2026 · California · State income tax + SDI
California Paycheck Calculator
California takes more out of a paycheck than most states, and it does so in two separate lines: a progressive income tax and SDI. Both are itemised here, alongside federal tax, Social Security and Medicare.
- Federal income tax−$156.15
- Social Security 6.20%−$124.00
- Medicare 1.45%−$29.00
- California state income tax 2.76%−$55.10
- California SDI 1.30%−$26.00
Estimate only — not tax, legal, or financial advice.
- Annual take-home
- $41,853
- Annual tax
- $10,147
- Federal marginal
- 12%
Your California paycheck, period by period
A California salary is divided into checks the same way a salary anywhere is — weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly or monthly — but the amount withheld from each check depends on two state-level calculations that most states do not have. The first is a progressive income tax with ten brackets. The second is State Disability Insurance, a flat percentage with no wage ceiling.
Both are calculated per pay period, which means the frequency you choose changes the size of each check but not the annual total. The table below runs one salary through all four schedules with the 2026 federal brackets, the California rate schedule and the 1.3% SDI rate applied consistently.
| Pay frequency | Gross per check | Net per check | Net per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly | $1,000.00 | $804.87 | $41,853 |
| Bi-weekly | $2,000.00 | $1,609.74 | $41,853 |
| Semi-monthly | $2,166.67 | $1,743.89 | $41,853 |
| Monthly | $4,333.33 | $3,487.78 | $41,853 |
What comes out of a California paycheck in 2026
Five lines reduce a California paycheck: federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, California income tax and SDI. The first three apply everywhere in the country. The last two are the ones that make a California check noticeably smaller than the same salary earned in Texas or Florida.
Federal income tax
Federal brackets are the same in every state. For a single filer in 2026 the rates run 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37%, with the 22% band starting at $50,400 of taxable income and the 24% band at $201,775. The standard deduction is $16,100 for single, $32,200 for married filing jointly, $16,100 for married filing separately and $24,150 for head of household.
Withholding is projected from each paycheck: annualise the pay, subtract pre-tax deductions and the standard deduction, apply the brackets, divide by the number of periods. A steady salary with an accurate W-4 lands close to the real liability; a second job, freelance income or a working spouse usually does not, because each employer projects independently.
The 2026 federal standard deduction is $16,100 for a single filer and $32,200 for a married couple filing jointly. California's is $5,706 and $11,412 for the same two statuses, which is the single biggest reason a California paycheck loses more to state tax than a New Yorker might expect from the headline rate alone: far more of the salary is exposed before the schedule even starts.
Social Security
Social Security takes 6.2% of gross wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500. Every dollar above that is exempt, so the maximum employee contribution for the year is $11,439. A 401(k) contribution does not reduce this base; a Section 125 health premium does not either.
Medicare
Medicare takes 1.45% of all wages with no ceiling, plus an additional 0.9% above $200,000 for a single filer, $250,000 for a joint return and $125,000 for married filing separately. The extra 0.9% is employee-only and is applied per employer, so two spouses earning $180,000 each will not see it withheld during the year.
California income tax
California taxes wages on a graduated scale from 1.1% to 14.63%. The first band is broad — 1.1% applies to the first $11,079 of taxable income for a single filer — and the top rates only appear above $742,953. Most California salaries sit between 4.4% and 9.3% at the margin.
Taxable income starts from gross wages, subtracts pre-tax deductions that California recognises, then subtracts the state standard deduction ($5,706 single, $11,412 married filing jointly) and a $168.30 exemption allowance per allowance claimed. The result is run through the rate table. A $52,000 salary paid bi-weekly comes to about $55.10 of California income tax per check.
One quirk matters for anyone with an HSA: California does not conform to federal HSA treatment, so a health savings account contribution that is invisible to the IRS is still taxable for California purposes. The same applies to some other federal exclusions. If you contribute to an HSA, expect California to tax that amount.
SDI
State Disability Insurance is a 1.3% employee deduction with no wage ceiling in 2026 — every dollar of wages is subject to it, at every income level. On a $52,000 salary that is $676 a year, or $26.00 per bi-weekly check. It funds paid family leave and short-term disability, and it is withheld from wages regardless of filing status or dependents.
SDI is not an income tax. It has no brackets, no deductions, no credits and no return. It is a flat percentage that stops when you stop being paid. Employers do not match it.
The benefit side is worth knowing because it explains the deduction. SDI funds short-term disability payments if you cannot work because of illness or injury, and paid family leave if you take time off for a new child or to care for a seriously ill family member. A claim pays a percentage of your usual wage up to a weekly cap for a limited number of weeks. The rate you pay is set annually, and it applies to every dollar of wages with no ceiling — a $40,000 salary and a $400,000 salary pay the same 1.3%.
Pre-tax deductions
A 401(k) contribution reduces federal and California income tax but not Social Security, Medicare or SDI, because those three are calculated on gross wages. A Section 125 health premium reduces all of them. An HSA reduces federal income tax only, since California does not recognise the federal exclusion.
How California income tax is calculated
California uses a graduated rate schedule with ten brackets. Each bracket applies only to the income that falls inside it, so the marginal rate is not the rate you pay on the whole salary. The bands below are the 2026 figures for a single filer, taken from the California Employment Development Department withholding schedules; married filing jointly bands are exactly double until the top bracket.
| Taxable income | Rate | Tax on the first dollar of the band |
|---|---|---|
| $0 – $11,079 | 1.10% | $0 |
| $11,079 – $26,264 | 2.20% | $121.87 |
| $26,264 – $41,452 | 4.40% | $455.94 |
| $41,452 – $57,542 | 6.60% | $1,124.21 |
| $57,542 – $72,724 | 8.80% | $2,186.15 |
| $72,724 – $371,479 | 10.23% | $3,522.17 |
| $371,479 – $445,771 | 11.33% | $34,088.45 |
| $445,771 – $742,953 | 12.43% | $42,503.74 |
| $742,953 – $1,000,000 | 13.53% | $79,456.00 |
| Above $1,000,000 | 14.63% | $114,232.62 |
Working through an example makes the arithmetic concrete. Take a single filer with an $85,000 salary, no pre-tax deductions and no dependents. Gross wages are $85,000. Subtract the $5,706 standard deduction and one $168.30 exemption allowance, leaving $79,125.70 of taxable income. That lands in the 10.23% band, so the tax is $3,522.17 plus 10.23% of the $6,401.70 above $72,724, which is $654.89 — a total of $4,177.06 for the year, or $160.66 per bi-weekly check. The marginal rate is 10.23%, but the effective California rate on the whole salary is 4.9%.
Two structural details are worth knowing. First, California's standard deduction is much smaller than the federal one — $5,706 against $16,100 for a single filer — so more of a California salary is exposed to state tax than the federal numbers would suggest. Second, the percentages printed above are the ones in the EDD withholding schedule, and they differ from the statutory rate table in the Revenue and Taxation Code, which lists 1%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 9.3%, 10.3%, 11.3%, 12.3% and 13.3%. The withholding schedule uses its own adjusted percentages because it folds the exemption allowance into the rate rather than subtracting it as a separate credit. The 9.3% statutory band therefore appears as 10.23% here, and the top of the table reads 14.63%.
Both presentations are meant to arrive at the same withholding when the allowance is handled correctly. This calculator follows the EDD schedule: it subtracts the standard deduction and a $168.30 allowance per allowance claimed, then applies the schedule above. If your payroll department uses a different allowance count, the state line will differ by a few dollars a month.
The exemption allowance is the part most estimates skip. California grants a credit-equivalent deduction of $168.30 per allowance, and the number of allowances depends on filing status and dependents. This calculator assumes one allowance for the filer plus one per dependent, which matches the common case; if your payroll department has a different count, the state line will differ by up to a few dollars a month.
Because the schedule is graduated, the effective rate climbs steadily with salary and never matches the marginal rate. On $52,000 the effective California rate is 2.8%; on $85,000 it is 4.9%; on $150,000 it is 7.2%; on $300,000 it is 8.7%. The marginal rate at the first two salaries is 6.6% and 10.23% respectively, and it stays at 10.23% from $72,724 of taxable income all the way to $371,479 — a very wide band that most high earners never leave.
California take-home pay by salary
These figures use a single filer, bi-weekly pay, no dependents and no pre-tax deductions, so every row is directly comparable. The California state line and SDI are included in each net figure — if you are comparing against a no-income-tax state, the gap in this column is what the state tax costs you.
The last four rows convert hourly rates at 40 hours a week into annual salaries, then run them through the same calculation.
| Annual pay | Gross per check | Net per check | Net per year | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $1,538.46 | $1,269.16 | $32,998 | 17.5% |
| $50,000 | $1,923.08 | $1,554.01 | $40,404 | 19.2% |
| $60,000 | $2,307.69 | $1,832.67 | $47,649 | 20.6% |
| $75,000 | $2,884.62 | $2,208.15 | $57,412 | 23.5% |
| $100,000 | $3,846.15 | $2,775.71 | $72,168 | 27.8% |
| $125,000 | $4,807.69 | $3,338.82 | $86,809 | 30.6% |
| $150,000 | $5,769.23 | $3,885.17 | $101,014 | 32.7% |
| $200,000 | $7,692.31 | $5,014.82 | $130,385 | 34.8% |
| $250,000 | $9,615.38 | $6,110.59 | $158,875 | 36.4% |
| $300,000 | $11,538.46 | $7,119.43 | $185,105 | 38.3% |
| $15/hr × 40h ($31,200/yr) | $1,200.00 | $1,015.70 | $26,408 | 15.4% |
| $20/hr × 40h ($41,600/yr) | $1,600.00 | $1,315.10 | $34,193 | 17.8% |
| $25/hr × 40h ($52,000/yr) | $2,000.00 | $1,609.74 | $41,853 | 19.5% |
| $30/hr × 40h ($62,400/yr) | $2,400.00 | $1,899.54 | $49,388 | 20.9% |
How to use this calculator
- Choose salary or hourly. Hourly adds a field for hours per week.
- Enter the amount and pick how often you are paid.
- Pick a filing status and add any dependents you claim.
- Add 401(k), HSA or health premium contributions if they come out of payroll.
- Read the net pay line — the state tax and SDI lines are shown separately so you can see which one costs more.
Filing status, W-4 and withholding
Filing status affects two separate calculations in California: the federal one and the state one. Federal withholding uses the W-4. California withholding uses Form DE 4, which is filed with your employer and stays on file until you change it.
On the federal side, a $100,000 salary produces about $13,170 of income tax for a single filer and about $10,870 for a married couple filing jointly in 2026 — roughly $88 per bi-weekly check. The 2026 W-4 asks for filing status on line 1, a two-jobs checkbox on line 2, dependent credits on line 3 ($2,200 per child under 17, $500 per other dependent), other income and deductions on line 4, and a flat extra withholding amount on line 4(c).
Form DE 4 is simpler. It asks for filing status, the number of regular allowances, and an optional additional amount per paycheck. Each allowance is worth $168.30 of annual taxable income, so the difference between one and three allowances is about $337 of taxable income — a few dollars of tax per month, not a large swing. Most employees file DE 4 once and never touch it again.
Where the two forms disagree, the state one is usually the older of the two. If you changed jobs, married, divorced or had a child and only updated the W-4, your California withholding is probably still running on the old DE 4. That is a common source of a California balance due in April.
California also requires withholding on supplemental wages such as bonuses, using a 6.6% rate for most employees or the optional 10.23% rate in some cases, which differs from the federal 22% flat rate. A bonus can therefore be withheld at 22% federally and 6.6% at the state level in the same paycheck.
If you work from California for an employer based elsewhere, California still taxes the wages for work performed here, and the employer is expected to register and withhold. Employers sometimes get this wrong, which surfaces a year later as a California balance due plus interest. Checking that a DE 4 was filed — not just a federal W-4 — is the quickest way to confirm payroll knows about the state obligation.
Assumptions and sources
Ruleset 2026.1, verified 2026-10-28. Federal brackets and the standard deduction come from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32. Social Security, Medicare and the additional Medicare threshold come from IRS Publication 15 (2026). California brackets, the $5,706 / $11,412 standard deduction and the $168.30 exemption allowance come from the California EDD 2026 withholding schedules, Method B. SDI at 1.3% with no wage ceiling comes from the EDD contribution rate page.
Also not modelled: the California Earned Income Tax Credit, the Young Child Tax Credit, itemised deductions, mental health surtax below $1 million, wage garnishments, union dues and post-tax deductions. Federal withholding uses the annualised percentage method from Publication 15-T, not the optional flat-rate method or the supplemental wage rates.
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 — 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction
- IRS Publication 15 (2026), Circular E — FICA rates and wage base
- California EDD — rates and withholding — 2026 state brackets, standard deduction, exemption allowance and SDI
Frequently asked questions
How much is California state income tax on a paycheck?
It depends on the salary, because the rate schedule is progressive. On a $52,000 salary a single filer pays $55.10 of California income tax per bi-weekly check; on $85,000 it is $160.66; on $150,000 it is $416.41. The effective rate on the whole salary rises from 2.8% to 7.2% across that range, even though the marginal rate only moves from 6.6% to 10.23%.
What is SDI in California?
State Disability Insurance is a 1.3% employee payroll deduction in 2026 with no wage ceiling. It funds paid family leave and short-term disability benefits. It is not an income tax: there are no brackets, no deductions and no return, and employers do not match it.
Does California tax Social Security benefits?
California does not tax Social Security benefits. It also does not tax most pension income from public sources. Federal tax on benefits is a separate question and can apply at higher incomes, but the state line on a California return excludes them.
What are the 2026 California tax brackets?
The EDD withholding schedule used on this page runs 1.1%, 2.2%, 4.4%, 6.6%, 8.8%, 10.23%, 11.33%, 12.43%, 13.53% and 14.63%. The statutory table in the Revenue and Taxation Code lists 1%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 9.3%, 10.3%, 11.3%, 12.3% and 13.3% — the schedule adjusts each band because it folds the exemption allowance into the rate. For a single filer the 1.1% band covers the first $11,079 of taxable income and the top band applies above $1,000,000.
Do I pay California tax if I live in California but work remotely for an out-of-state employer?
Yes. California taxes wages for work physically performed inside California, regardless of where the employer is based. Working from a California address for a Texas or New York company still creates California income tax and California withholding obligations.
What is the California standard deduction for 2026?
It is $5,706 for a single filer or a married person filing separately, and $11,412 for a married couple filing jointly or a head of household. Each allowance claimed on Form DE 4 also removes $168.30 of taxable income before the rate table is applied.
Are there local income taxes in California?
A few cities impose their own taxes, and San Francisco levies a payroll expense tax on employers rather than employees. This calculator covers state tax only. If you live or work in a city with a local income tax, the state figure here is not your total.
How does a 401(k) affect California tax?
A traditional 401(k) contribution reduces both federal and California taxable income, so it lowers both income taxes. It does not reduce Social Security, Medicare or SDI, which are calculated on gross wages. An HSA is different: California does not recognise the federal HSA exclusion, so HSA contributions remain taxable at the state level.
Why is my California paycheck different from this estimate?
Common causes are a DE 4 that claims a different number of allowances than assumed here, pre-tax deductions not entered in the form, a bonus withheld at the 6.6% supplemental rate, local taxes, mid-year raises, and post-tax deductions such as garnishments. This tool assumes a steady salary with a default DE 4.
What is the highest California income tax rate?
The top marginal rate is 14.63% on taxable income above $1,000,000 for a single filer. That figure includes the 1% Mental Health Services Tax that applies above the million-dollar threshold; the general fund rate at that level is 13.53%.
Other states
One live page so far besides this one. The rest are being built in batches; a state only gets a link once its own rate schedule and worked examples are on the page.
- Texas No state income tax
- All states Hub