California Income Tax

California has a progressive income tax. Your income is taxed at increasing rates as it rises through 9 brackets. Your effective rate is always lower than your top marginal rate.

Unlike states such as Colorado or Illinois that use a single flat rate, California taxes income progressively. This means a person earning $50,000 pays a lower effective rate than someone earning $500,000. The progressive system is designed so that higher earners contribute a larger percentage of their income. For example, someone earning $75,000 has an effective California rate of about 4.3%, while someone earning $500,000 has an effective rate of about 9.1%.

California has the highest top marginal rate (13.3%) in the nation. However, for most earners, the effective rate is moderate. Nine states have no income tax at all, and 14 states use flat rates ranging from 2.5% to 5.7%.

While California's 13.3% top rate is the highest, it only applies to income over $1 million. For a $100,000 earner, California's effective rate (~5.7%) is comparable to many other states. States with no income tax (Texas, Florida, Washington, etc.) may offset this with higher sales or property taxes. When comparing states, look at your effective rate at your income level, not just the top marginal rate.

It's an additional 1% tax on California taxable income exceeding $1,000,000, bringing the top marginal rate to 13.3%. It was formerly called the Mental Health Services Tax and funds behavioral health programs.

Approved by voters as Proposition 63 in 2004 (originally called the Mental Health Services Tax, renamed in 2025), this 1% surtax applies only to the portion of taxable income above $1 million. If you earn $1.2 million, only the $200,000 above the threshold is subject to the extra 1%. The revenue funds county behavioral health programs across California.

California has 9 progressive tax brackets ranging from 1% to 12.3%, plus a 1% surtax on income over $1 million (total top rate: 13.3%). Most earners pay an effective rate between 4% and 7%.

California uses a progressive bracket system where each rate applies only to income within that range. For single filers in 2025: 1% on income up to $11,079; 2% on $11,080–$26,264; 4% on $26,265–$41,452; 6% on $41,453–$57,542; 8% on $57,543–$72,724; 9.3% on $72,725–$371,479; 10.3% on $371,480–$445,771; 11.3% on $445,772–$742,953; and 12.3% on income above $742,953. An additional 1% Behavioral Health Services Tax applies to income over $1 million.

California's standard deduction is $5,706 (single) vs the federal $15,750 because California uses a 2015 IRC conformity date and did not adopt the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's increased standard deduction.

The federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 nearly doubled the federal standard deduction, but California did not conform to this change. California's tax code references the Internal Revenue Code as of January 1, 2015, before the TCJA was enacted. This means California maintains its own, lower standard deduction. The practical impact: your California taxable income is higher than your federal taxable income, even on the same gross earnings.