TAXES 20-14, California State Income Tax Withholding

Published: April 21, 2020
Effective: Pay Period 04, 2020

Summary

The income tax withholdings for the State of California includes the following changes:

The low income exemption amount for Single, and Married with 0 or 1 allowance has increased from $14,573 to $15,042.
The low income exemption amount for Married with 2 or more allowances, and Head of Household has increased from $29,146 to $30,083.
The standard deduction for Single, and Married with 0 or 1 allowance has increased from $4,401 to $4,537.
The standard deduction for Married with 2 or more allowances, and Head of Household has increased from $8,802 to $9,074.
The Single, Married, and Head of Household income tax withholdings has changed.
The annual personal exemption credit has increased from $129.80 to $134.20.

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 (see the Additional Information section)
Basis for Withholding:	State or Federal Exemptions (see the Additional Information section)
Acceptable Exemption Data:	S/M/H, Number of Regular Allowances, Number of Additional 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 additional allowances claimed on the DE-4. If less than 10, precede with a 0. If no allowances are claimed, enter 00.
Additional Information:	Employees who have not previously submitted a DE-4 and have submitted a new 2020 Federal Form W-4 will default to Single and zero (S00). Employees who have not previously submitted a DE-4 and have not submitted a new 2020 Federal Form W-4 will default to the prior to 2020 Federal Form W-4 submission.

Withholding Formula (Effective Pay Period 04, 2020)

Subtract the nontaxable biweekly Thrift Savings Plan contribution from the gross biweekly wages.
Subtract the nontaxable biweekly Federal Employees 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

$15,042

Married Claiming 0 or 1 exemption¹

$15,042

Married Claiming 2 or more exemptions¹

$30,083

Head of Household

$30,083

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.

Single	$15,042
Married Claiming 0 or 1 exemption¹	$15,042
Married Claiming 2 or more exemptions¹	$30,083
Head of Household	$30,083

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	$4,537
Married Claiming 0 or 1 exemption¹	$4,537
Married Claiming 2 or more exemptions¹	$9,074
Head of Household	$9,074

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

Single Tax Withholding Table

If the Amount of Taxable Income Is:	The Amount of Tax Withholding Should Be:
Over $0 but not over $8,809	1.1%
Over $8,809 but not over $20,883	$96.90 plus 2.2% of excess over $8,809
Over $20,883 but not over $32,960	$362.53 plus 4.4% of excess over $20,883
Over $32,960 but not over $45,753	$893.92 plus 6.6% of excess over $32,960
Over $45,753 but not over $57,824	$1,738.26 plus 8.8% of excess over $45,753
Over $57,824 but not over $295,373	$2,800.51 plus 10.23% of excess over $57,824
Over $295,373 but not over $354,445	$27,101.77 plus 11.33% of excess over $295,373
Over $354,445 but not over $590,742	$33,794.63 plus 12.43% of excess over $354,445
Over $590,742 but not over $1,000,000	$63,166.35 plus 13.53% of excess over $590,742
Over $1,000,000	$118,538.96 plus 14.63% of excess over $1,000,000

Married Tax Withholding Table

If the Amount of Taxable Income Is:	The Amount of Tax Withholding Should Be:
Over $0 but not over $17,618	1.1%
Over $17,618 but not over $41,766	$193.80 plus 2.2% of excess over $17,618
Over $41,766 but not over $65,920	$725.06 plus 4.4% of excess over $41,766
Over $65,920 but not over $91,506	$1,787.84 plus 6.6% of excess over $65,920
Over $91,506 but not over $115,648	$3,476.52 plus 8.8% of excess over $91,506
Over $115,648 but not over $590,746	$5,601.02 plus 10.23% of excess over $115,648
Over $590,746 but not over $708,890	$54,203.55 plus 11.33% of excess over $590,746
Over $708,890 but not over $1,000,000	$67,589.27 plus 12.43% of excess over $708,890
Over $1,000,000 but not over $1,181,484	$103,774.24 plus 13.53% of excess over $1,000,000
Over $1,181,484	$128,329.03 plus 14.63% of excess over $1,181,484

Head of Household Tax Withholding Table

If the Amount of Taxable Income Is:	The Amount of Tax Withholding Should Be:
Over $0 but not over $17,629	1.1%
Over $17,629 but not over $41,768	$193.92 plus 2.2% of excess over $17,629
Over $41,768 but not over $53,843	$724.98 plus 4.4% of excess over $41,768
Over $53,843 but not over $66,636	$1,256.28 plus 6.6% of excess over $53,843
Over $66,636 but not over $78,710	$2,100.62 plus 8.8% of excess over $66,636
Over $78,710 but not over $401,705	$3,163.13 plus 10.23% of excess over $78,710
Over $401,705 but not over $482,047	$36,205.52 plus 11.33% of excess over $401,705
Over $482,047 but not over $803,410	$45,308.27 plus 12.43% of excess over $482,047
Over $803,410 but not over $1,000,000	$85,253.69 plus 13.53% of excess over $803,410
Over $1,000,000	$111,852.32 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 = $134.20 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) Home page. 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.

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