California (CA) Paycheck Calculator 2026

California withholding: DE 4 or W-4

California state income tax withholding is based on California's own Form DE 4, the Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate. The EDD's employer guide says use of the DE 4 is no longer optional: the current federal W-4 no longer uses allowances, while California's withholding tables still do. If you have never given your employer a DE 4 or another withholding certificate it can use, California tax must be withheld as if you were single with zero allowances, which over-withholds many married workers and parents.

The DE 4 also lets you claim extra "estimated deduction" allowances if you itemize, for example because of large mortgage interest or charitable gifts. You must complete the DE 4 worksheets to support those extra allowances, and they are subtracted from wages before the tax is computed.

SDI: the 1.3% deduction with no ceiling

Every California employee pays State Disability Insurance, which funds both disability and Paid Family Leave benefits. In 2026 the rate is 1.3% of wages, and since January 1, 2024 there is no taxable wage limit, so the deduction never stops during the year. Unemployment insurance and the Employment Training Tax are paid by employers only, on the first $7,000 of each worker's wages.

Because SDI is uncapped, it grows in step with pay. That makes California one of the few places where a high earner's state payroll deduction is a meaningful share of take-home pay:

Bonuses, commissions and stock options

If supplemental pay arrives in the same check as regular wages, California tax is figured on the combined amount using the normal tables. If it is paid separately, the employer can either aggregate it with your regular wages or withhold a flat percentage without regard to allowances: 10.23% on bonuses and stock options, and 6.6% on other supplemental pay such as overtime, commissions, sales awards, severance and vacation payouts.

So a $10,000 year-end bonus paid on its own check typically loses $1,023 to California withholding, plus $2,200 federal (22%), $130 SDI and FICA. Because the flat rate ignores your allowances and the lower brackets, many middle-income earners get part of it back at tax time.

When California withholds nothing at all

California's withholding schedules start with a low-income exemption table. If your pay for the period is at or below the threshold, no state income tax is withheld. For 2026, the annual thresholds are $18,896 for single filers (and married people with zero or one allowance) and $37,791 for heads of household and married people claiming two or more allowances. On a bi-weekly schedule that is $727 and $1,454 per check. SDI is still deducted below these amounts.

Household employers, such as families paying a nanny, are not required to withhold California income tax unless both sides agree to it, though they still owe SDI and the other payroll taxes.

Checklist for a California pay stub

Use this to sanity-check a California paycheck:

• SDI should equal 1.3% of SDI-subject wages on every check, all year.
• There should be no city income tax line. California cities do not tax wages; if you see "local" tax, it is usually another state's locality.
• If you moved to California mid-year, check that your employer switched your withholding state on the day you moved, since the state you live and work in drives the tax.