Cali state income tax- non-res

Wolf at the Door, BSN · Mar 3, 2016

I did a US Nursing (fast staff) strike onboarding that paid 1250, I filed exempt on the paperwork. Coming tax time I owed Cali $66.00. I am in a no income tax state.

NedRN · Mar 3, 2016

Unless you are from a no-income state, you will pay California roughly proportional to the time worked there versus other states. If you just did one assignment, it is unlikely you will notice that California got more than your home state as a percentage of income earned. You might be surprised about income taxes in California, many other states are similar. I probably pay more in Ohio.

So net pay is what it is all about. How much can you put in the bank? If your net working for Fastaff is more, than that is better any other assignment, right? Amount of taxes paid is irrelevant. Other metrics to use are net pay per hour (long hours with Fastaff might end up being less per hour), and quality of the work (Fastaff assignments are typically more work per hour at hospital that are really hurting).

HarleyNrs · Mar 3, 2016

The reason I am asking is NYC-8.8% has a high income tax rate similar to Cali however if you are not a resident you get most of it back. I was wondering if Cali is the same, evidently not.

By the way I live in Oh too tax rate is 4.99% Cali is sliding scale up 10 13.9%. would probably be in the 9.3% bracket so that affects the net.

NedRN · Mar 3, 2016

Depends on where you live in Ohio, but I believe most residents have to contend with Ohio State income tax, RITA (municipality tax), and school tax (plus more school related taxes on property that even renters effectively pay). I do. I also pay a much higher percentage in property taxes than do most Californians, although of course perhaps not as much gross property taxes as valuations are not as high here (anywhere here). Kaisich has done a great job of reducing the state tax burden, especially corporate taxes, but shifted the costs to local. As a result, local taxes (or deficits) are skyrocketing. And because he has weakened unions, pay is going down. Double whammy, shift taxation to more inefficient localities, and reduce personal income. Yet he, and Ohio, is considered a huge success. If it hadn't been for the federal bailout of the car industry, Ohio would be hurting even worse.

So this is somewhat political and off topic, and the overall taxation (not just income taxes) in California is certainly high, but guess what! Higher taxation appears to consistently bring prosperity. California is certainly doing well above average nationally, and when you consider disposable income, working conditions (especially for nurses), quality of life, and other metrics, it is paradise in spite of many intractable problems (that it shares with many other states such as drugs and homelessness).

Texas is an example of a state that has taken a much darker and different path to its prosperity. Low wage jobs are growing like crazy there and low regulation and taxes is making it a business and polluter's paradise at the expense of workers.

But back on topic, multi-state taxation has different formulas in every state, but in practice is roughly proportional to the proportion of wages earned in that state.

HarleyNrs · Mar 3, 2016

I did a US Nursing (fast staff) strike onboarding that paid 1250, I filed exempt on the paperwork. Coming tax time I owed Cali $66.00. I am in a no income tax state.

And that was your only Cali income for the tax year? Sheesh 5% on $1250 is a bit steep. Thanks for the info.

Wolf at the Door, BSN · Mar 3, 2016

Yes, That was my only income for California that year.

This is a great tool I use to determine my taxes per paycheck.

Salary Paycheck Calculator to Calculate Your Tax Withholding – QuickBooks