Free tool
California paycheck calculator
Take-home pay for the employee, and what the wage actually costs you as the employer. Tax year 2026.
Pay
Gross pay$2,884.62
Federal income tax-$295.00
Social Security-$178.85
Medicare-$41.83
State income tax (CA)-$123.86
State disability-$34.62
Net pay$2,210.47
Annualized$57,472.22
First stub free.
- Employer unemployment tax is excluded. Enter your SUTA rate and state wage base from your annual rate notice.
How California withholding works
- California uses graduated withholding brackets running from 1.1% to 14.63%, applied to annualised wages.
- Annual wages at or below $18,896 are exempt from withholding entirely, depending on filing status.
- A standard deduction of $5,706 to $11,412 a year is subtracted before the rate applies, depending on filing status.
- Each allowance also produces a credit of $168.30 a year subtracted from the computed tax.
- California also withholds 1.2% from the employee for state disability or paid leave.
- SDI is employee-paid with no wage cap. The rate is not yet verified against the EDD rate notice.
Paycheck calculators by state
These states are modelled from their own withholding publication.
Federal withholding uses the IRS Publication 15-T (2026) percentage method, including the separate rate schedule for a checked W-4 Step 2 box. Nine states are modelled from their own withholding publication: California, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Other taxing states are not modelled yet and ask you for a rate instead of guessing. Actual withholding also depends on your payroll setup and the exact certificates on file. This tool does not file or remit taxes.