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2021 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).


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2024 California State Tax Witholding Table
2023 California State Tax Witholding Table
2022 California State Tax Witholding Table
2021 California State Tax Witholding Table
2020 California State Tax Witholding Table
( 2019   2018   2017   2016   2015   )

Tax rate used in calculating California state tax for year 2021

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 2021)<

  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

    $ > 15,267
    0 or 11
    $ 15,267
    $ 30,534
    2 or more1
    30,534 <
    1 Number of regular allowances claimed on DE-4 or W-4

  6. Determine the additional withholding allowance for itemized deductions (AWAID) by applying the following guideline and subtract this amount from the gross annual wages.

    7. AWAID = $1,000 x Number of Itemized Allowances Claimed for Itemized Deductions on DE-4 or W-4

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

    8. Standard Deduction Table

    Single

    Married

    Head of Household

    Exemptions

    Annual Wages

    $ >4,601
    0 or 11
    $ 4,601
    $ 9,202
    2 or more1
    9,202 <
    1 Number of regular allowances claimed on DE-4 or W-4

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

    9. 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
    $ >8,932
    $ 0.00
    plus
    1.100%
    $ 0
    8,932
    21,175
    98.25
    plus
    2.200%
    8,932
    21,175
    33,421
    367.60
    plus
    4.400%
    21,175
    33,421
    46,394
    906.42
    plus
    6.600%
    33,421
    46,394
    58,634
    1,762.64
    plus
    8.800%
    46,394
    58,634<
    299,508
    2,839.76
    plus
    10.230%
    58,634
    299,508
    359,407
    27,481.17
    plus
    11.330%
    299,508
    359,407
    599,012
    34,267.73
    plus
    12.430%
    359,407
    599,012
    1,000,000
    64,050.63
    plus
    13.530%
    599,012
    1,000,000
    and over
    118,304.31
    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
    $ 17,864
    $ 0.00
    plus
    1.1%
    $ 0
    17,864
    42,350
    196.50
    plus
    2.200%
    17,864
    42,350
    66,842
    735.19
    plus
    4.400%
    42,350
    66,842
    92,788
    1,812.84
    plus
    6.600%
    66,842
    92,788
    117,268
    3,525.28
    plus
    8.800%
    92,788
    117,268
    599,016
    5,679.52
    plus
    10.230%
    117,268
    599,016
    718,814
    54,962.34
    plus
    11.330%
    599,016
    718,814
    1,000,000
    68,535.45
    plus
    12.430%
    718,814
    1,000,000
    1,198,024
    103,486.87
    plus
    13.530%
    1,000,000
    1,198,024
    and over
    130,279.52
    plus
    14.630%
    1,198,024


    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
    $ 17,876
    $ 0.00
    plus
    1.100%
    $ 0
    17,876
    42,353
    196.64
    plus
    2.200%
    17,876
    >42,353
    54,597
    735.13
    plus
    4.400%
    42,353
    54,597
    67,569
    1,273.87
    plus
    6.600%
    54,597
    67,569
    79,812
    2,130.02
    plus
    8.800%
    67,569
    79,812
    407,329
    3,207.40
    plus
    10.230%
    79,812
    407,329
    488,796
    36,712.39
    plus
    11.330%
    407,329
    488,796
    814,658
    45,942.60
    plus
    12.430%
    488,796
    814,658
    1,000,000
    86,447.25
    plus
    13.530%
    814,658
    1,000,000
    and over
    111,524.02
    plus
    14.630%
    1,000,000

  9. Determine the tax credit by applying the following guideline and subtract this amount from the result of step 8.

    10. Tax Credit = >$136.40< x Number of Regular Allowances Claimed on DE-4 or W-4

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

How to Calculate 2021 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 2021 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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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)