TAXES 21-15, California State Income Tax Withholding

Published: March 10, 2021
Effective: Pay Period 05, 2021

Summary

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

The low income exemption amount for Married with 0 or 1 allowance has changed from $15,042 to $15,267.
The low income exemption amount for Married with 2 or more allowances, and Head of Household has changed from $30,083 to $30,534.
The standard deduction for Married with 0 or 1 allowance has changed from $4,537 to $4,601.
The standard deduction for Married with 2 or more allowances, and Head of Household has changed from $9,074 to $9,202.
The Single, Married, and Head of Household income tax withholdings have changed.
The annual personal exemption credit has changed from $134.20 to $136.40.

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
Basis for Withholding:	State Exemptions
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 allowance are claimed, enter 00. Determine the Additional Allowances 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 submitted a DE-4 will default to Single and zero (S00) allowances.

Withholding Formula (Effective Pay Period 05, 2021)

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

$15,267

Married Claiming 0 or 1 exemption¹

$15,267

Married Claiming 2 or more exemptions¹

$30,534

Head of Household

$30,534

¹Number of regular allowances claimed on DE-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.

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	$4,601
Married Claiming 0 or 1 exemption¹	$4,601
Married Claiming 2 or more exemptions¹	$9,202
Head of Household	$9,202

¹Number of regular allowances claimed on DE-4.

Single Tax Withholding Table

If the Amount of Taxable Income Is:	The Amount of Tax Withholding Should Be:
Over $0 but not over $8,932	1.1%
Over $8,932 but not over $21,175	$98.25 plus 2.2% of excess over $8,932
Over $21,175 but not over $33,421	$367.60 plus 4.4% of excess over $21,175
Over $33,421 but not over $46,394	$906.42 plus 6.6% of excess over $33,421
Over $46,394 but not over $58,634	$1,762.64 plus 8.8% of excess over $46,394
Over $58,634 but not over $299,508	$2,839.76 plus 10.23% of excess over $58,634
Over $299,508 but not over $359,407	$27,481.17 plus 11.33% of excess over $299,508
Over $359,407 but not over $599,012	$34,267.73 plus 12.43% of excess over $359,407
Over $599,012 but not over $1,000,000	$64,050.63 plus 13.53% of excess over $599,012
Over $1,000,000	$118,304.31 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 $17,864	1.1%
Over $17,864 but not over $42,350	$196.50 plus 2.2% of excess over $17,864
Over $42,350 but not over $66,842	$735.19 plus 4.4% of excess over $42,350
Over $66,842 but not over $92,788	$1,812.84 plus 6.6% of excess over $66,842
Over $92,788 but not over $117,268	$3,525.28 plus 8.8% of excess over $92,788
Over $117,268 but not over $599,016	$5,679.52 plus 10.23% of excess over $117,268
Over $599,016 but not over $718,814	$54,962.34 plus 11.33% of excess over $599,016
Over $718,814 but not over $1,000,000	$68,535.45 plus 12.43% of excess over $718,814
Over $1,000,000 but not over $1,198,024	$103,486.87 plus 13.53% of excess over $1,000,000
Over $1,198,024	$130,279.52 plus 14.63% of excess over $1,198,024

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 $17,876	1.1%
Over $17,876 but not over $42,353	$196.64 plus 2.2% of excess over $17,876
Over $42,353 but not over $54,597	$735.13 plus 4.4% of excess over $42,353
Over $54,597 but not over $67,569	$1,273.87 plus 6.6% of excess over $54,597
Over $67,569 but not over $79,812	$2,130.02 plus 8.8% of excess over $67,569
Over $79,812 but not over $407,329	$3,207.40 plus 10.23% of excess over $79,812
Over $407,329 but not over $488,796	$36,712.39 plus 11.33% of excess over $407,329
Over $488,796 but not over $814,658	$45,942.60 plus 12.43% of excess over $488,796
Over $814,658 but not over $1,000,000	$86,447.25 plus 13.53% of excess over $814,658
Over $1,000,000	$111,524.02 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 = $136.40 x Number of Regular Allowances Claimed on DE-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.

Previous Tax Bulletin

Inquiries

For questions about NFC processing, authorized Servicing Personnel Office representatives should contact the NFC Contact Center at 1-855-NFC-4GOV (1-855-632-4468) or via the customer service portal at ServiceNow Portal for Federated Users and at ServiceNow Portal for Non-Federated Users.