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 readHow 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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SubscribeIndividual 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 readGraduated corporate rates are inequitable—that is, the size of a corporation bears no necessary relation to the income levels of the owners.
7 min readRetail 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 readFacts & 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 readIn 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 readThe 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 readHowever well-intended they may be, sales tax holidays remain the same as they always have been—ineffective and inefficient.
4 min readCompare the latest 2023 sales tax rates as of July 1st. Sales tax rate differentials can induce consumers to shop across borders or buy products online.
8 min readAt least 32 notable tax policy changes recently took effect across 18 states, including alterations to income taxes, payroll taxes, sales and use taxes, property taxes, and excise taxes. See if your state tax code changed.
16 min readTaxes are the single most expensive ingredient in beer, costing more than the labor and raw materials combined.
3 min readOf all alcoholic beverages subject to taxation, stiff drinks—and all distilled spirits—face the stiffest tax rates. Like many excise taxes, the treatment of distilled spirits varies widely across the states.
4 min readStates are in a better position to attract business investment when they maintain competitive real property tax rates and avoid harmful taxes on tangible personal property, intangible property, wealth, and asset transfers.
3 min readIn the United States, tobacco is taxed at both the federal and state and sometimes even local levels. These layers of taxes often result in very high levels of taxation—the highest of any consumer item. The retail price of cigarettes, for instance, is more than 40 percent taxes on average. In some states, like Minnesota and New York, more than 50 percent of the price paid by consumers comes from taxes.
2 min readAn ideal sales tax applies to a broad base of final consumer goods and services, with few exemptions, and is levied at a low rate.
5 min readIndividual income tax rates can influence location decision-making, especially in an era of enhanced mobility, where it is easier for individuals to move without jeopardizing their current job, or without limiting the scope of their search for a new one.
5 min read