California Income Taxes and State Tax Forms

Start Federal and California State Tax Returns

Where is my California State Tax Refund?	How to file a California Tax Extension
Where is my Federal Tax Refund?	How to file a California Tax Amendment

Prepare and efile Your California State Tax Return

The eFile tax software makes it easy for you to prepare and efile your California state tax return. Your basic state tax return forms will be automatically populated with the data you entered on your federal tax return. Any additional state forms will be listed for you and will be ready for you to complete and efile. You can prepare and efile your California state tax return (resident, nonresident, or part-year resident) together or separately from your federal tax return. You can prepare and efile multiple state tax returns on efile.com for one price.

California Income Tax Filing Deadline

The regular tax deadline to file/efile a California state income tax return is April 15.

Tax Deadline Date	Type of Income Tax Return Filing Deadline
April 17, 2012	Due date for California State Income Tax Returns - filing deadline
April 17, 2012	Due date for California automatic extensions
October 17, 2012	Last day to efile a California State Income Tax Return for tax extension filers and late efilers

View all state tax return filing deadlines here.

Find federal income tax return filing deadlines here.

CA State Tax Forms

All of the following California state tax forms are supported by the efile.com software:

Form/Schedule	Description
Form 540	Resident Income Tax Return
Form 540NR	Nonresident or Part-Year Resident Income Tax Return
Schedule S	Other State Tax Credit
Form 540-ES	Estimated Tax for Individuals
Form 3503	Natural Heritage Preservation Credit
Form 3506	Child and Dependent Care Expenses Credit
Form 3507	Prison Inmate Labor Credit
Form 3582	Payment Voucher for Electronically Filed Returns
Form 3800	Tax Computation for Children with Investment Income
Form 3801	Passive Activity Loss Limitations
Form 3801AMT	Passive Activity Loss Limitations - Alternative Minimum Tax
Form 3803	Parents' Election to Report Child's Interest and Dividends
Form 3805E	Installment Sale Income
Form 3805P	Additional Taxes Attributable to IRA and Other Qualified Retirement Plans, Annuities, Modified Endowment Contracts, and MSAs
Form 3805V	Net Operating Loss (NOL) Computation and NOL and Disaster Loss Limitations-Individuals, Estates, and Trusts
Form 3805V-AMT	Net Operating Loss (NOL) Computation and NOL and Disaster Loss Limitations-Individuals, Estates, and Trusts - Alternative Minimum Tax
Form 4803E	Head of Household Schedule
Form 4803E	Questionnaires
Form 5805	Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals and Fiduciaries
Form 5805F	Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Farmers and Fishermen
Form 5870A	Tax on Accumulation Distribution of Trusts
Form 8886	Reportable Transaction Disclosure Statement
	Non-Refundable Renter's Credit

CA State Tax Forms that Cannot Be efiled

California State Withholding Form

Form/Description	Instructions
Form DE-4	California State Personal Exemption Worksheet

Form/Description	Instructions
Past Year Forms: Tax Year 2010 Calfornia Tax Forms (Print, Fill Out, and Mail)
Form 540	Resident Income Tax Return
Form 540NR	Nonresident or Part-Year Resident Income Tax Return
Schedule S	Other State Tax Credit
Form 540-ES	Estimated Tax for Individuals
Form 3503	Natural Heritage Preservation Credit
Form 3506	Child and Dependent Care Expenses Credit
Form 3507	Prison Inmate Labor Credit
Form 3582	Payment Voucher for Electronically Filed Returns
Form 3800	Tax Computation for Children with Investment Income
Form 3801	Passive Activity Loss Limitations
Form 3801AMT	Passive Activity Loss Limitations - Alternative Minimum Tax
Form 3803	Parents' Election to Report Child's Interest and Dividends
Form 3805E	Installment Sale Income
Form 3805P	Additional Taxes Attributable to IRA and Other Qualified Retirement Plans, Annuities, Modified Endowment Contracts, and MSAs
Form 3805V	Net Operating Loss (NOL) Computation and NOL and Disaster Loss Limitations-Individuals, Estates, and Trusts
Form 3805V-AMT	Net Operating Loss (NOL) Computation and NOL and Disaster Loss Limitations-Individuals, Estates, and Trusts - Alternative Minimum Tax
Form 4803E	Head of Household Schedule
Form 4803E	Questionnaires
Form 5805	Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals and Fiduciaries
Form 5805F	Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Farmers and Fishermen
Form 5870A	Tax on Accumulation Distribution of Trusts
Form 8886	Reportable Transaction Disclosure Statement
	Non-Refundable Renter's Credit

CA Tax Extensions

California grants an automatic 6-month extension of time to file a state income tax return. No form is required. If you owe taxes, you must still pay the amount due by April 18 or you will begin to accrue penalties; also, if you file later than 6 months after the original filing deadline, you will be penalized for failing to file as well as for failing to pay.

Learn more about filing a California State Tax Extension.

CA Tax Amendments

If you have already filed or efiled your state return and you need to make corrections, you can file an amended return.

To prepare an amended California tax return, fill out a Form 540X and mail it to the address on the form.

Where's My Refund? - Check Your California State Tax Refund Status

If you efile a California tax return, your refund will generally be processed in 7-10 days. Your refund may take 8 weeks to process if you file on paper.

You can check the official status of your CA tax refund online here.

CA efile Error Codes

View a list of all California State efile Income Tax Return Error Reject Codes.

California Tax Facts

CA Income Tax:

Individual income is taxed across several tax brackets at graduated tax rates. For single filers and married people filing separately:

1.25% for the first $7,060 of taxable income
2.25% for income between $7,061 and $16,739
4.25% for income between $16,740 and $26,419
6.25% for income between $26,420 and $36,675
8.25% for income between $36,676 and $46,349
9.55% for income of $46,350 and over

For married couples filing jointly and heads of households, the income brackets are doubled (though the tax rates stay the same).

There is an additional 1% tax (The Mental Health Services Tax) levied on taxable incomes of $1 million and above.

CA Sales Tax:

California has a state sales tax rate of 7.25% (the highest in the nation) and an additional local sales tax rate of 1%, for a total of 8.25% for most goods and services. Certain food items are nontaxable.

CA Personal Property Tax:

In California, all real property is taxed based on the fair-market value, and property taxes are collected locally.

Odd Tax Fact:

A "jock tax" is a special income tax levied on traveling athletes, entertainers, and other nonresident performers who worked in the state at some point during the year. There are now "jock taxes" in more than 40 states, but the very first state to levy such a tax was California. The tax was originally levied in 1991, just in time to tax Michael Jordan's income after the Chicago Bulls beat the LA Lakers in the NBA finals.

CA State Tax Agency:

For more information, you can visit the website of The California Franchise Tax Board.

Back to overview of state income taxes