Income Taxes in California
California levies the highest top marginal state income tax rate in the country -- a real, current 13.3%, made up of a 9-bracket base schedule plus a separate 1% surcharge on income above $1,000,000 that is genuinely easy to misunderstand.
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Learn moreNine base brackets, then a separate surcharge on top
California's ordinary income tax runs across 9 base brackets from 1% up to 12.3%. On top of that base schedule, the 2004 Mental Health Services Act (Prop 63) adds a separate 1% surcharge on ALL taxable income above $1,000,000 -- bringing the real top marginal rate to 13.3%. For tax year 2025 (the last year with fully finalized dollar thresholds as of this pass), single-filer brackets ran from 1% on the first $11,079 up through 12.3% above $742,953, with the 1% MHSA surcharge applying above $1,000,000 regardless of filing status.
The $1,000,000 MHSA threshold is genuinely NOT doubled for joint filers
This is a real, easy-to-miss distinction this record states explicitly: while California's ordinary 9 base brackets roughly double their dollar thresholds for married-filing-jointly, the separate 1% MHSA surcharge threshold stays fixed at $1,000,000 regardless of filing status. A married couple filing jointly with $1,100,000 in combined taxable income pays the 1% surcharge on the amount above $1,000,000 the same as a single filer would.
This is the most progressive state income tax structure in the country
California's combination of 9 graduated base brackets plus a separate high-income surcharge produces a genuinely more progressive structure than most other high-top-rate states -- lower earners pay meaningfully less than the headline 13.3% figure suggests, while the very highest earners pay the full combined rate. Don't assume your effective rate matches the top marginal number without running your actual bracket math.
Key takeaways
- California's real top marginal income tax rate is 13.3% -- a 12.3% top base-bracket rate plus a separate 1% Mental Health Services Act surcharge on income above $1,000,000.
- The $1,000,000 MHSA surcharge threshold is NOT doubled for joint filers, unlike California's ordinary graduated brackets.
- For tax year 2025, single-filer base brackets ran 1% to $11,079 up through 12.3% above $742,953; exact 2026 dollar thresholds were not yet finalized by the Franchise Tax Board as of this research pass.
- This is genuinely the most progressive state income tax structure in the country -- run your actual bracket math rather than assuming your effective rate equals the 13.3% top marginal figure.
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