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2018 CALIFORNIA STATE INCOME TAX TABLES

California has four State payroll taxes which are administered by the Employment Development Department (EDD). They are Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Employment Training Tax (ETT), which are employer contributions, and State Disability Insurance (SDI) and Personal Income Tax (PIT), which are withheld from employees' wages.

Wages are generally subject to all four payroll taxes. However, some types of employment are not subject to payroll taxes and/or PIT withholding. For more information, please refer to the California Employer's Guide (DE 44).

Tax rate used in calculating California state tax for year 2018

State Abbreviation:

CA

State Tax Withholding State Code:

06

Acceptable Exemption Form:

DE-4 or W-4

Basis For Withholding:

State or Federal Exemptions

Acceptable Exemption Data:

S, M, H / Number of Regular Allowances / Number of Allowances

TSP Deferred:

Yes

Special Coding:

Determine the Total Number Of Allowances Claimed field as follows:
First Position - Enter the employee's marital status indicated on the allowance certificate. Enter M (married), S (single), or H (head of household).
Second and Third Positions - Enter the total number of regular allowances claimed in Item 1 of the DE-4. If less than 10, precede with a zero. If no exemptions are claimed, enter 00.
Determine the Additional Exemptions Claimed field as follows:
First and Second Positions - Enter the number of allowances claimed in Item 2 of the DE-4. If less than 10, precede with a zero. If no allowances are claimed, enter 00.

Additional Information:

If the employee is using a W-4 in lieu of the California state DE-4, the information for the Additional Exemptions Claimed field should be notated on the W-4.



Withholding Formula >(California Effective 2018)<
  1. Subtract the nontaxable biweekly Thrift Savings Plan contribution from the gross biweekly wages.

  2. Subtract the nontaxable biweekly Federal Health Benefits Plan payment(s) (includes dental and vision insurance program, and flexible spending account - health care and dependent care deductions) from the amount computed in Step 1.

  3. Add the taxable biweekly fringe benefits (taxable life insurance, etc.) to the amount computed in step 2 to obtain the adjusted gross biweekly wages.

  4. Multiply the adjusted gross biweekly wages times >26< to obtain the gross annual wages.

  5. Determine if the employee's gross annual wages are less than or equal to the amount shown in the Low Income Exemption Table below. If so, no income tax is to be withheld.

  6. Low Income Exemption Table

    Single

    Married

    Head of Household

    Exemptions

    Annual Wages

    $ > 14,048
    0 or 11
    $ 14,048
    $ 28,095
    2 or more1
    28,095 <
    1 Number of regular allowances claimed on DE-4 or W-4

  7. Determine the additional withholding allowance for itemized deductions (AWAID) by applying the following guideline and subtract this amount from the gross annual wages.
  8. AWAID = $1,000 x Number of Itemized Allowances Claimed for Itemized Deductions on DE-4 or W-4

  9. Subtract the standard deduction shown in the following table from the result of step 6 to determine the taxable income.

  10. Standard Deduction Table

    Single

    Married

    Head of Household

    Exemptions

    Annual Wages

    $ >4,236
    0 or 11
    $ 4,236
    $ 8,472
    2 or more1
    8,472 <
    1 Number of regular allowances claimed on DE-4 or W-4

  11. Apply the taxable income computed in step 7 to the following table to determine the annual California income tax withholding.

  12. Tax Withholding Table
    Single

    If the Amount of
    Taxable Income Is:

    The Amount of California
    Tax Withholding Should Be:


    Over:

    But Not
    Over:

    Of Excess
    Over:

    $ 0
    $ >8,223
    $ 0.00
    plus
    1.100%
    $ 0
    8,223
    19,495
    90.45
    plus
    2.200%
    8,223
    19,495
    30,769
    338.43
    plus
    4.400%
    19,495
    30,769
    42,711
    834.49
    plus
    6.600%
    30,769
    42,711
    53,980
    1,622.66
    plus
    8.800%
    42,711
    53,980<
    275,738
    2,614.33
    plus
    10.230%
    53,980
    275,738
    330,884
    25,300.17
    plus
    11.330%
    275,738
    330,884
    551,473
    31,548.21
    plus
    12.430%
    330,884
    551,473
    1,000,000
    58,967.42
    plus
    13.530%
    551,473
    1,000,000
    and over
    119,653.12
    plus
    14.630%
    1,000,000


    Married

    If the Amount of
    Taxable Income Is:

    The Amount of California
    Tax Withholding Should Be:


    Over:

    But Not
    Over:

    Of Excess
    Over:

    $ 0
    $ 16,446
    $ 0.00
    plus
    1.1%
    $ 0
    16,446
    38,990
    180.91
    plus
    2.200%
    16,446
    38,990
    61,538
    676.88
    plus
    4.400%
    38,990
    61,538
    85,422
    1,668.99
    plus
    6.600%
    61,538
    85,422
    107,960
    3,245.33
    plus
    8.800%
    85,422
    107,960
    551,476
    5,228.67
    plus
    10.230%
    107,960
    551,476
    661,768
    50,600.36
    plus
    11.330%
    551,476
    661,768
    1,000,000
    63,096.44
    plus
    12.430%
    661,768
    1,000,000
    1,102,946
    105,138.68
    plus
    13.530%
    1,000,000
    1,102,946
    and over
    119,067.26
    plus
    14.630%
    1,102,946


    Head of Household

    If the Amount of
    Taxable Income Is:

    The Amount of California
    Tax Withholding Should Be:


    Over:

    But Not
    Over:

    Of Excess
    Over:

    $ 0
    $ 16,457
    $ 0.00
    plus
    1.100%
    $ 0
    16,457
    38,991
    181.03
    plus
    2.200%
    16,457
    >38,991
    50,264
    676.78
    plus
    4.400%
    >38,991
    50,264
    62,206
    1,172.79
    plus
    6.600%
    50,264
    62,206
    73,477
    1,960.96
    plus
    8.800%
    62,206
    73,477
    375,002
    2,952.81
    plus
    10.230%
    73,477
    375,002
    450,003
    33,798.82
    plus
    11.330%
    375,002
    450,003
    750,003
    42,296.43
    plus
    12.430%
    450,003
    750,003
    1,000,000
    79,586.43
    plus
    13.530%
    750,003
    1,000,000
    and over
    113,411.02
    plus
    14.630%
    1,000,000

  13. Determine the tax credit by applying the following guideline and subtract this amount from the result of step 8.
  14. Tax Credit = >$125.40< x Number of Regular Allowances Claimed on DE-4 or W-4

  15. Divide the annual California income tax withholding by >26< to obtain the biweekly California income tax withholding.

More Information for CA Customers

1. How to handle CA SDI

2. How ezPaycheck works for California companies

3. How to handle PTO?

4. California State Tax Tables

5. How to Calculate California Income Tax Withholdings

6. What is the cost of using ezPaycheck payroll software

7. How to handle CA ETT

8. ezPaycheck 30-day Free demo download link

9. ezPaycheck feature list

10. How to file ACA forms 1095 & 1094 to California State - Minimum Essential Coverage Information Reporting(MEC IR)


How to Calculate 2018 California State Income Tax by Using State Income Tax Table

1. Find your income exemptions

2. Find your pretax deductions, including 401K, flexible account contributions ...

3. Find your gross income

4. Check the 2018 California state tax rate and the rules to calculate state income tax

5. Calculate your state income tax step by step

6. If you want to simplify payroll tax calculations, you can download ezPaycheck payroll software, which can calculate federal tax, state tax, Medicare tax, Social Security Tax and other taxes for you automatically. You can try it free for 30 days, with no obligation and no credt card needed.

Learn more about the in house payroll tax solution for California small businesses here.
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