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California Retirement Tax Calculator for Pensions and IRAs (2026)

California does not tax Social Security, but pensions and IRA withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income at 1% to 12.3%, plus 1% on taxable income above $1 million. The 2026 estimate uses a $5,706 standard deduction (single) or $11,412 (joint).

Checked against sources 4 official sources linked How we verify

California resident retirement worksheet

Use the year income is received, not the filing year. Later years use a separately approved assessment until the next return rules are verified.

Full-year resident, positive ordinary income, approved whole-dollar adjustments and deductions, and the published 2026 Form 540-ES method using 2025 tables. Pension basis, military eligibility, special child taxes, trusts, AMT, early distributions and other additional taxes require separate preparation. This is not a final 2026 return.

Use whole dollars. Include the federally taxable benefit amount. Pension and IRA contribution basis must already be prepared; do not use federal taxable income.

Only the benefit amount included in federal AGI, not the gross cash payment. It is subtracted once here. Put approved Tier 2 adjustments in other subtractions.

Reconcile federal and California differences, including taxable amounts not in federal AGI. Enter an approved whole-dollar zero when none apply.

Exclude the benefit subtraction calculated here. Prepare pension-basis, Tier 2 and qualified military / survivor exclusions separately without double counting.

The 2026 estimated-payment instructions use $11,412 for joint / head / surviving filers and $5,706 for single / separate, or approved itemized deductions. Replace the illustration; federal senior deductions are not imported.

Optional prepared exemption and other nonrefundable ordinary-tax credits after eligibility, limitations and ordering. Blank leaves the after-credit total unresolved. Refundable credits, AMT and other additional taxes are separate.

2026 estimate · 2025 FTB tables

Waiting on a figure

California ordinary tax before credits —
California adjusted gross income
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California estimate taxable income
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Included benefits subtracted once
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Behavioral Health Services Tax
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Ordinary tax after approved credits
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Estimate including BHST, before other taxes
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Published tax-table method
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Calculation scopeConfirm the full-year resident 2026 estimated-payment conditions

Illustrative defaults. Enter approved taxable amounts and confirm eligibility. The result covers the displayed worksheet conditions; a complete return may require other income, adjustments, deductions or credits.

FTB 2026 estimated-payment instructions direct use of the 2025 tax table and schedules. This is an estimate method, not a final 2026 return. Primary sources reviewed October 1, 2026.

Reviewed October 6, 2026. California retirement tax: exempt benefits and the FTB estimate table

What California taxes in retirement

Partly taxed: limits by age, plan, owner or income apply. Military retirement is covered in the guide. How these labels work.

California retirement tax figures and sources

California figures used for a 2026 retirement-income estimate
RuleCalifornia figureEffectivePrimary source
Social Security and Tier 1 railroad benefitsExcluded from California taxable incomeContinuing rule; 2025 Schedule CA (540), line 6FTB Schedule CA instructions
Ordinary rates on pensions and IRA withdrawals1%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 9.3%, 10.3%, 11.3%, 12.3%2025 rate schedules, which FTB directs 2026 estimates to useFTB 2025 tax rate schedules
Where the 9.3% bracket starts$72,724 single · $145,448 joint2025 schedules X and YFTB 2025 tax rate schedules
Tax table instead of the scheduleRequired when taxable income is $100,000 or less2025 tax tableFTB 2025 tax rate schedules
Behavioral Health Services Tax1% of taxable income over $1,000,0002026 Form 540-ESFTB 2026 Form 540-ES instructions
Standard deduction for the estimate$5,706 single or separate · $11,412 joint, head of household or surviving spouse2026 Form 540-ESFTB 2026 Form 540-ES instructions
Senior exemption creditOne extra exemption credit for each spouse 65 or older, after the tax is computed2025 Form 540, line 9FTB 2025 Form 540 booklet

Worked example: a single retiree’s $60,000 pension

A single full-year California resident has a $60,000 taxable pension and no other income. The model above applies the published 2025 tax table, as FTB directs for 2026 estimates.

Federal AGI (taxable pension)$60,000
Social Security subtracted$0 (none received in this example)
Standard deduction, single−$5,706
California taxable income$54,294
Tax from the 2025 table$1,793

That $1,793 is before the personal and senior exemption credits. The joint example in the guide below shows how a couple’s taxable Social Security drops out first.

California retirement tax: exempt benefits and the FTB estimate table

Estimate California pension and IRA tax using the FTB 2026 payment method. Social Security is exempt; deductions, basis and other exclusions need approval.

California excludes U.S. Social Security and equivalent Tier 1 railroad benefits included in federal income. That exemption does not remove ordinary taxable pensions, traditional IRA withdrawals or conversions. Start with prepared federal adjusted gross income, subtract only the federally included benefits, and reconcile other California additions and subtractions. The calculator displays that benefit subtraction separately so it is not deducted twice.

For 2026 estimated payments, FTB directs taxpayers to use its 2025 tax table and schedules. The table supplies a fixed amount for each income interval through $100,000, including exactly $100,000; above that amount the applicable rate schedule supplies the ordinary tax. This tool follows that published estimate method. It does not describe the older table as final 2026 return brackets. Enter prepared whole-dollar figures and confirm the displayed resident conditions before a tax appears.

The estimate instructions allow a $5,706 standard deduction for single or separate filers, or $11,412 for joint, head-of-household and qualifying surviving filers, instead of approved itemized deductions. The illustrative deduction must be replaced if the applicable amount differs. California does not automatically adopt every federal deduction: a federal age-related or senior deduction is not simply copied into the state calculation. Approved exemption and other ordinary-tax credits are a separate entry; leaving them blank preserves the before-credit tax while the after-credit total stays unknown.

Worked resident joint example: federal AGI of $100,000 includes $25,500 of taxable Social Security. With no other modifications, California AGI is $74,500. An approved $11,412 estimate deduction leaves $63,088 taxable. The published joint table supplies $1,252 of ordinary tax before credits. At the higher-income end, Behavioral Health Services Tax is 1% of taxable income above $1 million; the tool shows it separately. AMT, trust taxes, additional distribution taxes and refundable credits require their own preparation.

Pension and IRA basis can differ between the two returns, including contributions previously taxed by California. Prepare those adjustments by account. Current FTB instructions also describe separate military-retirement and Department of Defense survivor exclusions subject to household income and payment eligibility; they are not a blanket private-pension exemption and are not automatically inferred here. Tier 2 railroad amounts also need their approved adjustment. Part-year residents and nonresidents need the applicable 540NR allocation rather than this full-year resident estimate.

Prepare these California records

Official California source. 2026 Form 540-ES method expressly uses the 2025 tax table and rate schedules; continuing pension rules checked against April 2026 Schedule CA revisions.

Calculate the federal portion separately

Use the federal retirement-tax worksheet to prepare federally included benefits and ordinary income. Its federal deduction and rates do not replace the California rules above.

Compare California with nearby states

Oregon, Nevada and Arizona border California. Hawaii borders no state and lists California among its comparison states. Run each one’s worksheet with the same household figures before deciding where a move would leave you.

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Updated / verified · Retirement Income Tax Calculator Editorial Team