California State Controller's Office: Paycheck Calculator Download

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) redesigned the Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, to be used starting in 2020. It also issued regulations updating the federal income tax withholding tables and computational procedures in Publication 15-T, Federal Income Tax Withholding Methods. The State Controller's Office has updated the Employee Action Request, STD. 686 form, to reflect the redesign. California government employees who withhold federal income tax from wages will see these changes reflected in 2021 payroll. The Paycheck Calculator below allows employees to see how these changes affect pay and withholding. Use the IRS Tax Withholding Estimator to make sure you have the right amount of tax withheld from your paycheck. https://apps.irs.gov/app/tax-withholding-estimator If you would like to update your withholding, please contact your Human Resources office.

If you have Microsoft Excel or a spreadsheet application that can read an XLS file, you can download a spreadsheet that will do paycheck calculations. This may be useful if you are considering changing your federal or state tax withholding, deferred compensation, or tax-sheltered annuity amounts.

If you have difficulty viewing the input calculation screen, press and hold the "Ctrl" key then tap the F10 key to maximize the viewing screen. For a full-screen view of the Excel file, double-click the title bar area.

The calculators allow employees to calculate paychecks for monthly, semi-monthly and bi-weekly in one place, which also can be used for out-of-state employees with no state taxes (input “99” in the Additional Exemptions State field).

* If you have questions about Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design, please contact (916) 372-7200 or PPSDWebmaster@sco.ca.gov