How is California Income Tax Withheld calculated?

theloneknight
theloneknight Member Posts: 2 Newcomer
in State Filing

Freetaxusa shows that my California Income Tax Withheld is $7,370, even though across my W-2s, that amount is only $6154.27.

I'm a resident of WA that travels to CA for work.

How do I validate how freetaxusa comes up with the $7,370 amount? The 540NR form simply states the amount withheld without saying how it's calculated.

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Answers

  • JMSSGV
    JMSSGV Member Posts: 243

    Do you have other sources of income that were subject to California withholding, such as pension or IRA distributions?

    You should check all of your W-2 and 1099 entries to make sure the numbers you input match up with the figures in the California state tax withholding box on those forms. Some employers mistakenly list California SDI (state disability insurance) on a separate line in the state withholding section (it belongs in Box 14.) Make sure that amount wasn't input as state income tax withheld in the software.

  • theloneknight
    theloneknight Member Posts: 2 Newcomer

    Thanks, I indeed has a 1099 from my CA rental that I paid taxes on. I didn't expect the rental income to be counted here, but it is, according to CA instructions, as below

    Line 81 – California Income Tax Withheld

    Enter the total California income tax withheld from your federal Form(s):

    • W-2, box 17
    • W-2G, box 15
    • 1099-DIV, box 16
    • 1099-INT, box 17
    • 1099-K, box 8
    • 1099-MISC, box 16
    • 1099-NEC, box 5
    • 1099-OID, box 14
    • 1099-R, box 14
  • JMSSGV
    JMSSGV Member Posts: 243

    So did the entries from all of those forms (plus your W-2s) add up to the total shown in the software?

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