qualifying assets as a group rather than to

each asset individually. Refer to federal Form 4562, Depreciation and

Amortization, for more information.

Tangible Property Expense Worksheet

1 Maximum dollar limitation for California 1 $25,000 ................

2 Total cost of Section 179 property placed in service 2 ....... ________

3 Threshold cost of Section 179 property before

reduction in limitation 3 $200,000 ..............................

4 Reduction in limitation. Subtract line 3 from line 2.

If zero or less, enter -0- 4 ............................. ________

.............................

5 Dollar limitation for tax year. Subtract line 4 from line 1.

If zero or less, enter -0- 5 ________

(a) Description of property (b) Cost (c) Elected cost

7 Listed property (elected Section 179 cost) 7 ....

8 Total elected cost of Section 179 property.

Add line 6 column (c) and line 7 8 ...................... ________

9 Tentative deduction. Enter the smaller of line 5 or line 8 9 .... ________

10 Carryover of disallowed deduction from 2014 10 ............ ________

11 Enter the smaller of business income (not less than zero)

or line 5 11 ......................................... ________

12 Section 179 expense deduction for California.

Add line 9 and line 10, but do not enter more than

line 11. Also, enter the result on form FTB 3885A, line 2 12 .... . ________

________ ..............

13 Carryover of disallowed deduction to 2016.

Add line 9 and line 10.

Subtract line 12 from the result 13

Part III Depreciation

Line 3 – Complete column (a) through column (f) for each tangible asset

or group of assets placed in service during the tax year. Use the California

basis for assets on which you elected to take the Section 179 deduction.

It will be the difference between line 6, column (b) and line 6, column (c)

of the Tangible Property Expense Worksheet in Part II.

Line 8a and Line 8b – Are you using this form as a worksheet in

connection with form FTB 3801?

Yes Enter the amount from line 8a or line 8b on form FTB 3801, Side 2,

California Passive Activity Worksheet, column (e).

No Include the amount from line 8a on Schedule CA (540 or 540NR)

in column B on line 12 for federal Schedule C (Form 1040),

Proﬁt or Loss From Business, activities; on line 17 for federal

Schedule E (Form 1040), Supplemental Income and Loss,

activities; and on line 18 for federal Schedule F (Form 1040), Proﬁt

or Loss From Farming, activities.

Include the amount from line 8b on Schedule CA (540 or 540NR)

in column C on line 12 for federal Schedule C activities; on

line 17 for federal Schedule E activities; and on line 18 for federal

Schedule F activities.

Part IV Amortization

Line 9 – Complete column (a) through column (f) for intangible assets

placed in service during the tax year. Use the California basis and the

California recovery period.

Line 14a and Line 14b – Are you using this form as a worksheet in

connection with form FTB 3801?

Yes Enter the amount from line 14a or line 14b on form FTB 3801,

Side 2, California Passive Activity Worksheet, column (e).

No Include the amount from line 14a on Schedule CA (540 or 540NR)

in column B on line 12 for federal Schedule C activities; on

line 17 for federal Schedule E activities; and on line 18 for federal

Schedule F activities.

Include the amount from line 14b on Schedule CA (540 or 540NR)

in column C on line 12 for federal Schedule C activities; on

line 17 for federal Schedule E activities; and on line 18 for federal

Schedule F activities.

________

Page 48 FTB 3885A Instructions 2015

2015 Instructions for Form FTB 3519

PaymentforAutomaticExtensionforIndividuals

General Information

MandatoryElectronicPayments–You are required to remit all your payments

electronically once you make an estimate or extension payment exceeding $20,000

or you ﬁle an original tax return with a total tax liability over $80,000. Once you

meet this threshold, all subsequent payments regardless of amount, tax type,

or taxable year must be remitted electronically. The ﬁrst payment that would

trigger the mandatory e-pay requirement does not have to be made electronically.

Individuals who do not send the payment electronically will be subject to a 1%

noncompliance penalty. For more information or to obtain the waiver form, go

to ftb.ca.gov and search for

mandatoryepay. Electronic payments can be made

using Web Pay on the Franchise Tax Board’s (FTB’s) website, electronic funds

withdrawal (EFW) as part of the e-ﬁle tax return, or your credit card.

Use form FTB 3519, Payment for Automatic Extension for Individuals, only if both

of the following apply:

•

You cannot ﬁle your 2015 tax return by April 18, 2016. Due to the Emancipation

Day holiday on April 16, 2016, tax returns ﬁled and payments mailed or

submitted on April 18, 2016, will be considered timely.

Note:Fiscal Year Filers, your tax return is due the 15th day of the 4th month

following the close of your ﬁscal year.

•

You owe tax for 2015.

When you ﬁle your 2015 tax return, you can e-leorCalFile. Go to ftb.ca.gov

and search for

e-leoptions. If you use form FTB 3519, you may not ﬁle

Form 540 2EZ or Short Form 540NR.

Use the worksheet below to determine if you owe tax. If you do not owe tax,

do not complete or mail form FTB 3519. However, ﬁle your tax return by

October 17, 2016. If you owe tax, choose one of the following payment options:

• WebPay:Individuals can make payments online using Web Pay for Individuals.

After a one-time online registration, taxpayers can make an immediate payment

or schedule payments up to a year in advance. Go to ftb.ca.gov for more

information. Do not mail form FTB 3519 to the FTB.

•

CreditCard:Use your major credit card. Call 800.272.9829 or go to

ofcialpayments.com, use code 1555. Ofﬁcial Payments Corp. charges a

convenience fee for using this service. Do not

mail form FTB 3519 to the FTB.

• CheckorMoneyOrder:Using black or blue ink, complete your check or money

order and the payment form below and mail both to the “Franchise Tax Board.”

Make all checks or money orders payable in U.S. dollars and drawn against a

U.S. ﬁnancial institution.

Penalties and Interest

If you fail to pay your total tax liability by April 18, 2016, you will incur a late

payment penalty plus interest. We may waive the late payment penalty based on

reasonable cause. Reasonable cause is presumed when 90% of the tax is paid

by the original due date of the tax return. However, the imposition of interest is

mandatory. If, after April 18, 2016, you ﬁnd that your estimate of tax due was

too low, pay the additional tax as soon as possible to avoid or minimize further

accumulation of penalties and interest. Pay your additional tax with another form

FTB 3519. If you do not ﬁle your tax return by October 17, 2016, you will incur

a late ﬁling penalty plus interest from the original due date of the tax return. For

Fiscal Year Filers, your tax return is due the 15th day of the 10th month following

the close of your ﬁscal year.

Taxpayers Residing or Traveling Outside the USA

If you are residing or traveling outside the USA on April 18, 2016, the deadline to

ﬁle your tax return and pay the tax is June 15, 2016. Interest will accrue from the

original due date until the date of payment. If you need additional time to ﬁle, you

will be allowed a six-month extension without ﬁling a request. To qualify for the

extension, ﬁle your tax return by December 15, 2016. To avoid any late-payment

penalties, pay your tax liability by June 15, 2016. When ﬁling your tax return, write

at the top of your tax return in REDINK, or

include it according to your software’s instructions.

“OutsidetheUSAonApril18,2016”

1221153

TAX PAYMENT WORKSHEET KEEP FOR YOUR RECORDS

1 Total tax you expect to owe. This is the amount you expect to enter on Form 540, line 64; or Long Form 540NR, line 74....................1 00

2 Payments and credits:

a California income tax withheld (including real estate and nonresident withholding) .............2a 00

b California estimated tax payments and amount applied from your 2014 tax return ..............2b 00

(To check your estimated tax payments go to ftb.ca.gov and search for myftb account.)

c Other payments and credits (including any tax payments made with any previous

form FTB 3519) .................................................................2c 00

3 Total tax payments and credits. Add line 2a, line 2b, and line 2c .........................................................3 00

4 Tax due. Is line 1 more than line 3? ...............................................................................4 00

 • No.Stophere.You have no tax due. Do not mail form FTB 3519. If you ﬁle your tax return by October 17, 2016 (ﬁscal year ﬁler – see instructions), the automatic

extension will apply.

• Yes.Subtract line 3 from line 1 and enter on line 4. This is your tax due. For online payments, do not mail the form, go to ftb.ca.gov for more information. If you

meet the requirements of the Mandatory e-Pay program, you must make all payments electronically, regardless of the taxable year or amount. Go to ftb.ca.gov and

search for mandatoryepay. For check or money order payments, using black or blue ink, complete your check or money order and form FTB 3519 below. Enter the

tax due amount from line 4 as the “Amount of payment.” Make your check or money order payable to the “Franchise Tax Board,” and write your SSN or ITIN and

“2015 FTB 3519” in the “For” section. Enclose, but do not staple your payment to form FTB 3519 and mail to:

FRANCHISETAXBOARD,POBOX942867,SACRAMENTOCA94267-0008.



Save the stamp – pay online with Web Pay!

DETACH HERE

IF NO PAYMENT IS DUE, DO NOT MAIL THIS FORM

DETACH HERE

(Calendar year ﬁlers – File and Pay by April 18, 2016) (Fiscal year ﬁlers – see instructions)

CAUTION: You may be required to pay electronically. See instructions.

TAXABLE YEAR

2015

Payment for Automatic Extension for Individuals

CALIFORNIA FORM

3519 (PIT)

For calendar year 2015 or ﬁscal year beginning (mm/dd/yyyy) , and ending (mm/dd/yyyy) .

Your ﬁrst name Initial Last name Your SSN or ITIN

If joint payment, spouse’s/RDP’s ﬁrst name Initial Last name Spouse’s/RDP’s SSN or ITIN

Address (number and street, PO box, or PMB no.) Apt. no./ste. no.

City State ZIP code

IF PAYMENT IS DUE, MAIL TO:

FRANCHISE TAX BOARD

PO BOX 942867

SACRAMENTO CA 94267-0008

If amount of payment is

zero, do not mail this form

}

Amount of payment





_______________ _______________

FTB 3519 2015

For Privacy Notice, get FTB 1131 ENG/SP.

CAUTION: You may be required to pay electronically. See instructions.

File and Pay by April 18, 2016

TAXABLE YEAR

2016

Estimated Tax for Individuals

CALIFORNIA FORM

540-ES

Payment

Form

Fiscal year ﬁlers, enter year ending month: Year 2017

Your ﬁrst name

Initial

Last name

Your SSN or ITIN

If joint payment, spouse’s/RDP’s ﬁrst name

Initial

Last name

Spouse’s/RDP’s SSN or ITIN

Address (number and street) PO box or PMB no.

Apt no./ste. no.

City (If you have a foreign address, see instr

uctions)

State

ZIP code

Do not combine this payment with payment of your tax due for 2015. Using black or blue ink, make your check or money order payable

to the “Franchise Tax Board.” Write your social security number or individual taxpayer identiﬁcation number and “2016 Form 540-ES” on it.

Mail this form and your check or money order to: FRANCHISE TAX BOARD, PO BOX 942867, SACRAMENTO CA 94267-0008.

If no payment is due, do not mail this form.

See Section A of the instructions for an alternative to using this form.

Amount of payment

For Privacy Notice, get FTB 1131 ENG/SP.

DETACH HERE

IF NO PAYMENT IS DUE, DO NOT MAIL THIS FORM

DETACH HERE

ONLINE SERVICES: Use Web Pay and enjoy the ease of our free online payment service.

Go to ftb.ca.gov for more information. You can schedule your payments

up to one year in advance.

Do not mail this form if you use Web Pay.

1201163

Form 540-ES 2015

 

CAUTION: You may be required to pay electronically. See instructions.

File and Pay by June 15, 2016

TAXABLE YEAR

2016

Estimated Tax for Individuals

CALIFORNIA FORM

540-ES

Payment

Form

Fiscal year ﬁlers, enter year ending month: Year 2017

Your ﬁrst name

Initial

Last name

Your SSN or ITIN

If joint payment, spouse’s/RDP’s ﬁrst name

Initial

Last name

Spouse’s/RDP’s SSN or ITIN

Address (number and street) PO box or PMB no.

Apt no./ste.

no.

City (If you have a foreign address, see instructions)

State

ZIP code

Do not combine this payment with payment of your tax due for 2015. Using black or blue ink, make your check or money order payable

to the “Franchise Tax Board.” Write your social security number or individual taxpayer identiﬁcation number and “2016 Form 540-ES” on it.

Mail this form and your check or money order to: FRANCHISE TAX BOARD, PO BOX 942867, SACRAMENTO CA 94267-0008.

If no payment is due, do not mail this form.

See Section A of the instructions for an alternative to using this form.

Amount of payment

For Privacy Notice, get FTB 1131 ENG/SP.

DETACH HERE

IF NO PAYMENT IS DUE, DO NOT MAIL THIS FORM

DETACH HERE

CAUTION: You may be required to pay electronically. See instructions.

File and Pay by Sept. 15, 2016

TAXABLE YEAR

2016

Estimated Tax for Individuals

CALIFORNIA FORM

540-ES

Payment

Form

Fiscal year ﬁlers, enter year ending month: Year 2017

Your ﬁrst name

Initial

Last name

Your SSN or ITIN

If joint payment, spouse’s/RDP’s ﬁrst name

Initial

Last name

Spouse’s/RDP’s SSN or ITIN

Address (number and street) PO box or PMB no.

Apt no./ste.

no.

City (If you have a foreign address, see instructions)

State

ZIP code

Do not combine this payment with payment of your tax due for 2015. Using black or blue ink, make

your check or money order payable

to the “Franchise Tax Board.” Write your social security number or individual taxpayer identiﬁcation number and “2016 Form 540-ES” on it.

Mail this form and your check or money order to: FRANCHISE TAX BOARD, PO BOX 942867, SACRAMENTO CA 94267-0008.

If no payment is due, do not mail this form.

See Section A of the instructions for an alternative to using this form.

Amount of payment

For Privacy Notice, get FTB 1131 ENG/SP.

DETACH HERE

IF NO PAYMENT IS DUE, DO NOT MAIL THIS FORM

DETACH HERE

CAUTION: You may be required to pay electronically. See instructions.

File and Pay by Jan. 17, 2017

TAXABLE YEAR

2016

Estimated Tax for Individuals

CALIFORNIA FORM

540-ES

Payment

Form

Fiscal year ﬁlers, enter year ending month: Year 2017

Your ﬁrst name

Initial

Last name

Your SSN or ITIN

If joint payment, spouse’s/RDP’s ﬁrst name

Initial

Last name

Spouse’s/RDP’s SSN or ITIN

Address (number and street) PO box or PMB no.

Apt no./ste.

no.

City (If you have a foreign address, see instructions)

State

ZIP code

Do not combine this payment with payment of your tax due for 2015. Using black or blue ink, make

your check or money order payable

to the “Franchise Tax Board.” Write your social security number or individual taxpayer identiﬁcation number and “2016 Form 540-ES” on it.

Mail this form and your check or money order to: FRANCHISE TAX BOARD, PO BOX 942867, SACRAMENTO CA 94267-0008.

If no payment is due, do not mail this form.

See Section A of the instructions for an alternative to using this form.

Amount of payment

For Privacy Notice, get FTB 1131 ENG/SP.

 

1201163

Form 540-ES 2015

1201163

Form 540-ES 2015

1201163

Form 540-ES 2015

Page 52 Personal Income Tax Booklet 2015

THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

Visit our website:

ftb.ca.gov

2016 Instructions for Form 540-ES Estimated Tax For Individuals

General Information

Installment Payments – Installments due shall be 30% of the required annual

payment for the 1st required installment, 40% of the required annual payment for

the 2nd required installment, no installment is due for the 3rd required installment,

and 30% of the required annual payment for the 4th required installment.

You are required to remit all your payments electronically once you make an

estimate or extension payment exceeding $20,000 or you ﬁle an original tax

return with a total tax liability over $80,000. Once you meet the threshold, all

subsequent payments regardless of amount, tax type, or taxable year must be

remitted electronically. Individuals who do not send the payment electronically will

be subject to a 1% noncompliance penalty. For more information go to ftb.ca.gov

and search for mandatory epay. Electronic payments can be made using Web Pay

on the Franchise Tax Board’s (FTB’s) website, electronic funds withdrawal (EFW)

as part of the e-ﬁle tax return, or your credit card.

A Purpose

Use Form 540-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals, and the 2016 CA Estimated

Tax Worksheet, to determine if you owe estimated tax for 2016 and to ﬁgure

the required amounts. Estimated tax is the tax you expect to owe in 2016 after

subtracting the credits you plan to take and tax you expect to have withheld.

If you need to make a payment for your 2015 tax liability or make a separate

payment for any balance due on your 2015 tax return, use form FTB 3519,

Payment for Automatic Extension for Individuals.

Certain taxpayers are limited in their use of the prior year’s tax as a basis for

ﬁguring their estimated tax. See Section C below for more information. Check for

estimated payments we’ve received at ftb.ca.gov and search for myftb account.

Increasing your withholding could eliminate the need to make a large payment

with your tax return. To increase your withholding, complete Employment

Development Department (EDD) Form DE 4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance

Certiﬁcate, and give it to your employer’s appropriate payroll staff. You can get this

form from your employer, or by calling EDD at 888.745.3886. You can download

the Form DE 4 from EDD’s website at edd.ca.gov or go to ftb.ca.gov and search

for de 4.

Form DE 4 speciﬁcally adjusts your California state withholding and is not the

same as the federal Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certiﬁcate.

B Who Must Make Estimated Tax Payments

Generally, you must make estimated tax payments if you expect to owe at least

$500 ($250 if married/RDP ﬁling separately) in tax for 2016 (after subtracting

withholding and credits) and you expect your withholding and credits to be less

than the smaller of:

1. 90% of the tax shown on your 2016 tax return; or

2. 100% of the tax shown on your 2015 tax return including Alternative Minimum

Tax (AMT).

Note:

• You do not have to make estimated tax payments if you are a nonresident or

new resident of California in 2016 and did not have a California tax liability in

2015, see Section C for more information.

• If you are a military servicemember not domiciled in California, do not include

your military pay in your computation of estimated tax payments. If you are

the nonmilitary spouse of a servicemember you may or may not need to

include your pay in your computation of estimated tax payments. For more

information, get FTB Pub. 1032, Tax Information for Military Personnel.

If you and your spouse/RDP paid joint estimated tax payments, but are now ﬁling

separate income tax returns, either of you may claim all of the amount paid, or you

may each claim part of the joint estimated payments. If you want the estimated

tax payments to be divided, notify the FTB before you ﬁle the income tax returns

so that the payments can be applied to the proper account. The FTB will accept

in writing, any divorce agreement (or court ordered settlement) or a statement

showing the allocation of the payments along with a notarized signature of both

taxpayers. The statements should be sent to:

JOINT ESTIMATE CREDIT ALLOCATION MS F225

TAXPAYER SERVICES CENTER

FRANCHISE TAX BOARD

PO BOX 942840

SACRAMENTO CA 94240-0040

C Limit on the Use of Prior Year’s Tax

Individuals who are required to make estimated tax payments, and whose 2015

California adjusted gross income is more than $150,000 (or $75,000 if married/

RDP ﬁling separately), must ﬁgure estimated tax based on the lesser of 90% of

their tax for 2016 or 110% of their tax for 2015 including AMT. This rule does not

apply to farmers or ﬁshermen.

Taxpayers with 2016 California adjusted gross income equal to or greater than

$1,000,000 (or $500,000 if married/RDP ﬁling separately), must ﬁgure estimated

tax based on their tax for 2016.

D When to Make Your Estimated Tax Payments

Pay your estimated payments by the dates shown below:

1st payment April 18, 2016 2nd payment June 15, 2016

3rd payment September 15, 2016 4th payment January 17, 2017

*Due to the federal Emancipation Day holiday on April 16, 2016, tax returns and

payments received on April 18, 2016 will be considered timely.

Filing an Early Tax Return In Place of the 4th Installment. If you ﬁle your 2016

tax return by January 31, 2017, and pay the entire balance due, you do not have to

make your last estimated tax payment. In addition, you will not owe a penalty for

the fourth installment.

Annualization Option. If you do not receive your taxable income evenly during the

year, it may be to your advantage to annualize your income. This method allows

you to match your estimated tax payments to the actual period when you earned

the income. You may use the annualization schedule included with the 2015 form

FTB 5805, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals and Fiduciaries.

Farmers and Fishermen. If you are a farmer or ﬁsherman, and at least two-thirds

of your 2015 and 2016 gross income is from farming or ﬁshing, you may do either

of the following:

• Pay all of your estimated tax by January 17, 2017.

• File your tax return for 2016 on or before March 3, 2017, and pay the total tax

due. In this case, you need not make estimated tax payments for 2016. Use

the 2015 form FTB 5805F, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Farmers and

Fishermen, to determine if you paid the required estimated tax. If the estimated

tax is underpaid, attach the completed form FTB 5805F to the back of your

tax return.

Fiscal Year. If you ﬁle your tax return on a ﬁscal year basis, your due dates will be

the 15th day of the 4th, 6th, and 9th months of your ﬁscal year and the 1st month

of the following ﬁscal year. If the due date falls on a weekend, or legal holiday, use

the next business day.

Mental Health Services Tax. If your taxable income or nonresident CA source taxable

income is more than $1,000,000, complete the worksheet below.

A. Taxable income from Form 540, line 19,

or Long Form 540NR, line 35

B. Less: $(1,000,000)

C. Subtotal

D. Tax rate – 1% x .01

E. Mental Health Services Tax – Multiply line C by line D.

Enter this amount here and on line 17 of the 2016 CA

Estimated T

ax Worksheet, on the next page.

E How to Use Form 540-ES Payment Form

Use the CA Estimated Tax Worksheet and your 2015 California income tax return as a

guide for ﬁguring your 2016 estimated tax. Be sure that the amount shown on line 21

of the CA Estimated Tax Worksheet has been reduced by any overpaid tax on your

2015 tax return which you chose to apply toward your 2016 estimated tax payment.

Note:

• If you ﬁled Form 540 2EZ for 2015, do not use the Form 540 2EZ instructions to

ﬁgure amounts on this worksheet. Instead, get the 2015 California 540 Personal

Income Tax Booklet.

1. Complete the Record of Estimated Tax Payments on the next page for your

ﬁles.

2. Paying your tax:

eb Pay – Make a payment online or schedule a future payment (up to one

year in advance), go to ftb.ca.gov for more information. Do not mail

Forms 540-ES to us.

Credit card – Go to ftb.ca.gov and search for pay by credit card or call

800.272.9829. You will be charged a fee for this service.

Do not mail Forms 540-ES if you pay by credit card.

Check or money order – There is a separate payment form for each due date.

Be sure you use the form with the correct due date shown in the top

margin of the form.

Fiscal year ﬁlers: Enter the month of your ﬁscal year end (located directly

below the form’s title).

Print your name, address, and social security number (SSN) or individual

taxpayer identiﬁcation number (ITIN) in the space provided on Form

540-ES. If you have a foreign address, enter the information in the

following order: City, Country, Province/Region, and Postal Code. Follow

the country’s practice for entering the postal code. Do not abbreviate the

country name.

Complete the amount of payment line of the form by entering the amount

of the payment that you are sending. Using black or blue ink, make your

check or money order payable to the “Franchise Tax Board.” Write your

SSN or ITIN and “2016 Form 540-ES” on it and mail to the address on the

form.

Make all checks and money orders payable in U.S. dollars and drawn against a

U.S. ﬁnancial institution.

F Failure to Make Estimated Tax Payments

If you do not make the required estimate payments, if you pay an installment after

the date it is due, or if you underpay any installment, a penalty may be assessed

on the portion of estimated tax that was underpaid from the due date of the

installment to the date of payment or the due date of your tax return, whichever is

earlier. Get the 2015 form FTB 5805 for more information.

Form 540-ES Instructions 2015 Page 53

..........................____________

.............................................

..........................................____________

......................................

..............____________

. . . . . . . . .

2016 California Estimated Tax Worksheet

Keep this worksheet for your records.

1 Residents: Enter your estimated 2016 California AGI. Nonresidents and part-year residents: Enter your estimated 2016

total AGI from all sources. Military servicemember/spouses, get FTB Pub. 1032, Tax Information for Military Personnel

2 a

If you plan to itemize deductions, enter the estimated total of your itemized deductions 2a

If you do not plan to itemize deductions, enter the standard deduction for your ﬁling status:

$4,044 single or married/RDP ﬁling separately

$8,088 married/RDP ﬁling jointly, head of household, or qualifying widow(er) 2b

Enter the amount from line 2a or line 2b, whichever applies 2c

Subtract line 2c from line 1 3

4 Tax. Figure your tax on the amount on line 3 using the 2015 tax table for Form 540, or Long Form 540NR.

Also include any tax from form FTB 3800, Tax Computation for Certain Children with Investment Income, and form FTB 3803,

Parents’ Election to Report Child’s Interest and Dividends 4

5 Residents: Skip to line 6a. Nonresidents and part-year residents:

a Enter your estimated California taxable income from Schedule CA (540NR), Part IV, line 49 5a

b Compute the CA Tax Rate: Tax on total taxable income from line 4 5b

Total taxable income from line 3

Multiply the amount on line 5a by the CA Tax Rate on line 5b 5c

6 a Residents: Enter the exemption credit amount from the 2015 instructions for Form 540 6a

b Nonresidents or part-year residents: Enter the CA credit proration percentage. Divide line 5a by line 3. If more than 1 enter 1.0000 6b

7 Nonresidents: CA prorated exemption credits. Multiply the total exemption credit amount by line 6b 7

8 Residents: Subtract line 6a from line 4. Nonresidents or part-year residents: Subtract line 7 from line 5c 8

9 Tax on accumulation distribution of trusts. See instructions for form FTB 5870A, Tax on Accumulation Distribution of Trusts 9

Add line 8 and line 9 10

Credits for joint custody head of household, dependent parent, senior head of household, and child and dependent care expenses . 11

Nonresidents and part-year residents: For the child and dependent care expenses credit, use the amount from your 2015

Long Form 540NR, line 50. For the other credits listed on line 11, multiply the total 2015 credit amount by the ratio on line 6b.

12 Subtract line 11 from line 10 12

Other credits (such as other state tax credit). See the 2015 instructions for Form 540, or Long Form 540NR 13

14 Subtract line 13 from line 12 14

Interest on deferred tax from installment obligations under IRC Sections 453 or 453A 15

16 Alternative Minimum Tax. See Schedule P (540 or 540NR) 16

17 Mental Health Services Tax Worksheet, line E (on page 1 of these instructions) 17

18 2016 Estimated Tax. Add line 14 through line 17. Enter the result, but not less than zero 18

19 a Multiply line 18 by 90% (.90). Farmers and ﬁshermen multiply line 18 by 66 2/3% (.6667) 19a

b Enter the sum of line 48, line 61, and line 62 from your 2015 Form 540

or the sum of line 63, line 71, and line 72 from your Long Form 540NR 19b

c Enter the amount from your 2015 Form 540 line 17; or Long Form 540NR, line 32 19c

d Is the amount on line 19c more than $150,000 ($75,000 if married/RDP ﬁling separately)?

Yes.

Go to line 19e. No. Enter the lesser of line 19a or line 19b. Skip line 19e and 19f and go to line 20 19d

e Multiply 110% (1.10) by the sum of line 48, line 61, and line 62 from your 2015 Form 540 or the

sum of line 63, line 71, and line 72 from your Long Form 540NR. 19e

f Enter the lesser of line 19a or line 19e and go to line 20 ( If your California AGI is equal to or greater than

$1,000,000/$500,000 for married ﬁling separately, use line 19a.) 19f

Caution: Generally, if you do not prepay at least the amount on line 19d (or 19f if no amount on line 19d), you may owe a

penalty for not paying enough estimated tax. To avoid a penalty, make sure your estimated tax on line 18 is as accurate as

possible. If you prefer, you may pay 100% of your 2016 estimated tax (line 18).

California income tax withheld and estimated to be withheld during 2016 (include withholding on pensions, annuities, etc.) 20

21 Balance. Subtract line 20 from line 19d (or line 19f if no amount on line 19d). If less than $500 (or less than $250,

if married/RDP ﬁling separately), you do not have to make a payment at this time 21

Installment amount. Multiply the amount on line 21 by 30%. Enter the results on the 1st and 4th installments of your Forms 540-ES.

Multiply the amount on line 21 by 40%. Enter the result on the 2nd installment of your Forms 540-ES. There is not a required 3rd

installment payment. If you will earn your income at an uneven rate during the year, see Annualization Option in the instructions under paragraph D.

Record of Estimated Tax Payments

Payment form number (a) Date (b) Web Pay/Credit card and conﬁrmation number (c) Amount paid (d) 2015 overpayment applied (e) Total amount paid and credited add (c) and (d)

1 $ $ $

Total $ $ $

Page 54 Form 540-ES Instructions 2015

........ _________________

......... _________________

................. _________________

...................................................... _________________

................................................................................. _________________

......................................................... _________________

............................ _________________

............................................... ___.___ ___ ___ ___

.................................................... _________________

............................... _________________

.. ___.___ ___ ___ ___

........................ _________________

................... _________________

..... _________________

...................................................................................... _________________

_________________

................................................................................ _________________

.................. _________________

................................................................................ _________________

................................... _________________

........................................................ _________________

......................................... _________________

................................. _________________

....... _________________

...................... _________________

.................................... _________________

................... _________________

................................................. _________________

.................................................. _________________

...... _________________

....................................... _________________

..........................................

FTB 3506 2015 Side 1

TAXABLE YEAR

2015

Child and Dependent Care Expenses Credit

CALIFORNIA FORM

3506

Attach to your California Form 540 or Long Form 540NR.

Name(s) as shown on tax return

SSN or ITIN

Part I Unearned Income and Other Funds Received in 2015. See instructions.

SOURCE OF INCOME/FUNDS AMOUNT SOURCE OF INCOME/FUNDS AMOUNT

Part II Persons or Organizations Who Provided the Care in California – You must complete this part. See instructions.

1 Enter the following information for each person or organization that provided care in California. Only care provided in California qualiﬁes for the credit.

If you need more space, attach a separate sheet.

Provider Provider

a. Care provider’s name

b. Care provider’s address

(number, street, apt. no., city, state,

and ZIP Code)

c. Care provider’s telephone number ( ) ( )

d. Is provider a person or organization? Person Organization Person Organization

e. Identiﬁcation number (SSN, ITIN, or FEIN)

f. Address where care was provided

(number, street, apt. no., city, state, and

ZIP Code) PO Box not accep

table.

g. Amount paid for care provided

Did you receive dependent care beneﬁts? No. Complete Part III below.

Yes. Complete Part IV on Side 2 before you complete Part III.

Part III Credit for Child and Dependent Care Expenses

2 Information about your qualifying person(s). See instructions.

(a)

Qualifying person’s name

(b)

Qualifying person’s

social security number (SSN)

(See instructions)

(c)

Qualifying person’s

date of birth

(DOB – mm/dd/yyyy)

or disability status

(d)

Percentage of

physical custody

(See instructions)

(e)

Qualiﬁed expenses you

incurred and paid in 2015 for

the qualifying person’s

care in California

First Last

DOB:

Disabled

Yes

DOB:

Disabled

Yes

DOB:

Disabled

Yes

3 Add the amounts in column (e) of line 2. Do not enter more than $3,000 for one qualifying person or $6,000 for two

or more qualifying persons. If you completed Side 2, Part IV, enter the amount from line 33 3

4 Enter YOUR earned income. See instructions

Nonresidents: Enter only your earned income from California sources. If you do not have earned income from

California sources, stop, you do not qualify for the credit. Military servicemembers, see instructions.

Part-year residents: Enter the total of (1) your earned income from California sources received while you were a

nonresident and (2) all earned income received while you were a resident. Military servicemembers, see instructions.

5 If married or an RDP ﬁling a joint return, enter YOUR SPOUSE’S/RDP’s earned income. (If your spouse/RDP was a

student or was disabled, see the instructions.) If you are not ﬁling a joint tax return, enter the amount from line 4

Nonresidents: Enter only your spouse’s/RDP’s earned income from California sources. If your spouse/RDP does not have

earned income from California sources, stop, you do not qualify for the credit. Military servicemembers, see line 4 instructions.

Part-year residents: Enter the total of (1) your spouse’s/RDP’s earned income from California sources received while he or

she was a nonresident and (2) all earned income your spouse/RDP received while he or she was a resident. Military

servicemembers, see line 4 instructions.

6 Enter the smallest of line 3, line 4, or line 5 6

7 Enter the decimal amount shown in the chart of the instructions for line 7 7 X.

8 Multiply line 6 by the decimal amount on line 7 8

9 Enter the decimal amount listed in the chart of the instructions for line 9 9 X.

10 Multiply the amount on line 8 by the decimal amount on line 9 10

11 Credit for prior year expenses paid in 2015. See instructions. 11

Add line 10 and line 11. Enter the amount here and on Form 540, line 40; or Long Form 540NR, line 50

For Privacy Notice, get FTB 1131 ENG/SP.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 00

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...... 00

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.................. 00

7251153

   

    

_____________



_____________



_____________



Part IV Dependent Care Beneﬁts

13 Enter the total amount of dependent care beneﬁts you received for 2015. This amount should be shown in box 10 of

your Form(s) W-2. Do not include amounts that were reported to you as wages in box 1 of Form(s) W-2. If you were

self-employed or a partner, include amounts you received under a dependent care assistance program from your

sole proprietorship or partnership 13

14 Enter the amount, if any, you carried over from 2014 and used in 2015 during the grace period 14

15 Enter the amount, if any, you forfeited or carried forward to 2016 15 ( )

16 Combine line 13 through line 15 16

17 Enter the total amount of qualiﬁed expenses incurred in 2015 for the

care of the qualifying person(s). See instructions 17

18 Enter the smaller of line 16 or line 17 18

19 Enter YOUR earned income 19

20 If married or an RDP ﬁling a joint return, enter YOUR SPOUSE’S/RDP’s earned

income (if your spouse/RDP was a student or was disabled, see the instructions

for line 5); if married or an RDP ﬁling a separate tax return, see the instructions

for the amount to enter; all others, enter the amount from line 19 20

21 Enter the smallest of line 18, line 19, or line 20 21

22 Enter $5,000 ($2,500 if married or an RDP ﬁling separately and you were required

to enter your spouse’s/RDP’s earned income on line 20) 22

23 Enter the amount from line 13 that you received from your sole proprietorship or partnership. If you did not receive

any amounts, enter -0-

24 Subtract line 23 from line 16 24

Deductible beneﬁts. Enter the smallest of line 21, line 22, or line 23. 25

Excluded beneﬁts. Subtract line 25 from the smaller of line 21 or line 22. If zero or less, enter -0- 26

Taxable beneﬁts. Subtract line 26 from line 24. If zero or less, enter -0- 27

28 Enter $3,000 ($6,000 if two or more qualifying persons) 28

29 Add line 25 and line 26 29

30 Subtract the amount on line 29 from the amount on line 28. If zero or less, stop. You do not qualify for the credit.

Exception – If you paid 2014 expenses in 2015, see instructions for line 11

31 Complete Side 1, Part III, line 2. Add the amounts in column (e) and enter the total here 31

32 Enter the amount from your federal Form 2441, Part III, line 31 32

33 Enter the smaller of line 30, line 31, or line 32. Also, enter this amount on Side 1, Part III, line 3 and

complete line 4 through line 12

Worksheet – Credit for 2014 Expenses Paid in 2015

1. Enter your 2014 qualiﬁed expenses paid in 2014. If you did not claim the credit for these expenses on your 2014

tax return, get and complete a 2014 form FTB 3506 for these expenses. You may need to amend your 2014 tax return

2. Enter your 2014 qualiﬁed expenses paid in 2015 2.

3. Add the amounts on line 1 and line 2 3.

4. Enter $3,000 if care was for one qualifying person ($6,000 for two or more) 4.

5. Enter any dependent care beneﬁts received for 2014 and excluded from your income

(from your 2014 form FTB 3506, Part IV, line 26)

6. Subtract amount on line 5 from amount on line 4 and enter the result 6.

7. Compare your and your spouse’s/RDP’s earned income for 2014 and enter the smaller amount 7.

8. If ﬁling a joint tax return, compare the amounts on line 3, line 6, and line 7 and enter the smallest amount. If not ﬁling

a joint tax return, enter your earned income.

9. Enter the amount from your 2014 form FTB 3506, Side 1, Part III, line 6 9.

10. Subtract amount on line 9 from amount on line 8 and enter the result. If zero or less, stop here. You cannot increase

your credit by any previous year’s expenses 10.

11. Enter your 2014 federal adjusted gross income (AGI) (from your 2014 Form 540, line13;

or Long Form 540NR, line 13) 11.

12. 2014 federal AGI decimal amount (from 2014 form FTB 3506, instructions for line 7) 12.

13. Multiply line 10 by line 12 13.

14. 2014 California AGI decimal amount (from 2014 form FTB 3506, instructions for line 9) 14.

15. Multiply line 13 by line 14. Enter the result here and on your 2015 form FTB 3506, Side 1, Part III, line 11 15.

7252153

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

....... ____________________

............................................................. ____________________

...................................................................... ____________________

........................................ ____________________

............................................................. ____________________

............................................. ____________________

......................... ____________________

................................................................. ____________________

........................................... ____________________

................................................................. ____________________

............................................................................ ____________________

................................. ______ . ______ ______

............................................................................... ____________________

............................... ______ . ______ ______

................. ____________________

Side 2 FTB 3506 2015

FTB 3506 Instructions 2015 Page 57

2015 Instructions for Form FTB 3506

Child and Dependent Care Expenses Credit

General Information

Attach the completed form FTB 3506, Child and Dependent Care Expenses

Credit, to your Form 540, California Resident Income Tax Return, or Long

Form 540NR, California Nonresident or Part-Year Resident Income Tax

Return, if you claim the child and dependent care expenses credit.

For taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2011 the child and

dependent care expenses credit is nonrefundable.

Registered Domestic Partners (RDP) – For purposes of California income

tax, references to a spouse, husband, or wife also refer to a California RDP,

unless otherwise speciﬁed. When we use the initials RDP, they refer to both a

California registered domestic “partner” and a California registered domestic

“partnership,” as applicable. For more information on RDPs, get FTB Pub.

737, Tax Information for Registered Domestic Partners.

A Purpose

You may qualify to claim the 2015 credit for child and dependent care

expenses, if you (and your spouse/RDP) paid someone in California to care

for your child or other qualifying person while you worked or looked for

employment. You must have earned income to do so. If you qualify to claim

the credit, use form FTB 3506 to ﬁgure the amount of your credit.

If you received dependent care beneﬁts for 2015 but do not qualify to claim

the credit, you are not required to complete form FTB 3506. For additional

deﬁnitions, requirements, and instructions, get federal Form 2441, Child and

Dependent Care Expenses.

B Differences in California and Federal Law

The differences between California and federal law are as follows:

•

California allows this credit only for care provided in California.

• If you were a nonresident, you must have earned wages from working in

California or earned self-employment income from California business

activities.

•

The California credit is a percentage of the federal credit.

• RDPs may ﬁle a joint California return and claim this credit. For more

information, get FTB Pub. 737.

C Qualiﬁcations

You may take the credit if all eight of the following apply.

1. If you are married or an RDP, you must ﬁle a joint tax return. For an

exception, see Section E, Married Persons or RDPs Filing Separate

Returns.

2. Care must be provided in California for one or more qualifying persons.

See Section D, Qualifying Person Deﬁned.

3. You paid for care so you (and your spouse/RDP) could work or look for

work. However, if you did not ﬁnd a job and have no earned income,

you do not qualify for the credit. If your spouse/RDP was a student or

disabled, see the instructions for Part III, line 5.

4. You (and your spouse/RDP) must have earned income (wages or self-

employment income) during the year. See the instructions for Part III,

line 4, for more information on earned income.

5. You and the qualifying person(s) live in the same home for more than

half the year.

6. The person who provided care was not your spouse/RDP, the parent of

your qualifying child, or a person for whom you can claim a dependent

exemption. If your child provided the care, the child must have been

age 19 or older by the end of 2015.

7. You report the required information about the care provider(s) in Part II,

line 1, and the information about the qualifying person(s) in Part III, line 2.

8. Your federal adjusted gross income is $100,000 or less.

D Qualifying Person Deﬁned

Rules for Most People

A qualifying person is:

1. A child under age 13 who meets the requirements to be your dependent

as a Qualifying Child. A child who turned 13 during the year qualiﬁes

only for the part of the year when he or she was 12 years old; or

2. Your spouse/RDP who was physically or mentally incapable of

self-care ; or

3. Any person who was physically or mentally incapable of self-care and

either:

a. Was your dependent.

b. Would have been your dependent except that:

i. He or she received gross income of $4,000 or more.

ii. He or she ﬁled a joint tax return.

iii. You, or your spouse/RDP if ﬁling a joint tax return, could be

claimed as a dependent on someone else’s 2015 tax return.

Qualifying Child

A Qualifying Child is a child who meets all of the following tests:

•

Relationship Test – The child must be your son, daughter, stepchild,

adopted child, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister,

stepbrother, stepsister, or a descendant of one of these. An adopted child

includes a child who has been lawfully placed with you for legal adoption

even if the adoption is not yet ﬁnal. An eligible foster child must be

placed with you by an authorized placement agency or by a court.

•

Age Test – For the purposes of qualifying for the Child and Dependent

Care Expenses Credit, the child must be under 13.

•

Residency Test – The child must live with you for more than half the

year.

•

Support Test – The child must not have provided more than half of his or

her own support.

•

Joint Return Test – The child must not have ﬁled a joint federal or state

income tax return with his or her spouse/RDP.

•

Citizenship Test – The child must be a citizen or national of the U.S. or a

resident of the U.S., Canada, or Mexico.

Tie-Breaker Rules: Qualifying Child of More Than One Person*

If an individual may be claimed as a qualifying child by two or more

taxpayers for the same taxable year, the following rules apply:

If…

Then the child will be treated as the qualifying

child of the…

Only one of the

persons is the child’s

parent

Parent.

Both of the persons

are the child’s parent

but they do not ﬁle a

joint return

Parent with whom the child lived for the longer period

of time during the year.

If the child lived with both parents for the same

amount of time, the parent who had the higher

adjusted gross income for the year.

The child’s parents

can claim the child

as a qualifying

person but neither

parent does

Person with the highest adjusted gross income (AGI)

of all persons claiming the child, but only if that

person’s AGI is higher than the highest AGI of any of

the child’s parents.

No parent can

claim the child as a

qualifying child

Person with the highest adjusted gross income of all

persons claiming the child.

*These rules assume all other qualifying child requirements are satisﬁed.

Divorced, RDP Terminated, Separated, or Never-Married Parents

For divorced, RDP terminated, separated, or never-married parents, special

rules apply in determining if your child meets the requirements to be your

qualifying person. When parents ﬁle separate returns, only one parent

qualiﬁes to claim a child as a qualifying person.

Page 58 FTB 3506 Instructions 2015

Even if both parents pay for child care for the same child, both parents

cannot qualify for the credit. Some custody agreements designate which

parent is entitled to the credit. However, the designated parent must meet all

the qualiﬁcations in Section C, Qualiﬁcations, to claim the credit. To verify

that your child meets the requirements to be your qualifying person, use the

table below.

RULES FOR DIVORCED, RDP TERMINATED, SEPARATED, OR

NEVER-MARRIED PARENTS

IF AND THEN

ALL four of the following apply:

1. Your child was under 13

and/or physically or mentally

incapable of self-care when

the care was provided.

Children turning 13 during

the year qualify only for the

part of the year they were

12 years old.

2. One of the following applies

a. You are divorced, legally

separated, or have

terminated a registered

domestic partnership.

b. You are separated under

a written separation

agreement.

c. You and the other parent

lived apart at all times

during the last 6 months

of the year. (This includes

parents never married to

each other.)

3. One or both parents had

custody of the child for more

than half the year.

4. One or both parents provided

more than half the child’s

support for the year.

You were the

custodial parent

and you can claim

the dependent

exemption credit for

the child.

The child

is your

qualifying

person.

You were the

custodial parent and

under the provisions

of a decree of divorce,

legal separation,

termination of

registered domestic

partnership, or a

written separation

agreement, the

noncustodial parent

claimed the dependent

exemption credit,

or you signed a

statement releasing

the dependent

exemption credit

to the noncustodial

parent.

The child

is your

qualifying

person.

You are not the

custodial parent.

The child

is not your

qualifying

person.

One or more of the four

statements above do not apply.

Use the

“Rules for

Most People”

in Section D.

Custodial Parent and Noncustodial Parent. The custodial parent is the

parent with whom the child lived for the greater number of nights during the

year. The other parent is the noncustodial parent. If the child lived with each

parent for an equal number of nights during the year, the custodial parent is

the parent with the higher adjusted gross income.

Parent Works at Night. If, due to a parent’s night-time work schedule, a

child lives for a greater number of days, but not nights, with the parent who

works at night, that parent is treated as the custodial parent. On a school

day, the child is treated as living at the primary residence registered with the

school.

E Married Persons or RDPs Filing Separate

Tax Returns

Generally, if you are married or an RDP, you must ﬁle a joint tax return to

claim the credit. However, you can take the credit on your separate tax return

if:

1. You meet all three requirements below:

• Youlivedapartfromyourspouse/RDPatalltimesduringthelastsix

months of 2015.

• Thequalifyingperson(s)livedinyourhomemorethanhalfof2015.

• Youprovidedoverhalfthecostofkeepingupyourhome.

2. You meet all the other qualiﬁcations in Section C, Qualiﬁcations.

F Nonresidents and Part-Year Residents

1. You must complete and attach Schedule CA (540NR), California

Adjustments – Nonresidents or Part-Year Residents, to your tax

return, Long Form 540NR. If Part I of Schedule CA (540NR) is not fully

completed, we may disallow your credit.

2. Nonresidents must have earned income from California sources to

qualify for the credit. A nonresident servicemember’s military wages are

considered earned income from a California source for the purpose of

qualifying for the credit.

3. Part-year residents must have earned income while a California resident

or earned income from California sources while a nonresident to qualify

for the credit.

G Military Personnel

For the purposes of this credit, active duty pay is considered earned income

from California sources, regardless of whether the servicemember is

domiciled in California. The federal Military Spouses Residency Relief Act

may affect the credit requirements for spouses of military servicemembers.

For more information, get FTB Pub. 1032, Tax Information for Military

Personnel.

Speciﬁc Line Instructions

Part I, Unearned Income and Other Funds

Received in 2015

List the source and amount of any money you received in 2015 that is not

included in your earned income (Part III, line 4 and line 5) but that was used

to support your household. Include child support, property settlements,

public assistance beneﬁts, court awards, inheritances, insurance proceeds,

pensions and annuities, social security payments, workers’ compensation,

unemployment compensation, interest, and dividends.

Part II, Persons or Organizations Who Provided

the Care in California

Line 1

Complete line 1a through line 1g for each person or organization that

provided the care in California. Only care provided in California qualiﬁes for

the credit. Use federal Form W-10, Dependent Care Provider’s Identiﬁcation

and Certiﬁcation, or any other source listed in the instructions for federal

Form W-10 to get the information from your care provider. If your provider

does not give you the information, complete as much of the information as

possible and explain that your provider did not give you the information you

requested.

If you do not give correct and complete information, we may disallow your

credit unless you can show you used due diligence in trying to get the

required information.

Lines 1a through Line 1c

Enter your California care provider’s complete name (or business name),

address, and telephone number (including the area code). If you do not give

complete information, we may disallow your credit. We may contact your

care provider to verify the information you provide.

If you were covered by your employer’s dependent care plan and your

employer furnished the care (either at your workplace or by hiring a care

provider), enter your employer’s name on line 1a. Next, enter “See W-2” on

line 1b. Complete line 1c through line 1f. Then leave line 1g blank. But, if

your employer paid a third party (not hired by your employer) on your behalf

to provide care, you must provide information on the third party on line 1a

through line 1g.

Line 1d

For each care provider, check one box indicating whether the care provider is

a person or organization.

FTB 3506 Instructions 2015 Page 59

Line 1e

If your care provider is Then enter on line 1e

An individual The provider’s social security

number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer

Identiﬁcation Number (ITIN).

Not an individual The provider’s federal employer

identiﬁcation number (FEIN).

A tax-exempt organization “Tax-exempt.”

Line 1f

Enter the complete physical address where the care was provided. A post

ofﬁce box is not acceptable. If you do not provide correct or complete

information, your credit may be disallowed. Only care provided in California

qualiﬁes for the credit.

Line 1g

Enter the total amount you actually paid in 2015 to your care provider for

care provided in California. Also include amounts your employer paid to

a third party on your behalf. It does not matter when the expenses were

incurred. Do not

reduce this amount by any reimbursement you received.

We may ask you to provide proof of payment. Cash payments without

veriﬁable documentation may not be accepted.

Part III, Credit for Child and Dependent Care

Expenses

Line 2

Complete column (a) through column (e) for each qualifying person for

whom care was provided in California. If claiming more than three qualifying

persons, attach a sheet of paper to your tax return with the required

information and write “see attached.” Write your name and SSN or ITIN on

the sheet.

Column (a)

Enter each qualifying person’s name.

Column (b)

Enter each qualifying person’s SSN. Verify that the name and SSN match

the qualifying person’s social security card to avoid the reduction or

disallowance of your credit. If the person was born in, and later died in,

2015, and does not have a SSN, enter “Deceased” in column (b) and attach a

copy of the person’s birth and death certiﬁcates.

Column (c)

Enter the qualifying person’s date of birth (mm/dd/yyyy) in the space

provided or if the qualifying person is disabled (physically or mentally

incapable of self-care), check the “Yes” box. Incomplete information could

result in a delay or disallowance of your credit.

Column (d)

If you shared custody of the qualifying person(s), enter the percentage of

time you possessed physical custody during 2015. If you have 50% or less

physical custody of your child, you do not qualify for the credit.

Column (e)

Enter the qualiﬁed expenses you incurred and paid in 2015 for the qualifying

person(s). Include only the qualiﬁed expenses for care provided in California.

If the child turned 13 years old during the year, include only the qualiﬁed

expenses for the part of the year the child was 12 years old.

Do not include in column (e) qualiﬁed expenses:

•

You incurred in 2015 but did not pay until 2016. You may be able to use

these expenses to increase your 2016 credit.

•

You incurred in 2014 but did not pay until 2015. Instead, see instructions

for line 11.

•

You prepaid in 2015 for care to be provided in 2016. These expenses

may only be used to ﬁgure your 2016 credit.

A qualiﬁed expense does not include the amount you paid for education

(school tuition) or the amount you received through a subsidy program.

Qualiﬁed Expenses are amounts paid for the care of your qualifying person

while you worked or looked for work.

Qualiﬁed expenses include: Qualiﬁed expenses do not include:

• Thecostofcareforthe

qualifying person’s well-being

and protection. If care was

provided by a dependent care

center, the center must meet

all applicable state and local

regulations.

• Costofpre-schoolorsimilar

program below the kindergarten

level.

• Daycamp,evenifitspecialized

in a particular activity, such as

soccer.

• Childsupportpayments.

• Paymentsmadetotheparentof

your qualifying child.

• Paymentsmadetoyourspouse/

RDP.

• Paymentsmadetoyourchild

who is under age 19 at the end

of the year, even if he or she is

not your dependent.

• Paymentsmadetoadependent

for whom you (or your spouse/

RDP) can claim a dependent

exemption.

• Expensespaidbyorreimbursed

through a subsidy program.

• Costforeducation(school

tuition) at the kindergarten level

and above.

• Overnightcamp.

Line 4

Earned income includes: Earned income does not include:

•

Wages, salary, tips, and other

taxable employee compensation,

as well as, military compensation

including compensation for service

in a combat zone.

•

Net earnings from

self-employment.

• Strike beneﬁts.

• Disability payments you report as

wages.

• Active duty pay received by

servicemembers of the armed

forces is considered earned

income regardless of whether the

servicemember is domiciled in this

state or elsewhere.

•

Pensions or annuities

• Social security payments

• Workers’ compensation

• Interest

• Dividends

• Capital gains

• Unemployment compensation

• Public assistance

• California service income

excluded under the Military

Spouses Residency Relief Act.

Nonresidents and Part-Year

Residents Only: Earned income

from California sources includes: Earned income does not include:

•

Wages, salary, tips, and other

taxable employee compensation

for working in California, as

well as, military compensation

including compensation for

service in a combat zone.

•

Net earnings from

self-employment from California

business activities.

•

Strike beneﬁts related to

California employment.

• Disability payments you report

as California wages.

• Active duty pay received by

servicemembers of the armed

forces is considered earned

income regardless of whether

the servicemember is domiciled

in this state or elsewhere.

•

Pensions or annuities

• Social security payments

• Workers’ compensation

• Interest

• Dividends

• Capital gains

• Unemployment compensation

• Public assistance

• California service income

excluded under the Military

Spouses Residency Relief Act.

Page 60 FTB 3506 Instructions 2015

Line 5

Spouse/RDP Who Was a Student or Disabled

Your spouse/RDP was a student if he or she was enrolled as a full-time

student at a school during any 5 months of 2015. A school does not include

a night school or correspondence school.

Your spouse/RDP was disabled if he or she was not capable of self-care.

Figure your spouse’s/RDP’s earned income on a monthly basis.

For each month your spouse/RDP was a full-time student or disabled, enter

on line 5 the larger of the following:

•

Your spouse’s/RDP’s actual earned income for that month.

• $250 ($500, if you have 2 or more qualifying persons).

If, in the same month, both you and your spouse/RDP qualiﬁed as either

full-time students or disabled, only one of you receive treatment as having

earned income of $250 (or $500) in that month. For any month that your

spouse/RDP was not a full-time student or disabled, use your spouse’s/

RDP’s actual earned income for that month.

Line 7

Use the chart below to determine the decimal amount to enter on line 7.

Your federal adjusted gross income (AGI) is on Form 540, line 13 or Long

Form 540NR, line 13. For military personnel domiciled outside of California,

use your federal AGI less your military pay to determine the decimal amount

to enter on line 7.

If your Federal AGI is:

Over But not over

The decimal amount

on Line 7 is:

$0 $15,000 .35

15,000 17,000 .34

17,000 19,000 .33

19,000 21,000 .32

21,000 23,000 .31

23,000 25,000 .30

25,000 27,000 .29

27,000 29,000 .28

29,000 31,000 .27

31,000 33,000 .26

33,000 35,000 .25

35,000 37,000 .24

37,000 39,000 .23

39,000 41,000 .22

41,000 43,000 .21

43,000 No limit .20

Line 9

Use the chart below to determine the decimal amount to enter on line 9. For

military personnel domiciled outside of California, use your federal AGI less

your military pay to determine the decimal amount to enter on line 9.

If your federal AGI from Form 540,

line 13 or Long Form 540NR, line 13 is:

The decimal amount to

enter on Line 9 is:

$40,000 or less .50

Over $40,000 but not over $70,000 .43

Over $70,000 but not over $100,000 .34

Over $100,000 Stop. You do not qualify for this credit.

Line 11

If you had qualiﬁed expenses for care that was provided in 2014 that you

paid for in 2015, you may be able to increase your credit for 2015. Complete

the Worksheet on Side 2 of form FTB 3506. See Worksheet instructions on

this page.

Part IV, Dependent Care Beneﬁts

Line 13

Dependent care beneﬁts are:

•

Amounts an employer paid directly to you (or your spouse/RDP), or to

your care provider for the care of your qualifying person(s), while you

worked.

•

A day-care facility provided by your employer.

• Generally deducted from your salary.

• Shown in box 10 of your 2015 Form(s) W-2.

Line 14

Enter the amount from federal Form 2441, line 13.

Line 15

If you had a ﬂexible spending account, any amount included on line 13 that

you did not receive because you did not incur the expense is considered

forfeited. Do not include amounts you expect to receive at a future date.

Line 17

Enter the total of all qualiﬁed expenses incurred in 2015. It does not matter

when the expenses were paid.

A qualiﬁed expense does not include the amount you paid for education

(school tuition) or the amount you received through a subsidy program.

Example: You received $2,000 cash under your employer’s dependent

care plan for 2015. The $2,000 is shown in box 10 of your Form W-2. You

incurred $900 of qualiﬁed expenses in 2015 for the care of your 3-year-old

dependent child. Enter $900 on line 17, but report the entire $2,000 on

line 13.

For all other lines, follow speciﬁc line instructions on the form. For additional

information, get federal Form 2441 or federal Publication 503, Child and

Dependent Care Expenses.

Line 20

If you are married or an RDP ﬁling a separate return and you meet the

requirements of Section E, Married Persons Filing Separate Returns, item 1,

then enter your earned income from line 19. On line 22, enter $5,000.

If you were married or an RDP and ﬁled a separate return but did not meet

the requirements of Section E, Married Persons Filing Separate Returns,

item 1, then enter your spouse’s/RDP’s earned income. If your spouse/RDP

was a student or disabled in 2015, see the instructions for line 5. On line 22,

enter $2,500.

Worksheet – Credit for 2014 Expenses Paid

in 2015

You will need a copy of your 2014 California tax return to complete the

worksheet.

Line 12 and line 14

You need the 2014 form FTB 3506 instructions to complete the Credit for

2014 Expenses Paid in 2015 Worksheet, on Side 2. Forms are available at

ftb.ca.gov or by calling 800.338.0505.

Line 12

Enter the decimal amount from the chart in the line 7 instructions of the

2014 form FTB 3506 that corresponds to your 2014 federal adjusted gross

income.

Line 14

Enter the decimal amount from the chart in the line 9 instructions of the

2014 form FTB 3506 that corresponds to your 2014 California adjusted

gross income.

TAXABLE YEAR

2015

California Earned Income Tax Credit

CALIFORNIA FORM

3514

Attach to your California Form 540, Form 540 2EZ or Long or Short Form 540NR

Name(s) as shown on tax return SSN

Before you begin:

If you claim the EITC even though you know you are not eligible, you may not be allowed to take the credit for up to 10 years.

Follow Step 1 through Step 6 in the instructions to determine if you meet the requirements, to complete this form, and to ﬁgure the amount of

the credit.

If you are claiming the California Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), you must provide your date of birth (DOB), and spouse's/RDP's DOB if ﬁling jointly,

on your California Form 540, Form 540 2EZ, or Long or Short Form 540NR.

Part I Federal Information See the instructions for Step 1 - Qualiﬁcations for All Filers.

1 Has the IRS previously disallowed your federal Earned Income Credit (EIC)? .............................



1 Yes Nom m

2 Federal AGI (federal Form 1040, line 38; Form 1040A, line 22; or Form 1040EZ, line 4) ..................... 2

3 Federal EIC (federal Form 1040, line 66a; Form 1040A, line 42a; or Form 1040EZ, line 8a). .................. 3

Part II Investment Income Information

4 Investment Income. See instructions for Step 2 – Investment Income .................................. 4

Part III Qualifying Child Information

You must complete Part I and Part II before ﬁlling out Part III. If you are not claiming a qualifying child, skip Part III and go to Step 4 in the instructions.

Qualifying Child Information Child 1 Child 2 Child 3

5 First name .....................

  

6 Last name......................

  

7 SSN ..........................   

8 Date of birth (mm/dd/yyyy). If born

after 1996 and the child is younger

than you (or your spouse/RDP, if

ﬁling jointly), skip line 9a and line 9b;

go to line 10

....................

  

9 a Was the child under age 24

at the end of 2015, a student,

and younger than you (or your

spouse/RDP, if ﬁling jointly)? If

yes, go to line 10. If no, go to

line 9b. See instructions. Yes No Yes No Yes No ........



m m



m m



m m

b Was the child permanently and

totally disabled during any part

of 2015? If yes, go to line 10. If

no, stop here. The child is not a

qualifying child. Yes No Yes No Yes No ...............



m m



m m



m m

10 Child's relationship to you. See

instructions. ...................

  

11 Number of days child lived with

you in California during 2015. Do

not enter more than 365 days. See

instructions. ....................

  

For Privacy Notice, get FTB 1131 ENG/SP.

FTB 3514 (NEW 2015) (REV 12-15) Side 1

8461153

Side 2 FTB 3514 (NEW 2015)

Child 1 Child 2 Child 3

12 a. Child's physical address during

2015 (number, street, and apt.

no./ste. no.). See instructions. ...

  

b. City........................

  

c. State.......................

  

d. ZIP code....................

  

Part IV California Earned Income

13 Wages, salaries, tips, and other employee compensation, subject to California withholding. See instructions..... 13

14 Prison inmate wages. See instructions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .



15 Pension or annuity from a nonqualiﬁed deferred compensation plan or a nongovernmental IRC Section 457 plan.

See instructions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .



California Earned Income. Subtract line 14 and line 15 from line 13.................................... 16

Part V California Earned Income Tax Credit (Complete Step 6 in the instructions.)

17 California EITC. Enter amount from California Earned Income Tax Credit Worksheet, Part III, line 6.

This amount should also be entered on Form 540, line 75; Form 540NR Long, Line 85; Form 540NR Short,

Line 85; or Form 540 2EZ, Line 23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

This space reserved for 2D barcode

8462153

FTB 3514 Instructions (NEW 2015) Page 63

2015 Instructions for Form FTB 3514

California Earned Income Tax Credit

References in these instructions are to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) as of January 1, 2015, and to the California Revenue and Taxation Code (R&TC).

What's New

For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2015, the refundable

California Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is available to taxpayers who

earned wage income in California. This credit is similar to the federal

Earned Income Credit (EIC) but with different income limitations. EITC

reduces your California tax obligation, or allows a refund if no California

tax is due. You may qualify if you have earned income of less than

$13,870. You do not need a child to qualify, but must ﬁle a California tax

return to claim the credit and attach a completed form FTB 3514.