The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) today reported revenue figures for cannabis sales for the 1st quarter of 2021. On May 18, 2021, the California cannabis excise tax generated sales of $ 131.9 million and the cultivation tax raised $ 30.7 million.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all but the largest taxpayers were granted a three-month extension to submit their tax returns for the first quarter of 2021 to the CDTFA. These returns are now due on August 2, 2021. Revisions to the data for the 1st quarter of 2021 will be published in mid-August with the sales figures for the 2nd quarter of 2021. For more information on the offers of help due to the COVID-19 pandemic, see COVID-19 State of Emergency.
Cannabis company sales tax was $ 82.4 million for the same period. Sales tax applies to the sale of cannabis, cannabis products, and other tangible personal items. Certain retail medical cannabis sales are exempt from sales and use tax if the purchaser presents a valid California Department of Health and Medical Marijuana ID and government-issued ID at the time of purchase.
The total tax revenue reported by the cannabis industry is $ 245 million for first quarter returns. This does not include the tax revenue collected by each state. Previously reported revenue for Q4 2020 income has been revised to $ 300.9 million, including $ 151.7 million excise tax on cannabis, $ 41.6 million cultivation tax, and $ 107.6 million Dollar sales tax. Revisions to the quarterly data are the result of changed and delayed tax returns, as well as other adjustments to the tax return. Data on cannabis tax revenues are available on the CDTFA Open Data Portal.
As of January 2018, the program has had total revenues of $ 2.38 billion, including $ 1.2 billion in cannabis excise tax, $ 298.4 million in cultivation tax and $ 882.7 million in sales tax.
In November 2016, California voters approved Proposition 64, the Act to Control, Regulate, and Tax the Use of Marijuana by Adults. From January 1, 2018, two new cannabis taxes came into effect: a cultivation tax on all harvested cannabis that enters the commercial market and a cannabis consumption tax of 15 percent on buyers of cannabis and cannabis products. In addition, retail sales of cannabis and cannabis products are subject to state and local sales taxes. To learn more, visit the Cannabis Company Tax Guide on the CDTFA website.
The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) administers California’s sales and consumption, fuel, tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis taxes, as well as a variety of other taxes and fees that fund certain government programs. CDTFA-managed programs total over $ 73 billion annually, which in turn support basic local services such as transportation, public safety and health, libraries, schools, social services, and natural resource management programs by distributing taxpayers’ money directly to local communities .