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Rubric Financial

Statewide

California Accounting, Tax & Fractional CFO

California is the most complex state in the country to do business in, and the most expensive to get wrong. Rubric Financial is headquartered in San Francisco and supports California small businesses statewide, including PTET planning, multi-entity structures, sales tax nexus, and California-specific compliance.

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What's Different About California

Local context that affects your books and tax

  • California's $800 minimum franchise tax applies to every LLC, corporation, and limited partnership doing business here, including out-of-state entities operating in California
  • California S-corps owe an additional 1.5% tax on net income (minimum $800), meaningful enough to model before electing
  • California LLC fee scales by gross receipts: $900 (>$250K), $2,500 (>$500K), $6,000 (>$1M), $11,790 (>$5M), on top of the $800 minimum
  • California PTET (Pass-Through Entity Tax) election can save high-income owners materially on the federal SALT cap, typically $5K–$50K+ in federal tax
  • California sales tax economic nexus: $500,000 in California sales, no transaction-count threshold
  • California payroll tax includes SUI, ETT, and state disability insurance (SDI), separate from federal payroll filings

Industries we work with in California

  • Professional services (legal, consulting, design)
  • Restaurants and hospitality
  • Real estate and property management
  • E-commerce and DTC brands
  • Healthcare practices
  • Specialty retail and manufacturing

See our industry pages for service-specific detail.

Nearby locations

Keep reading

Guide

When Does a Small Business Need a Fractional CFO?

Bookkeepers record. Accountants close and report. CPAs file. None of them help you make the next decision. That's what a CFO does.

Guide

Owner Compensation: Salary, Distribution, and Profit Sharing

How owner-operators should pay themselves: salary vs. distribution split, reasonable comp, retirement contributions, and how it all interacts with tax.

Guide

5 Bookkeeping Mistakes That Trigger IRS Audits

Most IRS audits start from patterns in the books, not random selection. Here are the five bookkeeping mistakes most likely to put you on the audit list.

Run a small business in California?

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