States / California
California has the most progressive state income tax in the country — 10 brackets running from 1% to 13.3%. Set your salary below to see exactly which brackets your income touches.
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Estimate only — doesn't account for local/city tax, filing credits, or non-standard deductions. Not tax advice.
10 progressive brackets from 1% to 13.3%, including the 1% Mental Health Services Tax on income over $1,000,000.
State standard deduction is just $5,540 (single) / $11,080 (married) — far below the federal deduction.
No separate lower rate for capital gains; they're taxed as ordinary income.
Employees also pay 1.1% State Disability Insurance (SDI) on all wages, uncapped — not included in this estimate.
No local or city income tax anywhere in the state — Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Sacramento all use the same statewide brackets.
Social Security retirement benefits are fully exempt from California state income tax.
Bracket thresholds approximate the FTB 2026 schedule. Does not include SDI or local surcharges. For how federal withholding, Social Security, and Medicare work on top of this, see Social Security tax and Medicare tax explained.
California uses 10 progressive brackets ranging from 1% to 13.3% in 2026. The top 13.3% rate applies only to taxable income over $1,000,000 and already includes the 1% Mental Health Services Tax.
No. California fully exempts Social Security retirement benefits from state income tax, even though a portion may still be federally taxable depending on your total income.
No. Unlike cities such as New York, California does not add any local or city-level income tax on wages in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, or anywhere else in the state — state income tax is the same rate statewide.
It depends on income and filing status, but combined federal tax, FICA, State Disability Insurance, and California state income tax commonly take somewhere around a quarter to a third of gross pay for a typical earner. Use the calculator above for your exact numbers.