California taxes married couples filing jointly across nine brackets, with rates running from 1% to 12.3%. For the 2025 tax year, which most couples will file in 2026, the 1% rate covers the first $22,158 of taxable income and the 12.3% rate kicks in above $1,485,906. A separate 1% Mental Health Services surcharge on income over $1 million can push the top effective rate to 13.3%.
2025 Brackets for Married Filing Jointly
These are the rates the Franchise Tax Board publishes as Schedule Y for joint filers and qualifying surviving spouses:
- 1% on taxable income from $0 to $22,158
- 2% from $22,158 to $52,528
- 4% from $52,528 to $82,904
- 6% from $82,904 to $115,084
- 8% from $115,084 to $145,448
- 9.3% from $145,448 to $742,958
- 10.3% from $742,958 to $891,542
- 11.3% from $891,542 to $1,485,906
- 12.3% on taxable income above $1,485,906
Every threshold is exactly double the corresponding single-filer threshold, so the bracket structure itself imposes no marriage penalty on joint filers.1Franchise Tax Board. 2025 California Tax Rate Schedules
The 2026 tax year brackets have not yet been released. Those thresholds will be adjusted for inflation and posted by the FTB once finalized.
How the Rates Actually Apply to Your Income
California uses marginal rates, not a flat percentage. Your combined taxable income fills the brackets in order: the first dollars are taxed at 1%, the next tier at 2%, and so on. Only the income that spills into a higher bracket gets that higher rate. Earning one extra dollar past a threshold does not reprice everything below it.
That is why your effective rate is always lower than your top marginal rate. Take a couple with $150,000 in taxable income. They owe $6,403.94 on the first $145,448 (the cumulative tax through the first five brackets), then 9.3% on the remaining $4,552. The total comes to roughly $6,827, an effective rate of about 4.6% even though their top marginal rate is 9.3%.1Franchise Tax Board. 2025 California Tax Rate Schedules
The 1% Surcharge Above $1 Million
Revenue and Taxation Code Section 17043 adds a 1% tax on taxable income above $1 million. This is the Mental Health Services Act surcharge, created by a voter-approved initiative in 2004 and dedicated to community mental health programs. Stacked on the 12.3% top bracket, it produces the 13.3% top rate, the highest state income tax rate in the country.2California Legislative Information. California Code RTC 17043
Here is the part that catches high-earning couples off guard. The $1 million threshold does not double for joint filers. Section 17043 explicitly excludes the joint-return provisions that normally double bracket thresholds, so the surcharge hits a married couple at the same $1 million of combined taxable income that triggers it for a single filer. Two spouses each earning $600,000 will owe the extra 1% on $200,000 of their combined income.2California Legislative Information. California Code RTC 17043
Standard Deduction Before the Brackets Apply
The brackets apply to taxable income, not gross income. For 2025, the California standard deduction for married couples filing jointly is $11,412 (single filers get $5,706).3Franchise Tax Board. Standard Deduction
That is much smaller than the federal standard deduction, which surprises couples who expect similar treatment on their state return. If you have significant mortgage interest, property taxes, or other qualifying expenses, itemizing on the California return may save more than the standard deduction even if you took the standard deduction federally. The two returns are independent on this choice: you can itemize on one and take the standard deduction on the other.
2024 Brackets for Amended or Late Returns
If you are filing a late or amended 2024 return, the thresholds are lower. For married couples filing jointly:
- 1% from $0 to $21,512
- 2% from $21,512 to $50,998
- 4% from $50,998 to $80,490
- 6% from $80,490 to $111,732
- 8% from $111,732 to $141,212
- 9.3% from $141,212 to $721,318
- 10.3% from $721,318 to $865,574
- 11.3% from $865,574 to $1,442,628
- 12.3% above $1,442,628
Every threshold moved up by roughly 3% between 2024 and 2025, so slightly less income is taxed at higher rates on the newer return.4Franchise Tax Board. 2024 California Tax Rate Schedules
Do You Have to File in the First Place?
Not every couple hits the filing requirement. For 2025, married couples filing jointly with both spouses under 65 must file if California gross income exceeds $45,887 with no dependents, $61,720 with one dependent, or $73,595 with two or more dependents. Thresholds rise when one or both spouses are 65 or older.5Franchise Tax Board. Residents
California also runs a separate adjusted gross income test with lower thresholds. For couples under 65 with no dependents, the AGI threshold is $36,711. You must file if you exceed either the gross income test or the AGI test for your household.5Franchise Tax Board. Residents
Even below those thresholds, file a return if California tax was withheld from your pay or if you qualify for a refundable credit. Skipping the return leaves that money with the state.