What are California's 2024 income tax brackets?

California has nine brackets ranging from 1% to 12.3%. For single filers they run 1% up to $10,412, then 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 9.3% (the big middle band to $349,137), 10.3%, 11.3%, and 12.3% at the top. Married-filing-jointly thresholds are double the single amounts.

What is the California mental-health surcharge?

California adds a 1% Mental Health Services Tax on taxable income above $1 million, bringing the top marginal rate to 13.3% — the highest state income tax rate in the United States. This calculator applies it automatically when taxable income exceeds the threshold.

What is the California standard deduction for 2024?

The 2024 standard deduction is $5,363 for single and married-filing-separately filers and $10,726 for married filing jointly, head of household, and qualifying surviving spouse. You can instead itemize if your deductions exceed these amounts.

How do California exemption credits work?

Rather than reducing income, California gives a per-person exemption credit subtracted directly from tax. For 2024 it is about $149 per taxpayer and $446 per dependent. The credit phases out for very high incomes, but this tool applies the full amounts as a close estimate.

Does this include federal income tax?

No. This tool computes only the California state income tax filed on Form 540. Federal income tax, FICA, and California SDI are separate. Use it to estimate the California state line of your total tax picture.

California Income Tax Calculator

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California has the most progressive state income tax in the country, with nine brackets from 1 percent up to 12.3 percent — plus a 1 percent surcharge on income over a million dollars. This calculator applies the official 2024 brackets for your filing status, subtracts the standard or itemized deduction, and credits your personal and dependent exemptions.

How it works

California taxes income in nine progressive slices. Taxable income is computed as:

taxable = California AGI − (standard or itemized deduction)
tax     = bracket math on taxable income
        + 1% on taxable income above $1,000,000 (Mental Health Services Tax)
        − exemption credits (per taxpayer + per dependent)

For single filers the rates are 1%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 9.3%, 10.3%, 11.3%, and 12.3%. Married-filing-jointly thresholds are exactly double the single bands. California uses exemption credits — flat dollar amounts subtracted from tax — rather than income exemptions.

Example

A single filer with 120,000 dollars of California AGI takes the 5,363-dollar standard deduction, leaving about 114,637 dollars taxable. The brackets stack up through the 9.3 percent band, producing roughly 7,900 dollars of tax before the ~149-dollar personal exemption credit, for an effective rate near 6.5 percent.

Notes

This estimates only the California state tax on Form 540, not federal tax or FICA. Exemption credits phase out at high incomes and itemized deductions follow California-specific rules that differ from federal. Confirm figures against the Franchise Tax Board (ftb.ca.gov) 540 instructions for your exact situation.