TAXES 18-05, California State Income Tax Withholding

Published: January 16, 2018
Effective: Pay Period 01, 2018

Summary

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

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 01, 2018)

  1. Subtract the nontaxable biweekly Thrift Savings Plan contribution from the gross biweekly wages.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Multiply the adjusted gross biweekly wages by the number of pay dates in the tax year to obtain the gross annual wages.
  5. 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

    $14,048

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

    $14,048

    Married Claiming two (2) or more exemptions1

    $28,095

    Head of Household

    $28,095

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

     

  6. 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.

  7. 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

    $4,236

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

    $4,236

    Married Claiming two (2) or more exemptions1

    $8,472

    Head of Household

    $8,472

    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 $8,223

    1.1%

    Over $8,223 but not over $19,495

    $90.45 plus 2.2% of excess over $8,223

    Over $19,495 but not over $30,769

    $338.43 plus 4.4% of excess over $19,495

    Over $30,769 but not over $42,711

    $834.49 plus 6.6% of excess over $30,769

    Over $42,711 but not over $53,980

    $1,622.66 plus 8.8% of excess over $42,711

    Over $53,980 but not over $275,738

    $2,614.33 plus 10.23% of excess over $53,980

    Over $275,738 but not over $330,884

    $25,300.17 plus 11.33% of excess over $275,738

    Over $330,884 but not over $551,473

    $31,548.21 plus 12.43% of excess over $330,884

    Over $551,473 but not over $1,000,000

    $58,967.42 plus 13.53% of excess over $551,473

    Over $1,000,000

    $119,653.12 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 $16,446

    1.1%

    Over $16,446 but not over $38,990

    $180.91 plus 2.2% of excess over $16,446

    Over $38,990 but not over $61,538

    $676.88 plus 4.4% of excess over $38,990

    Over $61,538 but not over $85,422

    $1,668.99 plus 6.6% of excess over $61,538

    Over $85,422 but not over $107,960

    $3,245.33 plus 8.8% of excess over $85,422

    Over $107,960 but not over $551,476

    $5,228.67 plus 10.23% of excess over $107,960

    Over $551,476 but not over $661,768

    $50,600.36 plus 11.33% of excess over $551,476

    Over $661,768 but not over $1,000,000

    $63,096.44 plus 12.43% of excess over $661,768

    Over $1,000,000 but not over $1,102,946

    $105,138.68 plus 13.53% of excess over $1,000,000

    Over $1,102,946

    $119,067.26 plus 14.63% over $1,102,946

     

    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 $16,457

    1.1%

    Over $16,457 but not over $38,991

    $181.03 plus 2.2% of excess over $16,457

    Over $38,991 but not over $50,264

    $676.78 plus 4.4% of excess over $38,991

    Over $50,264 but not over $62,206

    $1,172.79 plus 6.6% of excess over $50,264

    Over $62,206 but not over $73,477

    $1,960.96 plus 8.8% of excess over $60,206

    Over $73,477 but not over $375,002

    $2,952.81 plus 10.23% of excess over $73,477

    Over $375,002 but not over $450,003

    $33,798.82 plus 11.33% of excess over $375,002

    Over $450,003 but not over $750,003

    $42,296.43 plus 12.43% of excess over $450,003

    Over $750,003 but not over $1,000,000

    $79,586.43 plus 13.53% of excess over $750,003

    Over $1,000,000

    $113,411.02 plus 14.63% of excess over $1,000,000

     

  8. Determine the tax credit by applying the following guidelines and subtract this amount from the result in step 7:

    Tax Credit = $125.40 x Number of Regular Allowances Claimed on DE-4 or W-4.

  9. 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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