TAXES 19-13, California State Income Tax Withholding

Published: February 20, 2019
Effective: Pay Period 03, 2019

Summary

The income tax withholdings for the State of California will change as follows:

The low income exemption amount for Single and Married with zero (0) or one (1) allowance will increase from $14,048 to $14,573.
The low income exemption amount for Married with two (2) or more allowances and Head of Household will increase from $28,095 to $29,146.
The standard deduction for Single and Married with zero (0) or one (1) allowance will increase from $4,236 to $4,401.
The standard deduction for Married with two (2) or more allowances and Head of Household will increase from $8,472 to $8,802.
The Single, Married, and Head of Household withholding tables will change.
The annual personal exemption credit will increase from $125.40 to $129.80.

No action on the part of the employee or the personnel office is necessary.

Tax Formula

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 or 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 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 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.

Withholding Formula (Effective Pay Period 03, 2019)

Subtract the nontaxable biweekly Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) contribution from the gross biweekly wages.
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.
Add the taxable biweekly fringe benefits (e.g., taxable life insurance) to the amount computed in step 2 to obtain the adjusted gross biweekly wages.
Multiply the adjusted gross biweekly wages by the number of pay dates in the tax year to obtain the gross annual wages.
Determine if the employee's gross salary 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

$14,573

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

$14,573

Married Claiming two (2) or more exemptions¹

$29,146

Head of Household

$29,146

¹Number of regular allowances claimed on DE-4 or W-4.
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.

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	$4,401
Married Claiming zero (0) or one (1) exemption¹	$4,401
Married Claiming two (2) or more exemptions¹	$8,802
Head of Household	$8,802

¹Number of regular allowances claimed on DE-4 or W-4.

Single Tax Withholding Table

Taxable Wages	Amount of Tax
Over $0 but not over $8,544	1.1%
Over $8,544 but not over $20,255	$93.98 plus 2.2% of excess over $8,544
Over $20,255 but not over $31,969	$351.62 plus 4.4% of excess over $20,255
Over $31,969 but not over $44,377	$867.04 plus 6.6% of excess over $31,969
Over $44,377 but not over $56,085	$1,685.97 plus 8.8% of excess over $44,377
Over $56,085 but not over $286,492	$2,716.27 plus 10.23% of excess over $56,085
Over $286,492 but not over $343,788	$26,286.91 plus 11.33% of excess over $286,492
Over $343,788 but not over $572,980	$32,778.55 plus 12.43% of excess over $343,788
Over $572,980 but not over $1,000,000	$61,267.12 plus 13.53% of excess over $572,980
Over $1,000,000	$119,042.93 plus 14.63% of excess over $1,000,000

Married Tax Withholding Table

If the Amount of Taxable Income Is:	The Amount of California Tax Withholding Should Be:
Over $0 but not over $17,088	1.1%
Over $17,088 but not over $40,510	$187.97 plus 2.2% of excess over $17,088
Over $40,510 but not over $63,938	$703.25 plus 4.4% of excess over $40,510
Over $63,938 but not over $88,754	$1,734.08 plus 6.6% of excess over $63,938
Over $88,754 but not over $112,170	$3,371.94 plus 8.8% of excess over $88,754
Over $112,170 but not over $572,984	$5,432.55 plus 10.23% of excess over $112,170
Over $572,984 but not over $687,576	$52,573.82 plus 11.33% of excess over $572,984
Over $687,576 but not over $1,000,000	$65,557.09 plus 12.43% of excess over $687,576
Over $1,000,000 but not over $1,145,961	$104,391.39 plus 13.53% of excess over $1,000,000
Over $1,145,961	$124,139.90 plus 14.63% of excess over $1,145,961

Head of Household Tax Withholding Table

If the Amount of Taxable Income Is:	The Amount of California Tax Withholding Should Be:
Over $0 but not over $17,099	1.1%
Over $17,099 but not over $40,512	$188.09 plus 2.2% of excess over $17,099
Over $40,512 but not over $52,224	$703.18 plus 4.4% of excess over $40,512
Over $52,224 but not over $64,632	$1,218.51 plus 6.6% of excess over $52,224
Over $64,632 but not over $76,343	$2,037.44 plus 8.8% of excess over $64,632
Over $76,343 but not over $389,627	$3,068.01 plus 10.23% of excess over $76,343
Over $389,627 but not over $467,553	$35,116.96 plus 11.33% of excess over $389,627
Over $467,553 but not over $779,253	$43,945.98 plus 12.43% of excess over $467,553
Over $779,253 but not over $1,000,000	$82,690.29 plus 13.53% of excess over $779,253
Over $1,000,000	$112,557.36 plus 14.63% of excess over $1,000,000

Determine the tax credit by applying the following guidelines and subtract this amount from the result in step 7:
Tax Credit = $129.80 x Number of Regular Allowances Claimed on DE-4 or W-4.

Note: The number of additional allowances for estimated deductions claimed in step 6 must not be included when determining the tax credit.
Divide the annual California tax withholding calculated in step 8 by the number of pay dates in the tax year to obtain the biweekly California income tax withholding.

Resources

To view the updated tax formula, go to the HR and Payroll Clients page from the MyNFC drop-down menu on the National Finance Center (NFC) homepage. Select the Publications tab and select U.S. Income Tax Formulas from the Publications menu to launch the tax map. Select the desired State from the map provided for the formula.

Previous Tax Bulletin

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