Franchise Tax Board

FAQs About Downloading Forms and Publications from FTB's Website

  1. What file format are the forms and publications in?
  2. Do I need a helper/plug-in application to view and print forms and publications?
  3. Where can I find forms and publications on FTB's Website?
  4. Why am I experiencing problems downloading forms or publications?
  5. How can I download the form or publication file to my hard drive?
  6. Do you have an FTP site?
  7. Where can I get Form DE 4?
    8.

1. What file format are the forms and publications in?

The forms are in Adobe Acrobat's Portable Document Format (PDF). You will need the Adobe Reader version 5.0 or higher to view and print the forms. You can download a free copy of the Adobe Reader at http://www.adobe.com/acrobat/readstep.html.

2. Do I need a helper/plug-in application to view and print forms and publications?

Yes. You will need Adobe Reader version 5.0 or higher to view and print the forms. You can download a free copy of the Adobe Reader at http://www.adobe.com/acrobat/readstep.html.

3. Where can I find forms and publications on FTB's Website?

You can find the forms on FTB's Website at /forms.

4. Why am I experiencing problems downloading forms and publications?

You could be experiencing problems for various reasons:

  • Your/our phone line could be unclear;
  • Your/our Internet Service Provider (ISP) might be experiencing heavy traffic; and/or
  • FTB's web server may be experiencing heavy traffic.

If you continue to receive file corruption errors or experience termination during downloads, you can have 1998 through current year forms and publications automatically emailed to you by following these steps:

  1. Click the Forms tab on our Website at www.ftb.ca.gov.
  2. Find the form you want and click the "Get by email" icon to the right of the form.
  3. Enter your email address (e.g. webmaster@ftb.ca.gov) in the field. Verify that the information is correct..
  4. Click the Submit button.

    5. Note: Some email service providers may have limitations, or may automatically block attachments on emails sent to you. If you do not receive the requested form, you may need to review your service provider's policy or your personal settings.
OR
  1. Email FTB to have the form emailed to you as an attachment. Please include a brief description of the problems you experienced.
    2.

The form(s) you receive will be in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF). You will need the Adobe Reader version 5.0 or higher to view and print the tax form(s). You can download a free copy of the Adobe Acrobat Reader at http://www.adobe.com/acrobat/readstep.html.

5. How can I download the form or publication file to my hard drive?

You can download, view, and print California tax forms from this website. You will need the Adobe Reader version 5.0 or higher to view and print the tax forms. You can download a free copy of the Adobe Reader at http://www.adobe.com/acrobat/readstep.html.

  • View a form by double-clicking it or use the following steps to download the form:
  1. Right-click on the form name.
  2. Select "Save Target As" or "Save Link As".
  3. Save the form on your computer. Make a note of where you saved the form.
  4. Open Adobe Reader.
  5. Select File, select Open, locate the form, double-click on the "View form" link.

6. Do you have an FTP site?

No.

7. Where can I get Form DE 4?