State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2024
Individual income taxes are a major source of state government revenue, accounting for more than a third of state tax collections. How do income taxes compare in your state?
8 min read
California Tax Rates, Collections, and Burdens
How does California’s tax code compare? California has a graduated state individual income tax, with rates ranging from 1.00 percent to 13.30 percent. There is also a jurisdiction that collects local income taxes. California has an 8.84 percent corporate income tax rate. California also has a 7.25 percent state sales tax rate and an average combined state and local sales tax rate of 8.85 percent. California has a 0.68 percent effective property tax rate on owner-occupied housing value.
California does not have an estate tax or inheritance tax. California has a 68.1 cents per gallon gas tax rate and a $2.87 cigarette excise tax rate. The State of California collects $9,229 in state and local tax collections per capita. California has $13,845 in state and local debt per capita and has a 79 percent funded ratio of public pension plans. Overall, California’s tax system ranks 48th on our 2024 State Business Tax Climate Index.
Each state’s tax code is a multifaceted system with many moving parts, and California is no exception. The first step towards understanding California’s tax code is knowing the basics. How does California collect tax revenue? Click the tabs below to learn more! You can also explore our state tax maps, which are compiled from our annual publication, Facts & Figures 2024: How Does Your State Compare?
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Featured Articles
State Corporate Income Tax Rates and Brackets, 2024
Graduated corporate rates are inequitable—that is, the size of a corporation bears no necessary relation to the income levels of the owners.
7 min read
State and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2024
Retail sales taxes are an essential part of most states’ revenue toolkits, responsible for 32 percent of state tax collections and 13 percent of local tax collections (24 percent of combined collections).
9 min read
Facts & Figures 2023: How Does Your State Compare?
Facts & Figures serves as a one-stop state tax data resource that compares all 50 states on over 40 measures of tax rates, collections, burdens, and more.
2 min read
2024 State Business Tax Climate Index
In recognition of the fact that there are better and worse ways to raise revenue, our Index focuses on how state tax revenue is raised, not how much. The rankings, therefore, reflect how well states structure their tax systems.
111 min read
Unpacking the State and Local Tax Toolkit: Sources of State and Local Tax Collections (FY 2020)
The mix of tax sources states choose can have important implications for both revenue stability and economic growth, and the many variations across states are indicative of the different ways states weigh competing policy goals.
29 min readAll Related Articles
State Tax Changes Effective January 1, 2021
Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia had notable tax changes take effect on January 1, 2021. Because most states’ legislative sessions were cut short in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer tax changes were adopted in 2020 than in a typical year.
24 min read
Congress Passes $900 Billion Coronavirus Relief Package
The coronavirus relief package represents the second-largest recovery legislation, behind only the CARES Act, for a combined total of more than $3 trillion in support.
8 min read
Details and Analysis of State and Local Aid Under the Bipartisan State and Local Support and Small Business Protection Act of 2020
On Monday, members of the bipartisan Gang of Eight negotiating an end-of-year pandemic relief package announced that they had settled on language and had divided the package into two bills: a pandemic aid package and a $160 billion state and local support package.
6 min read
Wireless Tax Burden Remains High Due to Federal Surcharge Increase
A typical American household with four phones on a “family share” wireless plan can expect to pay about $270 per year (or 22 percent of their cell phone bill) in taxes, fees, and surcharges.
36 min read
Election Analysis: California and Colorado Voters Resist Temptation to Shift More of Property Tax Burden to Businesses
In Tuesday’s election, voters in two states—California and Colorado—were tasked with deciding whether to amend their states’ constitution to change how the property tax burden is distributed. In many ways, the ballot measures were mirror images of each other, but the outcomes were similar.
3 min read
Results of 2020 State and Local Tax Ballot Measures
See the results of the most notable state and local tax ballot measures during Election 2020 with our curated resource page.
11 min read
Zoom Calls Not a Taxing Matter
Zoom Video Communications announced that, come November, the company will start collecting and remitting local utility and communications taxes in California, New York, Maryland, and Virginia.
5 min read
2021 State Business Tax Climate Index
166 min read
Top Rates in Each State Under Joe Biden’s Tax Plan
President Joe Biden’s tax plan would yield combined top marginal state and local rates in excess of 60 percent in three states: California, Hawaii, and New Jersey (also New York City).
4 min read
State and Local Tax Ballot Measures to Watch on Election Day 2020
Here are the state tax ballot measures to watch on Election Day 2020. Explore the most notable 2020 state tax ballot measures in 15 states.
4 min read