MyFTB Terms and conditions As of: 10/24/2024

MyFTB is owned and operated by the State of California, Franchise Tax Board (“FTB,” “we,” “us,” “our”). MyFTB allows individuals, business representatives, and tax professionals to have online access to tax account information (as applicable) and other interactive online services. All other uses are prohibited and constitute misuse of property of the State of California.

By selecting the “I Accept” button, you knowingly and voluntarily agree to be bound by the Terms and Conditions, which are a binding electronic agreement between you and FTB.

“You” means both you individually and as an authorized representative of any individual or business entity on whose behalf you are conducting business with FTB.

Registration

The use of MyFTB is voluntary. When you register, we will ask for your personal information, such as your name, email address, and phone number (including cellular or mobile device number), and other information that will allow us to identify you. It is your decision whether to provide FTB with the requested information for registration and to accept the Terms and Conditions. If you do not provide the requested information or accept the Terms and Conditions, then you will not be able to use MyFTB.

You agree to provide true, accurate, current, and complete information about yourself as prompted by the registration process. You agree to provide a phone number that belongs to you or that you have the authority to use for purposes of receiving one-time passcodes when registering for, and logging into, MyFTB. Call, message, and data rates may apply.

It is your responsibility to maintain and promptly update your registration information to keep it true, accurate, current, and complete. You agree to update your registration information immediately, but no later than within 30 days of any changes.

If you provide information that is false, inaccurate, obsolete, misleading or incomplete, or if FTB has reasonable grounds to suspect that information you provided is false, inaccurate, obsolete, misleading or incomplete, then we may deny your registration, and/or limit, block, suspend, revoke, or terminate your MyFTB account.

You are prohibited from registering for another person and/or impersonating, imitating, or pretending to be another person when registering for, or accessing, a MyFTB account. MyFTB accounts are not transferable to any other person.

Individual account

You may only register for a MyFTB individual account for yourself. You may not register for an individual account on behalf of any other person.

An individual account may be a basic account or a full access account.

To register for and access an MyFTB individual basic account, you will be required to enter certain identifying information (including your full name, email address, social security number, phone number, and information from any California tax return filed with us in the past 5 tax years) as well as create a unique user name and password.
To register for and access a MyFTB individual full access account, you will be required to enter certain identifying information (including your full name, email address, social security number, phone number, and information from any California tax return filed with us in the past 5 tax years) as well as create a unique user name and password.

A Fiduciary (estate or trust) cannot register for a MyFTB account and does not have online account access.

Business representative account

Only individuals may register for a MyFTB business representative account. You may only register for a MyFTB business representative account if you are an employee, officer, or other business representative of the business entity listed on the registration screen and you have authority to access confidential information and to transact business with FTB on the business entity's behalf.

A business account may be a basic account or full access account.

To register for and access a MyFTB business representative basic account, you will be required to enter certain identifying information (including your full name, email address, and phone number, as will as the business entity’s name, identification type, and identification number) as well as create a unique user name and password.
To register for and access a MyFTB business representative full access account, you will be required to enter certain identifying information (including your full name, email address, and phone number) as well as create a unique user name and password. Do not use a shared email address for registration. You will also need to enter one of the following identification numbers of the business entity:
- Corporation: 7-Digit California Corporation ID Number
- Limited Liability Company (LLC): 9 or 12-Digit Secretary of State (SOS) ID Number
- Partnership: 9-Digit Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN)

Form 540NR Group Nonresident accounts do not have online account access.

Tax professional account

Only individuals with an active tax professional identification number (ID) may register for a MyFTB tax professional account.

To register for and access a MyFTB tax professional account, you will be required to enter certain identifying information (including your full legal name, email address, social security number, and phone number) as well as create a unique user name and password. Do not use a shared email address for registration.

You will also need to provide at least one of the following professional IDs that is active with the issuing entity:

Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Enrolled Agent (EA)
State Bar (Attorney)
Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) (proof of current employment with a credentialed tax professional is required unless you have an active CPA or Attorney license, EA credential, or a current registration with the California Tax Education Council [CTEC] as a CTEC registered tax preparer)*

* If you register using a PTIN, we may contact you for proof of current employment with a credentialed tax professional.

All professional IDs are subject to additional verification for security purposes.

You are responsible for maintaining your credential(s) and professional ID(s) and ensuring they are active with the issuing agency. You must notify us immediately, and within 30 days of any change to the active status of your credential or professional ID for any reason. If your registration required proof of employment with a credentialed tax professional, you must notify us immediately, and within 30 days of ending your employment with that credentialed tax professional. Call FTB at 916-845-5525.

We request registration information from you to create your MyFTB tax professional account, authenticate your identity, and verify the validity and status of your credential(s) or professional ID(s) as a tax professional.

Once your MyFTB tax professional account is established, it belongs to you—not your office or firm—and it is not transferable (e.g., if you sell or leave your office or firm). Every tax professional must create their own MyFTB tax professional account and establish relationships with clients, even if those clients are represented by more than one tax professional from the same office or firm.

Withholding agent account

Only individuals may register for a MyFTB withholding agent account. You may only register for a MyFTB withholding agent account if you are the Withholding Agent or an employee, officer, or other business representative of the Withholding Agent and you have authority to access information and to transact withholding business with FTB on the Withholding Agent’s behalf.

To register for and access a MyFTB withholding agent account, you will be required to enter certain identifying information (including your full name, social security number (SSN), email address, and phone number as well as the business name, address, identification type, identification number, and information from a previously filed return) as well as create a unique user name and password. Do not use a shared email address for registration.

Access and use

You are prohibited from using MyFTB for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by the Terms and Conditions, or any other purpose not reasonably intended by FTB.

You must keep your MyFTB user name and password confidential. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of this information.

In order to protect confidential information and to maintain the integrity of MyFTB, we prohibit the sharing of user names and passwords to access MyFTB.

You are responsible for all activities and transactions that occur under your MyFTB account.

You are responsible for protecting and securing any confidential information you access or acquire through your MyFTB account.

You agree to not upload any attachments that violate any state or federal laws or regulations, or attach any images that depict pornography or content deemed in any manner illegal.

You must log out of your MyFTB account at the end of each session to prevent unauthorized access, use, or disclosure of confidential information.

You may receive emails at the email address you provided during registration for updates and activities on your account (or for tax professionals, on your client’s account). You are responsible for any charges or fees assessed by your providers of Internet, telephone, and mobile services.

We reserve the right to limit, deny, block, suspend, revoke, or terminate access to and use of MyFTB to any user at any time without notice for any reason, including, but not limited to, breach of the Terms and Conditions, unauthorized access or use, inactivity or nonuse of a MyFTB account, use of your user name or password by others to access your MyFTB account, or if we have reason to believe your account has been compromised.

Access to and use of MyFTB may also be limited, denied, blocked, suspended, revoked, or terminated by FTB at any time due to conditions or actions by any person that may lead to security risks or liability for FTB, equipment failure, equipment, software or system maintenance, an emergency situation, violation of applicable local, state or federal laws, regulations or ordinances, or as required by law, regulation, ordinance or court order.

Protecting your account

Notification of unauthorized access

Unauthorized access into MyFTB or misuse may constitute crimes under state and/or federal law. We reserve the right to pursue any such violations and prosecute to the fullest extent permitted by law.

To protect confidential information, you are required to notify FTB as soon as you are aware of any suspected information security violation, such as:

Your user name or password is lost, stolen, or compromised.
Any unauthorized access to or use of your MyFTB account.
Any other breach of security such as loss or theft has occurred.

Notification should be made by email to FTB’s Security Operations Center. Include your user name, the email address used to register your account, and a brief description of the suspected information security violation in your email notification to us. Do not include any social security numbers or your password.

Your continued access and use of MyFTB is subject to you providing all requested information and your full cooperation with us.

FTB staff will never make unsolicited contact to request your user name or password. If you are contacted by anyone requesting this information, immediately report such contact to FTB’s Security Operations Center.

Preventing misuse

Federal, state, city, and local government laws and regulations are in place to safeguard taxpayer data. You agree to use appropriate safeguards to prevent any unauthorized use or disclosure of confidential taxpayer information and other personal information. Failure to adhere to your responsibilities for safeguarding taxpayer data and personal information may subject you to legal action. Taxpayer information that you access through MyFTB is confidential. Unauthorized access, inspection, disclosure, adjustment, destruction of information through MyFTB, or misuse of MyFTB may result in criminal and civil actions and/or penalties under state and federal laws. (Penal Code Section 502, California Revenue and Taxation Code Sections 19542 and 19542.1, Civil Code Sections 1798.53 and 1798.56, Title 26 United States Code Sections 6103, 7216, and 7431, and Title 18 United States Code Sections 1028 and 1030.)

The computer or device you use to access MyFTB must use common security measures and practices, such as:

Requiring a user name and strong password to access the computer or device.
Having current anti-virus software and firewalls installed.
Keeping current with security patches.
Physically securing the computer or device.

Tax Professionals: Refer to Security Tips for Tax Professionals (FTB 5616) for more information about your responsibilities for safeguarding taxpayer data.

Is Your Computer Secure?

Additional provisions

Liability and limitations

FTB attempts to maintain the highest accuracy of content in MyFTB. Any errors or omissions should be reported for investigation.

FTB makes no claims, representations, promises, or guarantees about the absolute accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of MyFTB and expressly disclaims liability for errors and omissions in the contents of MyFTB. No warranty of any kind, implied, express, or statutory, including, but not limited to, the warranties of non-infringement of third party rights, title, merchantability, satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, workmanlike effort, and freedom from computer virus or malicious or unauthorized code, is given with respect to MyFTB or its hyperlinks to other internet resources. FTB does not warrant that access to MyFTB will be uninterrupted, timely, or error-free. MyFTB is provided on an "as-is" and "as available" basis "with all faults". In particular, the operation of MyFTB may be interrupted due to maintenance, updates, or system or network failures. FTB disclaims all liability for damages caused by any such interruption and errors in functioning. FTB does not warrant that data loss will not occur.

Under no circumstances will FTB, its officers, agents, and/or employees be liable or responsible for any damages of any kind arising from, or in any way related to, MyFTB, including, but not limited to, direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, consequential, punitive, and special damages, or for any lost revenues, lost profits or loss of business, whether or not foreseeable and regardless of the cause of action, whether based on contract, tort, or otherwise.

In addition, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, FTB, its officers, agents, and/or employees will not be liable or responsible for any damages, losses, expenses or costs that you suffer as a result of: (i) your use of, or inability to use, MyFTB; (ii) any interruption or failure of MyFTB; (iii) vulnerabilities in MyFTB; (iv) the downloading or use of any information, data or materials obtained through MyFTB; (v) any failure to complete a transaction using MyFTB, or any loss of data due to MyFTB interruptions, delays, non-deliveries, misdeliveries or other cause; (vi) any loss of data; (vii) anything beyond the reasonable control of FTB, including, but not limited to, any interruption or failure of a third party's equipment, services, software or network; (viii) any unauthorized use or modification of MyFTB, or the equipment, software or technology used to provide MyFTB; (ix) viruses, worms, trojan horses, or other harmful or undesirable applications, files, data or software; or (x) the attempt by unauthorized users (for example, "hackers") to obtain access to your device, data, transmissions, website, computer system(s), or networks; or (xi) force majeure (examples of such causes, include, but are not limited to, acts of god (including, but not limited to, fire, floods, earthquakes, epidemics, pandemics), unusual action of the elements (weather), strikes, riots, large scale computer system, network or power failure, or acts of the public enemy (including, but not limited to, terrorism or cyber-attack), acts of the federal or state government in either its sovereign or contractual capacity, or the collateral effects of any of the foregoing).

No provision of this agreement shall be interpreted as a waiver of or limitation on any rights of FTB to assert government immunity or sovereign immunity.

In no event shall you seek or be entitled to rescission, injunctive or other equitable relief, or to enjoin or restrain the operation of MyFTB, content or other material used or displayed through the current FTB website or successor site.

There are no third-party beneficiaries to this Agreement.

If you are dissatisfied with MyFTB or with any term or condition stated, your sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue use of MyFTB. You may contact us through other channels, such as by phone, mail, general chat, or in person at our office locations.

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or terminate MyFTB; modify the requirements for, or terms of access to, MyFTB; or modify any accompanying policies, for any reason, at any time and without notice. Upon any such termination, any and all rights of access to or use of MyFTB granted to you by FTB will terminate and you must cease access to and use of MyFTB. However, the Terms and Conditions will continue to apply to your prior use of MyFTB and anything related to, or arising from, such use. You agree that FTB will not be liable to you or any third party for any reason, including, but not limited to, use, modification, suspension, or termination of MyFTB.

You further agree that FTB, its officers, agents, and/or employees are not liable or responsible, and you agree not to seek to hold FTB, its officers, agents, and/or employees liable or responsible, for any losses or damages resulting from the conduct of any third parties, including, but not limited to, unauthorized access to MyFTB, or unauthorized interception of, or access to, transmissions from or to your device(s), computer system(s) or network(s), while using MyFTB.

You also agree to hold harmless and indemnify FTB, its officers, agents, and/or employees from any third party claim arising from or in any way related to MyFTB, including all damages, liabilities, costs and expenses from all claims, losses, damages (actual and consequential), suits, court actions, administrative proceedings, arbitration, mediation, judgments, litigation costs and attorneys’ fees, of every kind and nature.

The Terms and Conditions constitute the entire agreement with you regarding the access and use of MyFTB and supersede and replace all prior understandings or agreements, written or oral, regarding MyFTB. Any waiver of any provision of the Terms and Conditions will be effective only if in writing and signed by an FTB authorized representative.

The Terms and Conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California. The Terms and Conditions are severable and operate separately. If for any reason a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision or portion of the Terms and Conditions to be unenforceable, the unenforceable provision will be modified so as to render it enforceable to the maximum extent possible, and the remainder of the Terms and Conditions will continue in full force and effect.

Privacy notice on collection

The privacy and security of your personal information is of the utmost importance to us. You have the right to know what types of information we gather, how we use it, and to whom we may provide it. You have a right to see our records that contain your personal information and bring any inaccuracies to our attention.

We collect relevant personal information through lawful means to administer the California Revenue & Taxation Code (R&TC). Any subsequent use will be consistent with the original purpose. We will not disclose your personal data without your consent, unless authorized by law. We use security technologies to protect all of your information from unauthorized viewing by either internal or external sources.

Our policies regarding the personal information we collect and manage are governed by law, including the Information Practices Act (Civil Code Sections 1798 – 1798.78), except as provided in R&TC Section 19570. Refer to our Privacy Notice (FTB 1131), which provides additional information regarding use, collection, and disclosure of personal information.

All of the information requested with registration is required to access and use MyFTB, and we will use it to identify you and your device(s) used to access MyFTB. In addition to the information collected with the registration for MyFTB, access information is automatically logged by FTB servers and software programs, including the date and time of access, session length, and pages you visited. The stored information will be used to operate, deliver, and improve MyFTB, monitor access to and use of MyFTB for security reasons, determine usage for planning and licensing purposes, and terminate access in the event of illegal, unauthorized, or improper use. In the event of illegal or unauthorized use, the information collected may also be used for purposes of investigation and documentation of such use and in connection with any civil, administrative or criminal proceedings, and may be provided to appropriate law enforcement. We collect, compile, and use statistical information for the purpose of evaluating, managing, and improving MyFTB operations, and to report statistics regarding the access and use of MyFTB.

We may disclose your personal information to FTB employees for the purposes of verifying users and carrying out duties related to information security and tax administration; to the Internal Revenue Service, other states’ income tax officials, and California government agencies and officials; to law enforcement; to any individual with your consent (such as, your power of attorney or tax information authorization representative); to comply with subpoenas, search warrants, court orders, and government orders; and as authorized by law.

The director of the Privacy, Security, and Disclosure Bureau maintains records related to MyFTB.

You can obtain information about your records by:

Email (preferred): FTB Disclosure Office
Fax: 916-845-4849
Mail: Franchise Tax Board
Disclosure Office, MS A-181
PO Box 1468
Sacramento, CA 95812-1468

Refer to FTB’s Privacy Policy Statement.

The Terms and Conditions are subject to change without notice. By selecting “I accept” before accessing MyFTB and using the services, you accept any changes to the Terms and Conditions. Please review the Terms and Conditions, so that you will be aware of any changes.

By selecting the “I Accept” button, you knowingly and voluntarily agree to enter this electronic agreement and comply with and accept all of the Terms and Conditions stated above. You also agree that any violation of any term or condition may result in the denial of your registration and/or suspension, limitation, blocking, revocation, or termination of your access and use of MyFTB.