California Payroll & Paycheck Tax Calculator

How much is taken out of a paycheck in California?

Most California paychecks have five deductions: federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), California PIT and California SDI (1.3%). California has no local income tax on wages, so you’ll never see a city or county tax line on a California pay stub.

Here’s an example. An employee earning $25 per hour who works 40 hours in a week has $1,000 in gross pay. Social Security takes $62.00, Medicare $14.50 and SDI $13.00. Using the EDD’s 2026 wage bracket table, a single filer claiming one allowance on the DE 4 has $24.87 withheld for California PIT. That leaves $885.63 before federal income tax, which depends on the employee’s W-4. The calculator above runs the full math for any pay rate.

California payroll tax rates for 2026 and 2027

California employers handle four state payroll taxes on top of federal FICA and FUTA. Employees fund PIT and SDI through withholding, while employers pay UI and ETT. Rates come from the EDD’s 2026 rates and withholding page and the 2026 California Employer’s Guide (DE 44). The EDD typically confirms the next year’s SDI rate late in the fall, so check back for the official 2027 figure.

Is there a wage cap on California SDI?

No. Since January 1, 2024, California SDI applies to every dollar of wages with no annual maximum, so high earners see SDI on every paycheck all year. SDI funds both State Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave benefits. Employers don’t pay SDI themselves; they withhold it from employee wages and send it to the EDD with their DE 88 deposits.

California minimum wage, overtime and exempt salary for 2026 and 2027

California’s minimum wage rises from $16.90 to $17.40 on January 1, 2027, and the overtime rates and exempt salary threshold move with it. Pay periods that cross January 1 need to be split, with hours worked in 2026 paid at the 2026 rate.

California minimum wage, overtime rates and exempt salary: 2026 vs. 2027

Two details trip up a lot of employers. First, local minimum wages stack on top of these figures, so an employee working in San Francisco or Emeryville earns more than the state rate. Second, SB 525 coverage depends on the facility. According to the DIR’s health care minimum wage FAQ, skilled nursing facilities owned, operated or controlled by a hospital or health system are covered now, while freestanding skilled nursing facilities aren’t covered until a patient care minimum spending requirement takes effect.

If you’re budgeting for 2027, map these increases to each job and location with labor cost tracking so higher wages don’t eat into margins you’ve already bid.

Does the federal “no tax on overtime” deduction apply in California?

Only partly, and only on the federal return. The federal deduction covers the premium portion of overtime the FLSA requires, which means hours over 40 in a workweek. California’s daily overtime, double time and seventh-day premiums don’t qualify unless the same hours also push the week past 40.

California doesn’t offer the deduction at all. The state’s tax code doesn’t automatically follow federal changes, and the FTB’s analysis of AB 1550 confirms there’s no comparable state deduction for tips or overtime. AB 1550, the bill that would have added one, was held in committee in April 2026. California employers still withhold PIT, SDI and FICA on all overtime and tips.

Which California overtime hours count toward the federal overtime deduction

How are bonuses taxed in California?

It depends on how you pay the bonus. If a bonus goes out on the same check as regular wages, California treats the whole payment as regular wages and withholds PIT using the normal tables. If you pay it separately, you can either use the aggregate method or withhold a flat 10.23% for California PIT. Other supplemental wages, like commissions, sales awards, severance and vacation payouts, use a flat 6.6% rate.

SDI (1.3%), Social Security, Medicare and federal income tax withholding still apply to bonuses. That’s why a California bonus check often looks much smaller than employees expect.

When is a final paycheck due in California?

California’s final pay deadlines are short, and the clock depends on how employment ends. Final pay includes all earned wages plus accrued, unused vacation. Accrued sick leave is the exception: California doesn’t require employers to pay it out.

California final paycheck deadlines by type of separation

California payroll tax filing deadlines for 2026

California employers file a DE 9 and DE 9C every quarter, even when no wages were paid. PIT and SDI deposits follow your federal deposit schedule and how much PIT you’ve withheld: employers with less than $350 in accumulated PIT can deposit quarterly, while employers above that amount deposit monthly, semiweekly or the next business day.

2026 California DE 9 and DE 9C due dates

Don’t forget the federal side. Because California hasn’t repaid its federal unemployment loan, California wages are subject to a FUTA credit reduction on Form 940. The rate was 1.2% for 2025, and the U.S. Department of Labor sets the final 2026 rate after November 10, 2026.

What changed for California employers in 2026 and 2027?

• SDI rate increase: Employee SDI withholding rose from 1.2% to 1.3% on January 1, 2026.
• CalSavers for every small employer: Since December 31, 2025, California employers with even one employee must offer a qualified retirement plan or register with CalSavers. Penalties for continued noncompliance can reach $750 per eligible employee.
• Know Your Rights notice (SB 294): Employers had to give current employees a stand-alone notice by February 1, 2026, and must provide it to new hires and repeat it every year.
• Pay scale definition (SB 642): Since January 1, 2026, the pay scale in job postings must be a good faith estimate of what the employer expects to pay at hire.
• Health care minimum wage (SB 525): Several facility tiers stepped up on July 1, 2026, to between $19.28 and $25.00 per hour.
• 2027 minimum wage: The statewide rate becomes $17.40 per hour and the exempt salary threshold $72,384 on January 1, 2027.
• Stay-or-pay contracts (AB 1697): Restrictions on agreements that make workers repay training costs or bonuses when they leave now apply to contracts signed on or after January 1, 2027.
• Agricultural minimum wage (AB 2646): Approved H-2A workers and California employees doing comparable work earn at least $19.75 per hour starting in 2027.
• Pay data reporting (SB 1237): Penalties go up in 2027 for employers that repeatedly miss California’s annual pay data report.

Running payroll for a California business

California’s wage rules go further than federal law in ways that hit small businesses directly. Overtime is owed after 8 hours in a day. Minimum wage changes by city and industry. A fired employee’s final paycheck is due the same day. One missed overtime hour or late final check can turn into back pay, waiting time penalties of up to 30 days’ wages and a wage claim. And you’re keeping track of all of it while also running crews, jobs and shifts.

Fingercheck helps California businesses get payroll right without adding more admin work. Time tracking and payroll are in one system, so the hours your employees clock are the hours they’re paid, with no timesheets to retype. Fingercheck calculates, deducts and files your payroll taxes, and every plan includes unlimited payroll for one flat monthly fee, so a same-day final paycheck never costs extra.

With Fingercheck, construction and field service crews can track time by job site with GPS, and contractors on public works can apply prevailing wage rates at clock-in. Skilled nursing facilities can add healthcare scheduling and PBJ reporting. And when you call our support team, you’ll get an answer in under a minute on average.

In a 2023 survey, Fingercheck customers said they save more than 10 hours a month on payroll and HR tasks. Talk to our team to see how much time your business could get back.