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 0 (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 0 (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.

Additional Resources:

TAXES 15-14, California State Income Tax Withholding

Previous Tax Formula

Withholding Formula (Effective Pay Period 06, 2015)

  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 salaries and 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

    $13,267

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

    $13,267

    Married Claiming two (2) or more exemptions1

    $26,533

    Head of Household

    $26,533

    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 in the Standard Deduction Table below from the result of step 6 to determine the taxable income.

    Standard Deduction Table

    Single

    $3,992

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

    $3,992

    Married Claiming two (2) or more exemptions1

    $7,984

    Head of Household

    $7,984

    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

    $7,749

     

    $0

    plus

    1.10%

    $0

    7,749

    18,371

     

    85.24

    plus

    2.20%

    7,749

    18,371

    28,995

     

    318.92

    plus

    4.40%

    18,371

    28,995

    40,250

     

    786.38

    plus

    6.60%

    28,995

    40,250

    50,869

     

    1,529.21

    plus

    8.80%

    40,250

    50,869

    259,844

     

    2,463.68

    plus

    10.23%

    50,869

    259,844

    311,812

     

    23,841.82

    plus

    11.33%

    259,844

    311,812

    519,687

     

    29,729.79

    plus

    12.43%

    311,812

    519,687

    1,000,000

     

    55,568.65

    plus

    13.53%

    519,687

    1,000,000

    and over

     

    120,555.00

    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

    $15,498

     

    $0

    plus

    1.10%

    $0

    15,498

    36,742

     

    170.48

    plus

    2.20%

    15,498

    36,742

    57,990

     

    637.85

    plus

    4.40%

    36,742

    57,990

    80,500

     

    1,572.76

    plus

    6.60%

    57,990

    80,500

    101,738

     

    3,058.42

    plus

    8.80%

    80,500

    101,738

    519,688

     

    4,927.36

    plus

    10.23%

    101,738

    519,688

    623,624

     

    47,683.65

    plus

    11.33%

    519,688

    623,624

    1,000,000

     

    59,459.60

    plus

    12.43%

    623,624

    1,000,000

    1,039,374

     

    106,243.14

    plus

    13.53%

    1,000,000

    1,039,374

    and over

     

    111,570.44

    plus

    14.63%

    1,039,374

    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

    $15,508

     

    $0

    plus

    1.10%

    $0

    15,508

    36,743

     

    170.59

    plus

    2.20%

    15,508

    36,743

    47,366

     

    637.76

    plus

    4.40%

    36,743

    47,366

    58,621

     

    1,105.17

    plus

    6.60%

    47,366

    58,621

    69,242

     

    1,848.00

    plus

    8.80%

    58,621

    69,242

    353,387

     

    2,782.65

    plus

    10.23%

    69,242

    353,387

    424,065

     

    31,850.68

    plus

    11.33%

    353,387

    424,065

    706,774

     

    39,858.50

    plus

    12.43%

    424,065

    706,774

    1,000,000

     

    74,999.23

    plus

    13.53%

    706,774

    1,000,000

    and over

     

    114,672.71

    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 = $118.80 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.