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SB-1436 • 2026

Qualified ABLE Program.

Qualified ABLE Program.

Taxes
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Committee on Revenue and Taxation (S) - (Senators McNerney (Chair), Alvarado-Gil, Ashby, Becker, and Grayson)
Last action
2026-04-24
Official status
Set for hearing May 4.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on enforcement mechanisms or consequences of failing to meet requirements for a sales tax exemption.

Qualified ABLE Program

This legislation updates California's tax laws to match recent federal changes regarding qualified ABLE programs and clarifies rules for sales tax exemptions for certain dealers.

What This Bill Does

  • Updates state tax law to follow new federal rules about ABLE accounts starting in 2026.
  • Allows the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) to reinstate a sales tax exemption for licensed dealers if they meet specific requirements.
  • Requires CDTFA to notify dealers when their sales tax exemption is reinstated.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People with disabilities who have ABLE accounts in California.
  • Licensed dealers selling certain vehicles.
  • The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA).

Terms To Know

ABLE account
A special savings account for people with disabilities to help pay for disability-related expenses.
Sales tax exemption
An exception that allows certain businesses or individuals to not pay sales tax on specific items or transactions.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how the changes will be enforced.
  • It is unclear what happens if a dealer fails to meet the requirements for a sales tax exemption after it has been reinstated.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-24 California Legislative Information

    Set for hearing May 4.

  2. 2026-04-22 California Legislative Information

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  3. 2026-04-09 California Legislative Information

    Set for hearing April 22.

  4. 2026-03-18 California Legislative Information

    Referred to Com. on REV. & TAX.

  5. 2026-03-12 California Legislative Information

    From printer. May be acted upon on or after April 11.

  6. 2026-03-11 California Legislative Information

    Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Official Summary Text

SB 1436, as introduced, Committee on Revenue and Taxation.
Qualified ABLE Program.
(1) Existing state sales and use tax laws impose a tax on retailers measured by the gross receipts from the sale of tangible personal property sold at retail in this state or on the storage, use, or other consumption in this state of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer for storage, use, or other consumption in this state. The Sales and Use Tax Law generally provides that the taxes are due and payable to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) quarterly on or before the last day of the month next succeeding each quarterly period and requires, for purposes of sales tax, a return to be filed by a seller that contains, among other information, the gross receipts of the seller during the preceding reporting period.
The Bradley-Burns Uniform
Local Sales and Use Tax Law authorizes counties and cities to impose local sales and use taxes in conformity with the Sales and Use Tax Law, and existing laws authorize districts, as specified, to impose transactions and use taxes in accordance with the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which generally conforms to the Sales and Use Tax Law. Amendments to the Sales and Use Tax Law are automatically incorporated into the local tax laws.
Existing law, with respect to specified vehicles sold at retail on and after January 1, 2021, by a licensed dealer, except a new motor vehicle dealer, requires the dealer to pay the applicable sales tax, or use tax pursuant to the Transactions and Use Tax Law, to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) acting for and on behalf of CDTFA within 30 days from the date of the sale. Existing law authorizes the CDTFA to exempt a licensed dealer from the requirement to pay the applicable taxes to the
DMV if specified requirements are met, and authorizes the CDTFA to revoke that exemption if it notifies the licensed dealer of the failure to satisfy those requirements, as provided.
This bill would authorize the CDTFA to reinstate the above-described exemption where specified requirements are met, and would require the CDTFA to notify the licensed dealer that the exemption is reinstated, as provided. The bill would also make nonsubstantive changes to the exemption provisions.
(2) Existing federal law, the Stephen Beck, Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014 (ABLE Act), encourages and assists individuals and families to save private funds for the purpose of supporting persons with disabilities to maintain their health, independence, and quality of life by excluding from gross income distributions used for qualified
disability expenses by a beneficiary of a qualified ABLE program established and maintained by a state, as specified.
Existing law establishes the Qualified ABLE Program, administered by the California ABLE Act Board, in this state for purposes of implementing the federal ABLE Act. That law, among other things, authorizes the contributions to an ABLE account during the taxable year if specified requirements are met.
The Personal Income Tax Law and the Corporation Tax Law, in modified conformity with federal income tax laws, generally defines “gross income” as income from whatever source derived, except as specifically excluded, and provides various exclusions from gross income. Those laws, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2016, conform to the exclusions from gross income provided under federal income tax law provisions relating to the ABLE Act, as those
exclusions read in specified federal law prior to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
This bill would also conform, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, state tax law to those changes relating to qualified ABLE programs made by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The bill would also make conforming changes relating to the requirements for making contributions to an ABLE account.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Download Bill PDF