California Income Tax Rates and Brackets by Filing Status

California income tax brackets run from 1% to 12.3% across nine progressive tiers, with an additional 1% surcharge on taxable income above $1 million that lifts the top marginal rate to 13.3%.¹ The Franchise Tax Board adjusts the dollar thresholds for each bracket every year based on the California Consumer Price Index, and the thresholds differ depending on whether you file as single, married jointly, or head of household.²

How the Brackets Actually Apply to Your Income

Progressive means your income is sliced into segments, and each segment is taxed at its own rate.³ A higher bracket only touches the dollars that fall inside it. If you’re a single filer earning $80,000, only the portion above the 9.3% threshold gets taxed at 9.3%; everything below is taxed at the lower rates that apply to each bracket beneath it.

Two consequences follow. First, a raise never lowers your take-home pay. Second, your effective tax rate (total tax divided by total income) is always lower than your top marginal rate. The nine regular rates are 1%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 9.3%, 10.3%, 11.3%, and 12.3%. Only the dollar thresholds move each year.

2026 Brackets for Single Filers

These figures also apply to taxpayers who are married filing separately.³

1% on taxable income up to $11,079
2% on $11,080 to $26,264
4% on $26,265 to $41,452
6% on $41,453 to $57,542
8% on $57,543 to $72,724
9.3% on $72,725 to $371,479
10.3% on $371,480 to $445,771
11.3% on $445,772 to $742,953
12.3% on $742,954 and above

A single filer with $100,000 in taxable income pays 1% on the first $11,079, then works up through the tiers, with only the amount above $72,724 taxed at 9.3%. The effective rate ends up well below that 9.3% top marginal figure.

2026 Brackets for Married Filing Jointly

Married couples filing jointly and qualifying surviving spouses use wider brackets, with thresholds that are roughly double the single-filer amounts.

1% on taxable income up to $22,158
2% on $22,159 to $52,528
4% on $52,529 to $82,904
6% on $82,905 to $115,084
8% on $115,085 to $145,448
9.3% on $145,449 to $742,958
10.3% on $742,959 to $891,542
11.3% on $891,543 to $1,485,906
12.3% on $1,485,907 and above

The doubling matters in practice. A couple with combined taxable income of $145,000 stays entirely at 8% and below, while a single filer at the same income has some dollars taxed at 9.3%.³

Head of Household Brackets

Head of household filers, generally unmarried people paying more than half the cost of keeping up a home for a qualifying dependent, use a third schedule.³ The lower tiers are roughly double the single-filer thresholds; the upper three (10.3%, 11.3%, and 12.3%) fall between the single and joint amounts. The Franchise Tax Board publishes the exact head of household thresholds for each tax year on its website.

The 1% Millionaire Surcharge

On top of the regular brackets, California adds a 1% surcharge on taxable income above $1 million regardless of filing status.¹ Combined with the 12.3% top bracket, this produces the 13.3% top marginal rate. Voters created the surcharge in 2004 through Proposition 63 to fund mental health programs, and the money it collects is dedicated to that purpose.

The surcharge applies only to the portion above $1 million, so a taxpayer with $1.5 million in taxable income pays the extra 1% on $500,000, adding $5,000. Two features catch filers off guard. The $1 million threshold does not double for married couples filing jointly, because the statute excludes the filing-status rules that widen the regular brackets. And tax credits cannot offset this surcharge.

Capital Gains Run Through the Same Brackets

California does not offer a preferential rate for long-term capital gains the way federal law does. Gains from stocks, real estate, and other investments are taxed as ordinary income through the brackets above.⁴ A large one-time gain can push part of your income into a higher tier, and if the sale takes your total taxable income above $1 million, the 1% surcharge kicks in on the amount over that line.

The Standard Deduction Shrinks the Income Brackets Apply To

The brackets act on taxable income, not gross income, and California’s standard deduction is what most filers use to get there. For the 2025 tax year, the standard deduction is $5,706 for single filers and those married filing separately, and $11,412 for married couples filing jointly, head of household filers, and qualifying surviving spouses.⁵ Both figures are meaningfully smaller than the federal standard deduction, and both rise each year with the California Consumer Price Index. You can itemize instead if your qualifying expenses exceed the standard amount.

California also grants a small personal exemption credit, a flat dollar amount subtracted directly from tax owed for yourself, your spouse, and each dependent. The amount is adjusted for inflation; the current Form 540 instructions carry the exact figure.

If You Live Outside California but Earn Income Here

The same progressive rates apply to nonresidents, but only to your California-source income: wages for work physically performed in the state, rent from California property, income from a California-based business, and similar items.⁶ The rate that lands on that income depends on your total income used to determine the bracket, but California only taxes the California-sourced share.

Part-year residents owe California tax on all worldwide income received while living in the state, plus any California-source income earned during the nonresident portion of the year. Employees who worked both in and out of California during the year often split wages using the ratio of California workdays to total workdays. Independent contractors follow a different sourcing rule: California taxes the portion of income where the customer received the benefit of the service, regardless of where the contractor did the work.

1
California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code 17043 (2025)
2
Franchise Tax Board. Tax News October 2025
3
California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code 17041 (2025)
4
Franchise Tax Board. Capital Gains and Losses
5
Franchise Tax Board. Deductions
6
Franchise Tax Board. Part-Year Resident and Nonresident