Form 540NR Short Elimination Beginning Taxable Year 2019: Letters Mailed to Some CA Residents Public Service Bulletin

February 21, 2020

Purpose of bulletin

To inform staff that the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) will no longer produce Form 540NR Short, California Nonresident or Part-Year Resident Income Tax Return.

Background

The form is being eliminated for the following reasons:

• Less than 3% of all nonresident or part-year taxpayers file Form 540NR Short, and its use continues to decline each year.
• A limited number of tax preparation software developers support the form.
• Taxpayers that manually prepare their tax returns only represent 2% of the Form 540NR Short population.

Additional information

For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2019, FTB will no longer accept Form 540NR Short. Taxpayers who previously filed Form 540NR Short will need to file Form 540NR, California Nonresident or Part-Year Resident Income Tax Return.

If the taxpayer uses tax preparation software or CalFile, the program will automatically select the appropriate form.

Taxpayer inquiries

If the taxpayer is unsure of what form to use, go to the What form to file webpage.