All About California Cannabis Taxes

Authored By: MARGOLIN & LAWRENCE 

FEBRUARY 1, 2018

Many are excited about California’s new era of legalized marijuana. For the first time, state and local governments are allowing marijuana sales to all adults. There is also a new licensing system for all sectors of the industry. The new system creates many new opportunities for businesses and consumers.

But is also comes with new taxes that have caused sticker shock for many California cannabis operators and customers visiting dispensaries this month. Governments are eager for the new tax revenues, although some predict that if taxes are too high, a black market will persist as people opt out of the licensed system. One of the questions our Los Angeles cannabis attorneys are most frequently asked is about the new cannabis taxes and how they will affect California cannabis businesses.

To sum it up, effective tax rates for marijuana operators are high. Not only do cannabis businesses have to pay corporate taxes like any other business (except that they can’t take deductions on their federal taxes due to 280E), but there are also additional city and state taxes specifically for cannabis operators that need to be factored in as well.  Just as Federal, State and Local law apply to cannabis operators, those governments all also apply their own taxes to cannabis.

Here is a chart that gives you an overview of the effective tax rates for different cannabis businesses, using Los Angeles as an example for factoring in local taxes as well:

NOTE that the Excise Tax (15%) and Sales Tax (8.5%) imposed on retailers is passed directly on to the consumer. So the effective tax rate is similar to the other activities when you factor that in, but overall the tax rates are very high for operators.

One of the reasons cannabis operators must pay so much in taxes is that cannabis is still a Schedule I controlled substance under Federal Law. Section 162 of the U.S. Tax Code allows for businesses to deduct Ordinary and Necessary expenses from their taxes. An exception to this section is 280E, which prevents deductions from Federal Taxes for businesses involved in selling Schedule I controlled substances. You can read the text of 280E here and check out a seminal 2007 Tax Court decision — CHAMPS v. Commissioner (2007) which allowed an operating dispensary to separate out product-touching deductions and deductions for a separate ancillary business. A related 2015 ruling in U.S. Tax Court held that unlike CHAMPS, an operator running an activism business and selling cannabis could not separate the two businesses and take deductions under 280.

Here are the individual maximum tax rates that apply:

Federal Corporate Tax Rate***

California Cannabis Taxes

California Business Taxes 8.84%

Los Angeles Cannabis Taxes

Los Angeles Business Taxes (.425%)

Payroll Taxes (Estimated effective rate)

Estimated Effective Tax Rate

Retail

21%

23.5% — 15% excise tax + 8.5% sales tax

8.84%

10% in LA for adult use; 5% in LA for medical

0.43%

3%****

57%

Cultivation*

21%

12% estimated ($9.25/ounce tax on flower = $148 per pound) + $0 sales tax

8.84%

2%

0.43%

3%

45%

Manufacturing

21%

Collect Cultivator Tax + $0 sales for resale

8.84%

2%

0.43%

3%

35%

Distribution

21%

Pay CDTFA Cultivator Tax + $0 sales for resale

8.84%

1%

0.43%

3%

35%

Testing

21% + Deductions = Estimated 15%

8.84%

1%

0.43%

3%

34%

Microbusiness

21%

per activity

8.84%

per activity

0.43%

3%

Varies per microbusiness activity

*(flower – different tax rates for stems and fresh plants; clones are not taxed by state)

**280E likely does not apply to testing labs

***280E prevents deductions for businesses trafficking cannabis

****Social Security, Medicare, Calif & Fed. Unemployment – this is a percentage of employees’ salaries, for purposes of the chart it is converted to be tied to revenue consistent with the other percentages

These are the required California state cannabis taxes by activity:

Cultivators must pay a $9.25/ounce tax on all dried cannabis flowers (and a lower rate per ounce for cannabis leaves or fresh cannabis plant).

Retailers must pay both a 15% excise tax on all their purchases of cannabis, as well as a sales tax on all their taxable retail sales, which varies by locality but can be close to 10%.

Manufacturers must collect cannabis cultivation taxes from cultivators from which they receive unprocessed cannabis, and pay these cultivation taxes to the distributors.

Distributors must collect cultivation taxes from cultivators and manufacturers from which they receive cannabis, and collect cannabis excise taxes from retailers they supply with cannabis.

In addition to these taxes, localities are free to impose their own cannabis business taxes, and many impose substantial taxes on both cultivation and all business proceeds.

It is important to note that the cannabis specific taxes are in addition to standard taxes like Federal and State corporate tax, and local business taxes for businesses operating in cities like Los Angeles.

While distributors, testing facilities and manufacturers appear to pay less taxes than cultivators or retailers, they will no doubt share the costs of taxation as cultivators increase their prices to account for the cultivation tax.

If these taxes are passed directly on to consumers, that could mean a retail outlet previously charging $60 per 1/8 of an ounce of marijuana would increase their price to $90. On the other hand, many have predicted that the pre-tax prices of cannabis will drop over time, as more large-scale cultivation, distribution, and retail operations reduce their overhead costs and margins, would could counteract some of the higher taxes.

For operators, these effective tax rates are extremely high and it is important to consult with a tax attorney and a qualified accountant who can help you with tax planning and preparation to set up your business for success. For more information and worksheets to calculate your California cannabis taxes, refer to the CDTFA’s website.

You can also read this post at the Margolin & Lawrence website

http://blog.margolinlawrence.com/all-about-california-cannabis-taxes

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