Enter your details and click calculate to see your California take-home pay breakdown.
How Your California Paycheck is Calculated
Calculating a paycheck in California is more complex than in many other states due to progressive income tax brackets and state-specific deductions like State Disability Insurance (SDI). This tool estimates your take-home pay based on 2024 tax tables.
Key Deductions in California
Federal Income Tax: Based on the IRS tax brackets ranging from 10% to 37%.
FICA (Social Security & Medicare): A combined 7.65% (6.2% for Social Security up to the wage base limit, and 1.45% for Medicare).
California State Income Tax (PIT): California has some of the highest state tax brackets in the U.S., ranging from 1% to 13.3% for high earners.
CA SDI: California State Disability Insurance is a mandatory deduction. For 2024, the rate is 1.1% of your gross pay with no taxable wage limit.
Example Calculation (Bi-Weekly)
If you earn $3,000 bi-weekly ($78,000 annually) as a single filer in California:
Gross Pay
$3,000.00
Federal Tax (Estimated)
-$284.50
FICA (Social Security & Medicare)
-$229.50
CA State Tax (Estimated)
-$112.20
CA SDI (1.1%)
-$33.00
Estimated Net Take-Home Pay
$2,340.80
2024 California SDI Changes
Effective January 1, 2024, California removed the taxable wage limit for SDI. This means the 1.1% deduction applies to all earnings, regardless of how much you earn. Previously, deductions stopped once you reached a certain income threshold. This is a critical update for high-income earners using an ADP paycheck calculator California tool.
function calculatePaycheck() {
var gross = parseFloat(document.getElementById('grossPay').value);
var frequency = parseFloat(document.getElementById('payPeriod').value);
var status = document.getElementById('filingStatus').value;
var allowances = parseInt(document.getElementById('allowances').value) || 0;
if (isNaN(gross) || gross 0) {
if (taxableAnnual <= 11600) fedTax = taxableAnnual * 0.10;
else if (taxableAnnual <= 47150) fedTax = 1160 + (taxableAnnual – 11600) * 0.12;
else if (taxableAnnual <= 100525) fedTax = 5426 + (taxableAnnual – 47150) * 0.22;
else if (taxableAnnual <= 191950) fedTax = 17168.5 + (taxableAnnual – 100525) * 0.24;
else if (taxableAnnual <= 243725) fedTax = 39110.5 + (taxableAnnual – 191950) * 0.32;
else if (taxableAnnual 0) {
if (caTaxable <= 10412) caTax = caTaxable * 0.01;
else if (caTaxable <= 24684) caTax = 104.12 + (caTaxable – 10412) * 0.02;
else if (caTaxable <= 38959) caTax = 389.56 + (caTaxable – 24684) * 0.04;
else if (caTaxable <= 54081) caTax = 960.56 + (caTaxable – 38959) * 0.06;
else if (caTaxable <= 68350) caTax = 1867.88 + (caTaxable – 54081) * 0.08;
else if (caTaxable <= 349137) caTax = 3009.40 + (caTaxable – 68350) * 0.093;
else caTax = 29122.59 + (caTaxable – 349137) * 0.103;
}
// CA Tax Credit (Allowances)
var caCredit = allowances * 158;
caTax = Math.max(0, caTax – caCredit);
var periodCATax = caTax / frequency;
var totalDeductions = periodFedTax + periodSS + periodMedicare + periodSDI + periodCATax;
var netPay = gross – totalDeductions;
function format(num) {
return num.toLocaleString('en-US', { style: 'currency', currency: 'USD' });
}
var html = '
Gross Pay: ' + format(gross) + '
';
html += '
Federal Income Tax:-' + format(periodFedTax) + '
';
html += '
Social Security:-' + format(periodSS) + '
';
html += '
Medicare:-' + format(periodMedicare) + '
';
html += '
CA State Tax (PIT):-' + format(periodCATax) + '
';
html += '
CA SDI (1.1%):-' + format(periodSDI) + '
';
html += '
';
html += 'Net Pay:' + format(netPay) + '
';
html += '*Estimates based on standard deductions and 2024 tax tables. Actual payroll may vary based on specific local taxes, health insurance, and 401k contributions.';
document.getElementById('outputContent').innerHTML = html;
}