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What Are the Marginal Tax Rates for California in 2013?

Find out how much money you will owe California when you file state taxes

California is one of the highest taxing states in the country. So it makes sense for Californians to plan ahead and see how much money the state is going to take instead of getting surprised by a big bill next winter.

California’s marginal tax rates for 2013 are as follows. Note that different rates apply to those filing as single and to married couples filing a joint return.

Single Tax Rates

Income Bracket

Tax Rate
$0 – $7,123 1%
$7,124 – $16,889 2%
$16,890 – $26,656 4%
$26,657 – $37,004 6%
$37,005 – $46,765 8%
$46,766 – $999,999 9.3%
$1,000,000+ 10.3%

 

Married Filing Jointly Tax Rates

Income Bracket

Tax Rate
$0 – $14,427 1%
$14,248 – $33,779 2%
$33,780 – $53,313 4%
$53,314 – $74,009 6%
$74,010 – $93,531 8%
$93,532 – $1,999,999 9.3%
$2,000,000+ 10.3%

Like the federal system, each of these rates applies only to your income that falls within that specific bracket. Your top rate does not apply to all of your income.

For example, if you make $40,000, you only have to pay 8% on the $2,995 that falls above that bracket’s $37,005 threshold. You would pay 1% on your first $7,123 of income, 2% on the next $9,765, etc.

California has some of the most complicated state taxes in the nation. Thankfully, when you file with RapidTax, all this math is taken care of for you automatically.

Photo via Mike Behnken on Flickr.

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Are Full-Time Students Exempt from Taxes?

Students are not exempt from taxes and have the same filing requirements as everyone else

Already beleaguered college students will be disappointed to learn that there is not a tax exemption for students, full-time or otherwise.

Whether you have to file a return depends on

  • your income amount (earned and unearned)

  • whether someone else claims you as a dependent

  • your filing status

  • your age

If your level of income is below the filing requirement for your age, filing status, and dependency status, then you don’t have to file a return. Conversely, if your income level is above this filing requirement, you must file regardless of whether you are a student.

You can see the filing requirements for most non-dependent situations below: Continue reading “Are Full-Time Students Exempt from Taxes?”

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Help Filling Out a W-4

Your W-4 is an important thing to get right because it ultimately decides how big your tax refund is – or if you owe the IRS money

If you are an employee, you pay income tax through withholding – tax money your employer takes out of your paycheck each pay period.

You can determine how much gets taken out by filling out Form W-4 [Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate]. If too much gets taken out, you will receive a refund when you file taxes. If not enough is taken out, you will have to pay the IRS.

You will be asked to fill out a W-4 when you start a new job. But you can also fill out a new W-4 any time if you wish to adjust your withholding. You should especially be sure to do so after major life events such as getting married or the birth of a new child.

How to Fill Out the Form

The first part of the form should be easy enough. It’s just your personal information: name, address, social security number, etc. Continue reading “Help Filling Out a W-4”