California State Income Tax Withholding Information

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 or 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 (0). 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 (0). 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.

Additional Resources:

TAXES 14-16, California State Income Tax Withholding

Withholding Formula Arrow Left(Effective Pay Period 06, 2014)Arrow Right

  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 (i.e., taxable life insurance) 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.

    Low Income Exemption Table

    Single

    Arrow Left$12,997

    Married Claiming zero (0) or one (1) exemption1

    $12,997

    Married Claiming two (2) or more exemptions1

    $25,994

    Head of Household

    $25,994Arrow Right

    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.

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

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

    Standard Deduction Table

    Single

    Arrow Left$3,906

    Married Claiming zero (0) or one (1) exemption1

    $3,906

    Married Claiming two (2) or more exemptions1

    $7,812

    Head of Household

    $7,812Arrow Right

    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.

    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

    Arrow Left$7,582

     

    $0

    plus

    1.10%

    $0

    7,582

    17,976

     

    83.40

    plus

    2.20%

    7,582

    17,976

    28,371

     

    312.07

    plus

    4.40%

    17,976

    28,371

    39,384

     

    769.45

    plus

    6.60%

    28,371

    39,384

    49,774

     

    1,496.31

    plus

    8.80%

    39,384

    49,774

    254,250

     

    2,410.63

    plus

    10.23%

    49,774

    254,250

    305,100

     

    23,328.52

    plus

    11.33%

    254,250

    305,100

    508,500

     

    29,089.83

    plus

    12.43%

    305,100

    508,500

    1,000,000

     

    54,372.45

    plus

    13.53%

    508,500

    1,000,000

    and over

     

    120,872.40Arrow Right

    plus

    14.63%

    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

    Arrow Left$15,164

     

    $0

    plus

    1.10%

    $0

    15,164

    35,952

     

    166.80

    plus

    2.20%

    15,164

    35,952

    56,742

     

    624.14

    plus

    4.40%

    35,952

    56,742

    78,768

     

    1,538.90

    plus

    6.60%

    56,742

    78,768

    99,548

     

    2,992.62

    plus

    8.80%

    78,768

    99,548

    508,500

     

    4,821.26

    plus

    10.23%

    99,548

    508,500

    610,200

     

    46,657.05

    plus

    11.33%

    508,500

    610,200

    1,000,000

     

    58,179.66

    plus

    12.43%

    610,200

    1,000,000

    1,017,000

     

    106,631.80

    plus

    13.53%

    1,000,000

    1,017,000

    and over

     

    108,931.90

    plus

    14.63%

    1,017,000Arrow Right

    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

    Arrow Left$15,174

     

    $0

    plus

    1.10%

    $0

    15,174

    35,952

     

    166.91

    plus

    2.20%

    15,174

    35,952

    46,346

     

    624.03

    plus

    4.40%

    35,952

    46,346

    57,359

     

    1,081.37

    plus

    6.60%

    46,346

    57,359

    67,751

     

    1,808.23

    plus

    8.80%

    57,359

    67,751

    345,780

     

    2,722.73

    plus

    10.23%

    67,751

    345,780

    414,936

     

    31,165.10

    plus

    11.33%

    345,780

    414,936

    691,560

     

    39,000.47

    plus

    12.43%

    414,936

    691,560

    1,000,000

     

    73,384.83

    plus

    13.53%

    691,560

    1,000,000

    and over

     

    115,116.76Arrow Right

    plus

    14.63%

    1,000,000

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

    Tax Credit = Arrow Left$116.60Arrow Right 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.