California Quarterly Payroll Tax Forms: DE 9 and DE 9C Filing

California employers file two quarterly payroll tax forms together through the Employment Development Department: the DE 9, which summarizes total tax liability for the quarter, and the DE 9C, which lists wages for each individual employee. Both are due by the last day of the month following the close of each quarter, and both must be filed electronically through e-Services for Business. The per-employee totals on the DE 9C have to reconcile to the totals on the DE 9, and when they don’t, the EDD sends a notice.

What the DE 9 and DE 9C Do

The DE 9, formally the Quarterly Contribution Return and Report of Wages, is the cover document. It reports your total Unemployment Insurance contributions, Employment Training Tax contributions, State Disability Insurance withheld, and Personal Income Tax withheld for the quarter across your entire workforce.

The DE 9C, the Quarterly Contribution Return and Report of Wages (Continuation), is the line-by-line backup. For each employee, it lists name, Social Security number, total subject wages, PIT taxable wages, and PIT withheld for the quarter.¹ The individual figures on the DE 9C need to add up to the totals reported on the DE 9.

You file both every quarter, together, even if you paid no wages. The EDD treats you as an active employer until you formally close your account, so skipping a zero-wage quarter creates a delinquency on your record.¹

2026 Filing Deadlines

The general rule: both forms are due by the last day of the month after the quarter closes. When that date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, it shifts to the next business day. For 2026 the actual deadlines are:²

First quarter (January–March): April 30, 2026
Second quarter (April–June): July 31, 2026
Third quarter (July–September): November 2, 2026, because October 31 is a Saturday
Fourth quarter (October–December): February 1, 2027, because January 31 is a Sunday

The third and fourth quarter dates are the ones to watch. Filing on the calendar day you assumed can still count as delinquent.

What Goes on the Forms: 2026 Rates and Wage Bases

The DE 9 reports four separate taxes, two paid by the employer and two withheld from employees.

Unemployment Insurance is employer-paid on the first $7,000 of wages per employee per calendar year. New employers are assigned a 3.4 percent rate for their first two to three years, after which the rate adjusts based on experience rating.
Employment Training Tax is employer-paid at 0.1 percent for 2026, also on the first $7,000 per employee.
State Disability Insurance is withheld from employee wages at 1.3 percent for 2026, with no taxable wage ceiling.
Personal Income Tax is withheld from employee wages based on each worker’s withholding allowance certificate (DE 4 or federal W-4).

UI and ETT share the same $7,000 cap, so once an employee crosses $7,000 in wages for the year, you stop owing both on their further wages.³ SDI applies to every dollar of wages; the ceiling was removed effective January 1, 2024.⁴

Employer UI and ETT are paid quarterly with the return. Employee-withheld SDI and PIT can be due more often depending on how much PIT you accumulate: quarterly if PIT stays under $350 per pay period, monthly if any pay period hits $350 or more, and semi-weekly if you cross $400 and your federal schedule is semi-weekly.¹ The EDD does not send a reminder when your threshold changes.

How to File Through e-Services for Business

California law requires all employers to file returns, wage reports, and payroll tax deposits electronically. Paper is not an option.⁵

The submission flow inside e-Services for Business:

Log in to e-Services for Business.
Select “File Return” for the quarter you’re filing.
Select “File Now” next to the Tax Return (DE 9) or the Wage Report (DE 9C).
Answer whether you have payroll to report; if yes, enter or upload your wage data.
Review the summary the system generates, then submit.

For the DE 9C you can type each employee’s information in by hand or upload a CSV file with all of the wage data at once.⁶ The CSV upload is the practical choice for anything past a few employees, and most payroll software exports directly into the format the EDD accepts. Once you submit, the system returns an electronic confirmation that serves as your proof of timely filing.

Payment usually rides along with the return. Direct debit through e-Services for Business, where the EDD pulls funds from your bank, is the standard method. You can also send an ACH credit through your own bank under the EDD’s Electronic Funds Transfer program. Credit and debit card payments go through ACI Payments, Inc., with a convenience fee of 2.75 percent for credit cards or 1.75 percent for debit cards and a $1 minimum.⁷

Filing a Zero-Wage Quarter

If you had no payroll during the quarter, log in, select “File Return,” and answer “No” when asked whether you have payroll to report. Complete the declaration and submit each form. It takes a few minutes and keeps your account current.¹ If you don’t expect to run payroll again, you can file your final return and then select “Close Account” from the Account Management panel to stop the quarterly filing obligation entirely.⁶

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

The costs stack from several directions, so it’s worth knowing exactly what each mistake triggers.

Filing on paper when you’re required to file electronically costs $50 per DE 9 return and $20 per individual wage item on a paper DE 9C.⁵ For a 25-employee business, a single paper DE 9C alone runs $500 in penalties before the DE 9 penalty is added on top.

Failing to deposit payroll taxes on time triggers a penalty of 15 percent of the unpaid amount, plus interest.⁸ The same 15 percent applies if you should have been depositing monthly or semi-weekly and instead paid quarterly. Paying by any method other than the EDD’s electronic channels when required carries a separate 15 percent penalty on the amount involved.⁹

Correcting a Return You’ve Already Filed

You correct a filed DE 9 or DE 9C through e-Services for Business or by submitting a paper Quarterly Contribution and Wage Adjustment Form (DE 9ADJ). The EDD will not process a correction until the original return for the quarter has been filed, and you use one DE 9ADJ per quarter rather than combining several quarters on a single form.¹⁰

Correcting an employee’s name or Social Security number on the DE 9C takes two entries for that employee: one that zeros out the originally reported data under the old name or SSN, and a second that enters the correct information with the actual wages.¹¹ If the correction increases the tax owed, include payment for the difference plus any applicable penalty and interest.

Refund claims have a statute of limitations. You must file within three years of the last timely filing date for the quarter being adjusted, six months after an assessment becomes final, or 60 days from the date of an overpayment, whichever is later.¹⁰

1
Employment Development Department. Required Filings and Due Dates
2
Employment Development Department. Payroll Tax Calendar
3
Employment Development Department. Tax-Rated Employers
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Employment Development Department. Contribution Rates, Withholding Schedules, and Meals and Lodging Values
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Employment Development Department. E-file and E-pay Mandate for Employers
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Employment Development Department. e-Services for Business FAQs
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Employment Development Department. Payroll Tax Credit and Debit Card Payment FAQs
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Employment Development Department. Payroll Tax Deposits
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Employment Development Department. Penalty Reference Chart (DE 231EP)
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Employment Development Department. Instructions for Completing the Quarterly Contribution and Wage Adjustment Form (DE 9ADJ)
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Employment Development Department. How to Correct a Quarterly Contribution Return and Report of Wages (DE 9) or Quarterly Contribution Return and Report of Wages (Continuation) (DE 9C)