Self-employed in Long Beach, CA: taxes and retirement for 2026

Guides for Long Beach

Long Beach local rules

Local income tax

No city income tax in Long Beach.

Long Beach Business License Tax

Rates for July 1, 2026-June 30, 2027: a home-based business pays a $299.54 base tax plus $12.66 per employee. An independent contractor pays $299.54 plus $25.36 per employee, and a professional pays $488.81 plus $38.00 per employee. Every application also carries a $4 state-mandated ADA fee.

City business license

Long Beach requires every business, including home-based businesses and independent contractors, to pay the business license tax and any fees before starting work.

California Freelance Worker Protection Act (SB 988, statewide)

Since January 1, 2025, a business that hires a solo freelancer for professional services worth $250 or more (alone or combined with other contracts with the same hiring party in the prior 120 days) must use a written contract and keep it for 4 years. It must pay by the contract date, or within 30 days after the work is done if no date is set. A freelancer who is paid late can be awarded damages of up to twice the unpaid amount.

California Proposition 22 app-based driver earnings guarantee (statewide)

App-based rideshare and delivery drivers must earn at least 120% of the applicable minimum wage for engaged time (from accepting a request to completing it), plus a per-engaged-mile amount set by the State Treasurer: $0.37 per mile for 2026. The applicable minimum wage is California's $16.90 in 2026, or a higher local minimum wage that applies to all industries where the pickup happens. Tips are paid in full to the driver and do not count toward the floor.

Also worth knowing

California law (Rev. & Tax. Code 17041.5) bars cities and counties from taxing personal income, though gross-receipts business license taxes are allowed (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=RTC&sectionNum=17041.5). Long Beach hotel workers must be paid at least $26.50 an hour from July 1, 2026, under Measure RW (https://www.longbeach.gov/globalassets/city-clerk/media-library/documents/public-notices/public-notices/measure-rw-bulletin-effective-july-1-2026). The 2026 per-mile rate ($0.37) is published by the State Treasurer (https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/prop-22.asp), and the $16.90 state minimum wage for 2026 is confirmed by the Labor Commissioner (https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_minimumwage.htm). No city-specific gig or freelance worker ordinance was found.

California rules that apply in Long Beach

State income tax (2026)

California has a graduated state income tax for 2026: 1% to 13.3% (top rate starts at $1,000,000 for single filers). Rates run from 1% to 12.3%, plus a 1% Behavioral Health Services Tax (formerly the Mental Health Services Tax) on taxable income over $1,000,000, for a combined top rate of 13.3%. The 2026 540-ES worksheet tells filers to figure estimated tax using the 2025 tax table. In 2025, the 12.3% bracket started at $742,953 for single filers (ftb.ca.gov/forms/2025/2025-540-tax-rate-schedules.pdf).

State estimated tax

You generally must pay if you expect to owe at least $500 ($250 if married/RDP filing separately) for 2026 after withholding and credits, and your withholding plus credits will be less than the smaller of 90% of your 2026 tax or 100% of your 2025 tax. Use 110% if your 2025 California AGI was over $150,000, and if your 2026 AGI is $1,000,000 or more you must base payments on your 2026 tax. Uneven installments: 30% by April 15, 2026, 40% by June 15, 2026, 0% for September 15, 2026, and 30% by January 15, 2027. Form 540-ES.

California LLC annual tax and LLC fee

Every LLC doing business in or registered in California, including a single-member LLC, pays an $800 annual tax by the 15th day of the 4th month of its tax year. LLCs with total California income of $250,000 or more also pay an LLC fee, estimated and paid by the 15th day of the 6th month: $900 ($250,000 to $499,999), $2,500 ($500,000 to $999,999), $6,000 ($1M to $4,999,999), or $11,790 ($5M or more). The first-year exemption from the $800 tax covered only tax years beginning in 2021 through 2023.

Minimum wage (2026)

$16.90 an hour; no tip credit, so tipped workers get the full minimum before tips. $16.90 per hour for all employers from January 1, 2026. Fast-food restaurant and health care facility employers have higher industry minimums, and many cities and counties set higher local rates. California does not allow a tip credit (U.S. DOL tipped-wage table). DIR has announced that the state minimum will rise to $17.40 on January 1, 2027 (dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2026/2026-66.html).

AB 5 ABC test (Labor Code 2775)

A worker is presumed to be an employee unless the hiring entity proves all three parts: (A) the worker is free from its control and direction, (B) the work is outside its usual course of business, and (C) the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade of the same nature. Certain occupations and business-to-business arrangements use the older Borello test instead.

Proposition 22 (app-based rideshare and delivery drivers)

App-based drivers are independent contractors if the company does not set their hours, require them to accept specific requests, or restrict work for other companies. Drivers get a net earnings floor of 120% of the applicable minimum wage for engaged time (from accepting a request to completing it) plus a per-mile payment for engaged miles ($0.30 in 2021, adjusted for inflation each year).

Freelance Worker Protection Act (SB 988, Bus. & Prof. Code 18100 et seq.)

Covers freelancers hired for professional services worth $250 or more (alone or combined over 120 days) on contracts made or renewed on or after January 1, 2025. The hiring party must give a signed written contract, keep it for at least 4 years, and pay on the contract date or within 30 days of completion. Freelancers can recover damages and attorney's fees.

Transportation Network Company Drivers Labor Relations Act (AB 1340, Stats. 2025, Ch. 335)

Effective January 1, 2026, rideshare (TNC) drivers in California have the right to form, join, and take part in driver organizations and to bargain collectively with rideshare companies over terms and conditions of work. PERB administers the Act (Bus. & Prof. Code 7470 to 7470.21).

State retirement program

CalSavers Retirement Savings Program is live. It is built around W-2 employers and does not cover 1099 contractors through the employer mandate; self-employed residents can enroll on their own.

Questions

Track it in one place

Gigaverse estimates your quarterly taxes from what you actually earn, logs business trips, categorizes expenses from your bank and answers money questions with your own numbers.

Sources

• www.ftb.ca.gov/forms/2026/2026-540-es-instructions.pdf
• www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/minimum_wage.htm
• www.ftb.ca.gov/file/business/types/limited-liability-company/index.html
• www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_independentcontractor.htm
• vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2020/general/pdf/topl-prop22.pdf
• leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB988
• perb.ca.gov/laws-and-regulations/rulemaking/rulemaking-transportation-network-company-drivers-labor-relations-act
• www.longbeach.gov/globalassets/finance/media-library/documents/rate-table-display-07-1-26-finalat-
• www.longbeach.gov/finance/business-info/business-licenses/taxes--fees/
• leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB988
• leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=BPC&sectionNum=7453

Facts researched from official sources and independently re-checked; last verified October 2026, next scheduled review 2027-01-02. Educational information for 2026, not tax, legal or investment advice. Rules change; check the official sources listed and a tax professional for your situation. Gigaverse AI, Inc. is a financial technology company, not a bank, and not itself a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer.