FTB Publication 1006: California Tax Forms and Related Federal Forms Explained

FTB Publication 1006 is a reference guide published by the California Franchise Tax Board that cross-references federal tax forms with their California state equivalents. If you’ve ever filed a federal form and wondered whether California has a matching version — or what it’s called if it does — this publication is the tool that answers that question directly.

Rather than being a form you fill out and submit, Publication 1006 works more like an index or lookup table. It lists federal forms by number and name, then tells you the corresponding California form, if one exists. This is especially useful for tax preparers, accountants, and individuals who are used to federal terminology but need to figure out how California’s tax system labels the same concept.

Who needs this publication

Publication 1006 is most useful for:

• Tax professionals preparing both federal and California state returns for the same client
• Individuals who recently moved to California and are unfamiliar with state-specific form numbers
• Business owners trying to reconcile federal reporting requirements with California’s own filing obligations
• Anyone researching whether a specific federal form (for depreciation, credits, adjustments, etc.) has a California counterpart

Because California doesn’t always adopt federal tax law changes automatically — a concept known as conformity — many federal forms have a California version that adjusts for differences between state and federal rules. Publication 1006 helps identify exactly which state form applies in these situations, saving time that would otherwise go into manually searching the FTB’s form library.

When this publication is used

Most people reach for Publication 1006 during tax season, right when they’re assembling documents for a return. It’s particularly handy when working through adjustments that differ between federal and state law, similar to the kind of guidance found in FTB Publication 1001 on supplemental guidelines to California adjustments. If you’re already cross-referencing adjustment rules, having the form index from Publication 1006 open alongside it makes the process considerably smoother.

Tax preparers also use it earlier in the year, during planning stages, to make sure they have every required state form on hand before starting client returns. It’s not unusual to see this publication referenced alongside credit-specific guidance too — for instance, businesses researching state tax credits sometimes cross-check form requirements the same way they would for programs like the California Competes Tax Credit.

How to get and use the publication

Publication 1006 is released annually by the Franchise Tax Board, with each edition corresponding to a specific tax year. It’s distributed as a static PDF document — there are no fillable fields, since it’s meant to be read and referenced rather than submitted. You’ll want to download the version that matches the tax year you’re filing for, since form numbers and names occasionally change from year to year.

Once downloaded, using it is straightforward: locate the federal form you’re working with, either by number or by scanning the list, and check the entry next to it for the matching California form. From there, you can go to the FTB’s forms page and download the specific state form you need to complete separately.

Keep in mind this publication only tells you which forms correspond to each other — it doesn’t explain how to fill them out or what the underlying tax rules are. For that kind of instructional detail, you’ll still need to consult the instructions packaged with each individual form. Some states publish similar credit-specific guidance for specialized programs, comparable to how New York details its own requirements in guides like Form IT-669 for its semiconductor manufacturing workforce credit, though California’s cross-reference approach in Publication 1006 is broader and covers general form matching rather than a single credit program.

Since this is a printed reference and not an interactive form, there’s no signature, submission, or e-filing step involved. You simply print it, or keep the PDF open, and use it as a lookup tool while preparing your actual tax filings.