California Form 2299 is the Marketplace Facilitator Act Information Report, an annual filing the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) requires from large online platforms. On it, a facilitator lists every third-party seller who made sales through the platform during the preceding calendar year, along with each seller’s identifying information and gross sales figure. The obligation attaches once a facilitator crosses California’s $500,000 economic nexus threshold.
Who Has to File Form 2299
California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 6041 defines a marketplace facilitator as a business that operates a physical or digital marketplace where third-party sellers offer goods and that directly or indirectly collects payment from buyers on behalf of those sellers.1California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Revenue and Taxation Code 6041 – Marketplace Facilitator Act California treats the facilitator as the retailer for sales tax purposes on any sale it facilitates,2California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Sales and Use Tax Law – Section 6043 which is why the state also wants the facilitator to report seller-level activity separately on Form 2299.
The trigger is dollar volume. A facilitator becomes subject to California’s collection and reporting obligations once its total combined sales of tangible goods delivered into California exceed $500,000 in the current or preceding calendar year. That figure counts everything together: the facilitator’s own direct sales, sales by related persons, and all sales facilitated on behalf of third-party sellers, whether or not any individual sale is taxable.3Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 18 Section 1684.5 – Marketplace Sales The threshold sits in Revenue and Taxation Code Section 6203(c)(4). Platforms below that mark generally have no obligation to collect California sales tax on facilitated transactions or to file the information report.
Facilitators must also be registered with CDTFA before they file. A facilitator with a physical California location where it negotiates sales needs a seller’s permit for each such location. An out-of-state facilitator that meets the economic nexus threshold registers for a Certificate of Registration for Use Tax instead.4California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tax Guide for Marketplace Facilitator Act
Platforms That Do Not Count as Facilitators
Not every business that connects buyers and sellers is a marketplace facilitator, and if none of the rules below capture your platform, Form 2299 is not your form. California excludes:
- Advertising-only platforms that display products and refer the buyer to the seller by phone or link without taking any further part in the transaction.
- Delivery network companies whose apps or websites facilitate delivery of local products from nearby merchants within a 75-mile range. Section 6041.5 excludes them by default, though they may elect facilitator treatment voluntarily.
- Vehicle rental brokers that facilitate passenger vehicle rentals on behalf of an unrelated rental company, under Section 6041.6.5California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Revenue and Taxation Code 6041.6 – Vehicle Rental Broker Definitions
The delivery network exclusion causes the most confusion. A food delivery app is generally excluded, but if that same company also sells its own branded merchandise through the platform, those direct sales are analyzed on their own footing.4California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tax Guide for Marketplace Facilitator Act
What Information Form 2299 Requires
The report calls for a row-by-row accounting of every third-party seller active on the platform during the reporting year. For each seller, the facilitator provides:
- The seller’s full legal name as registered with tax authorities and their primary business address.
- The seller’s Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) or California seller’s permit number. If a seller operates only through facilitators and holds no California permit, the facilitator reports whatever federal identification is available.
- The aggregate dollar amount of all sales facilitated for that seller during the calendar year.
Each row corresponds to one seller. The totals across the report should reconcile with the gross sales figures reported on the facilitator’s regular sales and use tax returns for the same period. A mismatch between the annual information report and the quarterly returns is exactly the kind of inconsistency that draws a closer look from CDTFA.
How and When to File
Form 2299 covers the preceding calendar year and is filed annually through CDTFA’s online services portal. After logging in with a registered account, the user uploads the completed file in the format the agency specifies. The portal generates a confirmation receipt on successful submission, and that receipt is the facilitator’s proof of timely filing. If you cannot access your online account, call CDTFA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-400-7115 for assistance or to arrange an alternative.
Requesting an Extension
If you cannot meet the deadline, California allows an extension request through CDTFA’s online services. The request must be filed no later than one month after the original due date.6Taxes. Extension of Time to File for Businesses If the online system is unavailable, you can call the Customer Service Center and request form CDTFA-468, the paper extension request. An extension buys time to file the report. It does not extend the deadline for any associated tax payments.
Penalties for Missing or Skipping the Filing
California imposes a penalty of 10 percent of the tax owed for failing to file a required return on time. That is the smaller of the two exposures. Because CDTFA treats the facilitator as the responsible retailer for every sale made through its platform, a facilitator that ignores its obligations remains liable for the full amount of uncollected sales tax on all facilitated transactions, plus interest on the unpaid amount.
Relief from that tax liability is possible in narrow circumstances under Revenue and Taxation Code Sections 6046 and 6047. Those provisions apply when the facilitator can show it collected tax in good faith based on information the seller provided and that any error was not within the facilitator’s control.4California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tax Guide for Marketplace Facilitator Act
Records to Keep After Filing
California requires all sales and use tax records to be preserved for at least four years. That includes the submitted Form 2299, the underlying transaction data used to compile it, and the portal confirmation receipt.7California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Regulation 1698 – Records If the facilitator is under audit, records must be held for the duration of the audit even if that runs past four years.8California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Sales and Use Tax Records – Retaining Records The same applies to any pending dispute or refund claim.
If your point-of-sale or transaction management system automatically overwrites older data, move records to a separate archive before the system purges them. Losing four years of seller-level transaction data mid-audit turns a routine review into a costly one.
What Sellers Should Know About Form 2299
Sellers on a facilitator’s platform are not fully insulated by the facilitator’s filing. The facilitator handles California sales tax on transactions made through the platform, but the seller remains responsible for collecting and remitting tax on any sales made outside the marketplace, whether through the seller’s own website, at trade shows, or from a physical location. A seller who independently exceeds the $500,000 threshold must maintain their own CDTFA registration, even if every dollar of their California sales flows through a facilitator’s platform.4California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tax Guide for Marketplace Facilitator Act
The data reported on Form 2299 gives CDTFA a direct line of sight into each seller’s gross California sales volume. That figure gets cross-referenced against the seller’s own state filings, so a seller who reports less than the facilitator has already reported for them is generating precisely the mismatch that produces audit letters.