ARTICLE 1. Security for Tax [38501. - 38505.]

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC 1.

in effect

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 38501. Section 38501.

The department, whenever it deems it necessary to ensure compliance with this part, may require any person subject thereto, to place with it such security as the department may determine. Any security in the form of cash, government bonds, or insured deposits in banks or savings and loan institutions shall be held by the department in trust to be used solely in the manner provided by this section and Section 38565. The amount of the security shall be fixed by the department but, except as noted below, shall not be greater than twice the estimated average liability of persons filing returns for quarterly periods or three times the estimated average liability of persons required to file returns for monthly periods, determined in such manner as the department deems proper, or ten thousand dollars ($10,000), whichever amount is the lesser. The limitations herein provided apply regardless of the type of security placed with the department. The amount of the security may be increased or decreased by the department subject to the limitations herein provided. The department may sell the security at public auction if it becomes necessary to do so in order to recover any tax or any amount required to be collected, interest, or penalty due. Notice of the sale may be served upon the person who placed the security in the manner prescribed for service of a notice of a deficiency determination. Security in the form of a bearer bond issued by the United States or the State of California which has a prevailing market price may, however, be sold by the department at private sale at a price not lower than the prevailing market price thereof. Upon any sale any surplus above the amounts due shall be returned to the person who placed the security.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 38502. Section 38502.

(a) If any person is delinquent in the payment of the amount required to be paid by him or her or in the event a determination has been made against him or her which remains unpaid, the board may, not later than three years after the payment became delinquent or within 10 years after the last recording of an abstract under Section 38523 or the last recording or filing of a notice of state tax lien under Section 7171 of the Government Code, give notice thereof personally or by first-class mail to all persons, including any officer or department of the state or any political subdivision or agency of the state, having in its possession or under its control any credits or other personal property belonging to the delinquent, or person against whom a determination has been made which remains unpaid, or owing any debts to the delinquent or that person. In the case of any state officer, department, or agency, the notice shall be given to the officer, department, or agency prior to the time it presents the claim of the delinquent taxpayer to the Controller. After receiving the notice, the persons so notified shall neither transfer nor make any other disposition of the credits, other personal property, or debts in their possession or under their control at the time they receive the notice until the board consents to a transfer or disposition or until 60 days elapse after the receipt of the notice, whichever period expires earlier. All persons so notified shall forthwith, after receipt of the notice, advise the board of all those credits, other personal property, or debts in their possession, under their control, or owing by them. (b) If the notice seeks to prevent the transfer or other disposition of a deposit in a bank or a state or federal savings and loan association or other credits or personal property in the possession or under the control of a bank or a state or federal savings and loan association, the notice to be mailed shall state the amount, interest, and penalty due from the person, and shall be delivered or mailed to the branch or office of the bank or the state or federal savings and loan association at which the deposit is carried or at which the credits or personal property is held. A bank, a state or federal savings and loan association, or a state or federal credit union withholding any deposit or other credits or personal property required to be withheld in which the delinquent taxpayer and another person or persons have an interest, or held in the name of a third party or parties in which the delinquent taxpayer is ultimately determined to have no interest, is not liable therefor to any of the persons who have an interest in the deposit or other credits or personal property unless the deposit or other credits or personal property is released or transferred to the delinquent taxpayer. (c) In the case of a deposit or other credits or personal property for which the transfer or other disposition is prevented, the depository institution required to prevent transfer or other disposition shall send a notice by first-class mail to each person named on a deposit, other credits, or personal property included in the notice from the board, provided a current address for each person is available to the depository institution. This notice shall inform each person as to the reason for preventing transfer or disposition of the deposit or other credits or personal property, the amount thereof which is prevented from transfer or other disposition, and the date by which that amount is to be remitted to the board. An institution may assess the deposit or other credits or personal property of each person receiving this notice a reasonable service charge not to exceed three dollars ($3). (d) Notwithstanding any other provision, with respect to a deposit in a bank or other credits or personal property in the possession or under the control of a bank or a state or federal savings and loan association, the aggregate amount of deposits, credits, or personal property to be withheld shall be an amount equal to two times the amount of the tax, interest, or penalty due from the person. If, during the effective period of the notice to withhold, any person so notified makes any transfer or disposition of the property or debts required to be withheld, to the extent of the value of the property or the amount of the debts thus transferred or paid, he or she shall be liable to the state for any indebtedness due under this part from the person with respect to whose obligation the notice was given if solely by reason of that transfer or disposition the state is unable to recover the indebtedness of the person with respect to whose obligation the notice was given.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 38503. Section 38503.

(a) Subject to the limitations in subdivisions (b) and (c), the department may, by notice of levy, served personally, by first-class mail, or by electronic transmission or other electronic technology, require all persons having in their possession, or under their control, any credits or other personal property belonging to a timber owner liable for any amount under this part to withhold from those credits or other personal property the amount of any tax, interest, or penalties due from that timber owner, or the amount of any liability incurred by the timber owner under this part, and to transmit the amount withheld to the department at those times as it may designate. (b) The person served shall continue to withhold pursuant to the notice of levy until the amount specified in the notice, including accrued interest, has been paid in full, until the notice is withdrawn, or until one year from the date the notice is received, whichever occurs first. (c) The amount required to be withheld is the lesser of the following: (1) The amount due stated on the notice. (2) The amount of each payment due or becoming due to the timber owner during the period of the levy. (d) For the purposes of this section, “payments” does not include earnings as that term is defined in subdivision (a) of Section 706.011 of the Code of Civil Procedure or funds in a deposit account as defined in paragraph (29) of subdivision (a) of Section 9102 of the Commercial Code. “Payments” does include all of the following: (1) Payments due for services for independent contractors, dividends, rents, royalties, residuals, patent rights, mineral or other natural rights. (2) Payments or credits due or becoming due periodically as a result of an enforceable obligation to the timber owner liable for the tax. (3) Any other payments or credits due or becoming due the timber owner as the result of written or oral contracts for services or sales whether denominated as wages, salary, commission, bonus, or otherwise. (e) In the case of a financial institution, to be effective, the notice shall state the amount due from the taxpayer and shall be delivered, mailed, or served by electronic transmission or other electronic technology to the branch or office of the financial institution where the credits or other property is held, unless another branch or office is designated by the financial institution to receive the notice.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 38503.5. Section 38503.5.

(a) Notwithstanding Article 7 (commencing with Section 706.151) of Chapter 5 of Division 2 of Title 9 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, if the board determines upon receiving information from a person liable for any amount under this part that the person’s employer withheld earnings for taxes pursuant to Section 38503 and failed to remit the withheld earnings to the board, the employer shall be liable for the amount not remitted. The board’s determination shall be based on payroll documents or other substantiating evidence furnished by the person liable for the tax. (b) Upon its determination, the board shall mail notice to the employer at its last known address that upon failure to remit the withheld earnings to the board within 15 days of the date of its notice to the employer, the employer shall be liable for that amount which was withheld and not remitted. (c) If the employer fails to remit the amount withheld to the board upon notice, that amount for which the employer is liable shall be determined, collected, and paid as though it were a tax deficiency. The amount may be assessed at any time prior to seven years from the first day that the unremitted amount, in the aggregate, was first withheld. Interest shall accrue on that amount from the first day that the unremitted amount, in the aggregate, was first withheld. (d) When the determination against the employer is final and due and payable, the person’s account shall be immediately credited with an amount equal to that determined amount as though it were a payment received by the board on the first date that the unremitted amount, in the aggregate, was first withheld by the employer. (e) Collection against the person liable for the tax is stayed for both the following amount and period: (1) An amount equal to the amount determined by the board under subdivision (a). (2) The earlier of the time the credit is applied to the person’s account pursuant to subdivision (d) or the determination against the employer is withdrawn or revised and the person is notified by the board thereof. (f) If under this section an amount that was withheld and not remitted to the board is final and due and payable by the employer and credited to the person’s account, this remedy shall be the exclusive remedy for the person to recover that amount from the employer. (g) This section shall apply to determinations made by the board on or after the effective date of the act adding this section.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 38504. Section 38504.

(a) The board may, in its discretion, enter into a written installment payment agreement with a person for the payment of any taxes due, together with interest thereon and any applicable penalties, in installments over an agreed period. With mutual consent, the board and the taxpayer may alter or modify the agreement. (b) Upon failure of a person to fully comply with the terms of an installment payment agreement with the board, the board may terminate the agreement by mailing a notice of termination to the person. The notice shall include an explanation of the basis for the termination and inform the person of his or her right to request an administrative review of the termination. Fifteen days after the mailing of the notice, the installment payment agreement shall be void, and the total amount of the tax, interest, and penalties due shall be immediately payable. (c) The board shall establish procedures for an administrative review for persons requesting that review whose installment payment agreements are terminated under subdivision (b). The collection of taxes, interest, and penalties that are the subject of the terminated installment payment agreement may not be stayed during this administrative review process. (d) The notice requirement in subdivision (b) shall not apply to any case where the board finds collection of the tax to be in jeopardy. (e) Except in the case of fraud, if an installment payment agreement is entered into within 45 days from the date in which the board’s notice of determination or redetermination becomes final, and the person complies with the terms of the installment payment agreement, the board shall relieve the penalty imposed pursuant to Section 38446.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 38504.5. Section 38504.5.

The board, beginning no later than January 1, 2001, shall provide each taxpayer who has an installment payment agreement in effect under Section 38504 an annual statement setting forth the initial balance at the beginning of the year, the payments made during the year, and the remaining balance as of the end of the year.

Cal. Revenue and Taxation Code - RTC § 38505. Section 38505.

Except in any case where the board finds collection of the tax to be in jeopardy, if any property has been levied upon, the property or the proceeds from the sale of the property shall be returned to the taxpayer if the board determines any one of the following: (a) The levy on the property was not in accordance with the law. (b) The taxpayer has entered into and is in compliance with an installment payment agreement pursuant to Section 38504 to satisfy the tax liability for which the levy was imposed, unless that or another agreement allows for the levy. (c) The return of the property will facilitate the collection of the tax liability or will be in the best interest of the state and the taxpayer.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026