California Paycheck Calculator (2026)

On a $60,000 salary paid biweekly (single filer, $2,307.69 gross per paycheck), the estimate is $193.08 federal income tax, $143.08 Social Security, $33.46 Medicare, $63.06 California income tax, $30.00 California State Disability Insurance (SDI). Take-home pay is about $1,845.02 per paycheck.

Yes. California taxes wages with progressive brackets that reach 13.3% for a single filer on state taxable income in this model.

The model uses 10 brackets for a single filer, from 1% to 13.3%. The full schedule for each filing status is in the rate table above.

Start with gross pay, subtract federal income tax (2026 brackets after the standard deduction), Social Security and Medicare, California income tax, then divide by the number of pay periods. The result is an estimate; your employer's withholding tables can differ.

For a single filer paid biweekly, the estimate is about $1,421.92 per paycheck on $45,000 and about $2,800.96 on $100,000.

Social Security and Medicare tax are federal, so they work the same in every state. Social Security is 6.2% of wages up to the 2026 wage base of $184,500, and Medicare is 1.45% of all wages. An employer withholds an extra 0.9% Additional Medicare tax on wages above $200,000 in a calendar year, without regard to filing status; the tax itself is figured against $250,000 for married filing jointly and $200,000 for other filers.

Partly. It includes California State Disability Insurance (SDI) as a separate line, but not other state payroll premiums. It does not model any city, county or school-district income tax. Ask your employer's payroll department whether a local tax applies to you.

The model subtracts a standard deduction of $5,706 single, $11,412 married filing jointly, $11,412 head of household from wages before applying California rates, then applies the additional rules listed above.