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2020 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 2020

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 2020)<

  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

    $ > 15,042
    0 or 11
    $ 15,042
    $ 30,083
    2 or more1
    30,083 <
    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

    $ >4,537
    0 or 11
    $ 4,537
    $ 9,074
    2 or more1
    9,074 <
    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
    $ >8,809
    $ 0.00
    plus
    1.100%
    $ 0
    8,809
    20,883
    96.90
    plus
    2.200%
    8,809
    20,883
    32,960
    362.53
    plus
    4.400%
    20,883
    32,960
    45,753
    893.92
    plus
    6.600%
    32,960
    45,753
    57,824
    1,738.26
    plus
    8.800%
    45,753
    57,824<
    295,373
    2,800.51
    plus
    10.230%
    57,824
    295,373
    354,445
    27,101.77
    plus
    11.330%
    295,373
    354,445
    590,742
    33,794.63
    plus
    12.430%
    354,445
    590,742
    1,000,000
    63,166.35
    plus
    13.530%
    590,742
    1,000,000
    and over
    118,538.96
    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
    $ 17,618
    $ 0.00
    plus
    1.1%
    $ 0
    17,618
    41,766
    193.80
    plus
    2.200%
    17,618
    41,766
    65,920
    725.06
    plus
    4.400%
    41,766
    65,920
    91,506
    1,787.84
    plus
    6.600%
    65,920
    91,506
    115,648
    3,476.52
    plus
    8.800%
    91,506
    115,648
    590,746
    5,601.01
    plus
    10.230%
    115,648
    590,746
    708,890
    54,203.55
    plus
    11.330%
    590,746
    708,890
    1,000,000
    67,589.27
    plus
    12.430%
    708,890
    1,000,000
    1,181,484
    103,774.24
    plus
    13.530%
    1,000,000
    1,181,484
    and over
    128,329.03
    plus
    14.630%
    1,181,484


    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
    $ 17,629
    $ 0.00
    plus
    1.100%
    $ 0
    17,629
    41,768
    193.92
    plus
    2.200%
    17,629
    >41,768
    53,843
    724.98
    plus
    4.400%
    41,768
    53,843
    66,636
    1,256.28
    plus
    6.600%
    53,843
    66,636
    78,710
    2,100.62
    plus
    8.800%
    66,636
    78,710
    401,705
    3,163.13
    plus
    10.230%
    78,710
    401,705
    482,047
    36,205.52
    plus
    11.330%
    401,705
    482,047
    803,410
    45,308.27
    plus
    12.430%
    482,047
    803,410
    1,000,000
    85,253.69
    plus
    13.530%
    803,410
    1,000,000
    and over
    111,852.32
    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 = >$134.20< 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.

How to Calculate 2020 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 2020 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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ezPaycheck: Small Business Payroll Solution




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)