Touring Taxes If You're Based in California
If California is home base, you've got two different state agencies in your business — and they don't talk to each other. Here's who handles what, so you don't mix them up.
California splits your tax life across two agencies: the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) handles your state income tax, and the CDTFA handles sales tax on merch. Different agencies, different filings, different rules.
The FTB — your income tax home base
As a California resident, the FTB taxes all of your music income — every state you toured, plus everything you earned at home. California has some of the higher state income-tax rates in the country, which is part of why setting money aside matters so much for artists based here.
The good news: when you tour out of state and pay income tax there, California generally gives you a credit for taxes paid to other states so you're not fully taxed twice on the same show money.
The CDTFA — sales tax on your merch
Selling shirts, vinyl, and CDs in California is a retail sale, and that's the CDTFA's world, not the FTB's. If you're regularly selling merch, California generally expects you to hold a seller's permit and to collect and remit sales tax on those sales.
Keep the two lanes straight
- Income → Franchise Tax Board → your resident return + the out-of-state credit.
- Merch sales → CDTFA → seller's permit + sales-tax returns.
- Don't wait until April. With California rates on top of federal, a touring artist here often needs to be setting money aside all year, not scrambling at the deadline.
This is general education, not tax advice — Done Deal Digital isn't a CPA firm. State tax rules change and every artist's situation is different. For your situation, work it out with a qualified CPA.
That's the short version
The California playbook, step by step
The chapter in On the Road lays out exactly how a California-based artist handles both agencies, the resident-credit for out-of-state shows, and the merch-permit steps — so home base doesn't become the messiest part of your tour taxes.
Get the Guide — $39 →Or get all seven tax guides in one — The Complete Tax & Money Guide, $99 →