California taxes
Resident income tax, ordinary rates for capital gains, and a statewide sales tax floor with district additions.
Year-specific amounts are labeled separately. This overview does not reproduce every bracket, credit, local levy or business tax.
Personal income and residency
Residents are taxed on income from all sources. Part-year residents report worldwide income received during the resident period and California-source income during the nonresident period. [1] [2]
A move does not eliminate California-source income: wages for services performed in California, California rental income and gains from California real property may remain taxable to a nonresident. [2]
Investments
California generally taxes long-term and short-term capital gains as regular income; it does not provide a special lower rate for long-term gains. State and federal asset basis can differ. [3]
Retirement
Social Security benefits included in federal adjusted gross income are subtracted for California purposes. Other retirement distributions require their own analysis; an exemption for Social Security does not make all pension or IRA income exempt. [4] [5]
California does not tax covered retirement income received by a nonresident. Its pension guidance covers pensions, IRA distributions and Roth conversions, among other retirement income. [5]
Sales and use tax
The statewide sales and use tax rate is 7.25%. District taxes can increase the combined rate, and multiple district taxes can apply. Use the CDTFA address lookup for the location and transaction date. [6]
Official sources
- California FTB — Residents
- California FTB — Part-year resident and nonresident
- California FTB — 2025 Schedule CA instructions
- California FTB — 2025 Pension and Annuity Guidelines
- California CDTFA — Sales and use tax rate information
Last verified: October 1, 2026. Consult the source for the applicable tax year and transaction date.