The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration has added the “fresh” category and a new rate for the cannabis cultivation tax, which took effect on January 1.

Proposition 64, approved by voters on November 8, 2016, established a cultivation tax based on the dry-weight ounce of cannabis flowers and leaves.

The CDTFA has added a new cannabis cultivation tax category for fresh cannabis plants at a rate of $1.29 per ounce.

The cultivation tax rates are:

* $9.25 per dry-weight ounce of cannabis flowers;

* $2.75 per dry-weight ounce of cannabis leaves; and

* $1.29 per ounce of fresh cannabis plant.

All fresh cannabis plants must be weighed within two hours of harvesting.

Cultivators are responsible for paying the cultivation tax on all harvested cannabis entering the commercial market to the distributor (or to the manufacturer if that is where the first transfer or sale of unprocessed cannabis takes place).

Manufacturers who collect the cultivation tax are required to pay the tax to the distributor. The distributor reports and pays the cultivation tax to the CDTFA.

Cultivation rates are also posted on our website.

For more information, read our Tax Guide for Cannabis Businesses on the CDTFA website. If you have additional questions, you may call our Customer Service Center at 1-800-400-7115 (TTY:711) Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Pacific time), except state holidays.

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Important Notice: Recent legislation created the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to administer the taxes and fees previously collected by the Board of Equalization, with the exception of Property Tax, Alcoholic Beverage Tax and Insurance Tax.

Additional information concerning this recent change can be found at www.boe.ca.gov and ​at www.cdtfa.ca.gov.

For more information on other taxes and fees in California, visit the California Tax Service Center.