State Paid-Leave Deductions on a 2026 Paycheck: California, New York and Washington

A pay stub may show a state disability or paid family and medical leave contribution in addition to federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax. These lines fund state programs under state rules. They are not all the same tax, and a state with no individual wage income tax can still have a paid-leave premium. The correct rate, wage base and employee share depend on the state and year.

This guide uses three concrete 2026 examples. California's State Disability Insurance (SDI) contribution funds disability and paid family leave benefits under the state program. New York has an employee contribution for Paid Family Leave (PFL). Washington has a Paid Family & Medical Leave premium with a total program rate and a separate allocation between employee and employer. A worker should not apply one state's percentage to a different state's paycheck.

The line can be abbreviated SDI, CASDI, PFL, PFML, WA Paid Leave or another payroll label. Ask payroll which program the line refers to and which wages it used. A label is not proof of an error or a guarantee that the worker is eligible to receive a benefit; contribution and claim eligibility are separate questions.

Rates change. The figures below are sourced to the responsible agencies for 2026 and should be rechecked for any later year. Special employer plans, exemptions, coverage and work-location rules can also affect a particular worker. This resource helps reconcile a pay stub; it does not decide a claim for benefits.

The California Employment Development Department's rate page lists a 2026 SDI employee withholding rate of 1.3%. It also says that, effective January 1, 2024, all wages are subject to SDI contributions; the former taxable wage ceiling no longer applies. The 2026 California Employer's Guide explains that the SDI contribution supports both Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave benefits.

For a simple $3,000 pay-period wage base subject to California SDI, 1.3% is $39. If an employee has $100,000 of covered wages during 2026, a simple full-year 1.3% calculation is $1,300. Those are illustrations of the SDI line, not California income tax, and they assume all stated wages are included under the applicable rules. Confirm the exact wage base shown by payroll before challenging a number.

California state personal income-tax withholding is a different line with different calculation schedules. A paycheck can show both CA PIT and CASDI. Federal income-tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare are separate again. A traditional 401(k) contribution can affect one wage base differently from another, so do not calculate every deduction as a percentage of the same gross amount without checking state and federal rules.

If the SDI line looks wrong, record the pay date, current-period SDI wages, rate, deduction and year-to-date total. Ask payroll whether the employment is covered under the state plan or an approved alternative and what wages it included. The EDD site is the authoritative source for the rate; a blog's older chart may still show a wage cap that no longer applies.

The New York State Workers' Compensation Board's 2026 update states that employees contribute 0.432% of gross wages per pay period toward Paid Family Leave in 2026, with a maximum annual employee contribution of $411.91. The percentage is 0.00432 as a decimal. For a simple $3,000 covered-wage pay period, that is $12.96 before considering the annual cap.

Do not multiply 0.432% by every check indefinitely. Payroll must stop collecting under the annual maximum once it is reached under the applicable rules. A worker with variable pay can hit the cap at a different time from someone on a steady salary. Ask payroll for the year-to-date PFL deduction if a later check shows zero or a partial amount.

New York state income-tax withholding and any applicable local income tax are distinct from PFL. Other disability-related payroll lines can also appear under separate rules. Do not combine all lines labeled 'NY' and call them one tax rate. Ask payroll for the state program name, employee rate and maximum associated with each line.

The PFL contribution funds access to a benefit program, but the amount paid into the program on a stub is not itself the benefit that an employee will receive during a leave. Eligibility, qualifying reasons, claim documents and benefit calculations have separate rules. Use the official New York Paid Family Leave site for a claim rather than inferring eligibility from a payroll deduction alone.

Washington's 2026 Paid Family & Medical Leave employer materials state that the total program premium is 1.13% of wages for 2026, subject to the applicable wage limit. The premium is split between an employee portion and, for covered employers, an employer portion under program rules. The total 1.13% should not automatically be described as the employee deduction on a pay stub.

For $3,000 of wages, 1.13% is $33.90 of total illustrative program premium before the employee-employer allocation. The worker's actual deduction may be lower, and an employer may pay some or all of the employee share. Small-employer rules can also affect the employer portion. Ask payroll what fraction it withheld from the employee and whether it pays any additional share. The Washington paycheck insert describes the employee-facing program.

Washington's Paid Leave premium is not a Washington individual income tax. Washington does not have a broad state wage income tax, but that fact does not remove federal withholding, FICA or state payroll programs. Washington also has other programs that can appear on a pay stub with different rates and wage bases; do not use the Paid Leave figure for an unrelated line.

The program's wage base follows the relevant Social Security cap for premium assessment under Washington's reporting guidance. The 2026 Social Security wage base is $184,500. A worker with wages above the cap may see the contribution stop or change even though federal Medicare withholding continues. Verify year-to-date wages and payroll's program-specific base.

Assume an employee has a $3,000 gross pay period and that the entire amount is included in the relevant state program wage base. Under the simple California 2026 SDI rate, the illustrative employee deduction is $39. Under New York's 2026 PFL percentage, it is $12.96 before the annual cap. Washington's 1.13% total program premium would be $33.90 before splitting the cost between employer and employee, so $33.90 is not the stated Washington employee deduction.

The three numbers are not comparable measures of total state tax burden. California's SDI, New York's PFL and Washington's Paid Leave fund different programs and have different structures. State income tax, local tax, paid-leave benefits, workers' compensation and other payroll items are outside this small illustration. It would be misleading to rank the states' overall take-home pay using just these three figures.

The same gross pay may also produce different covered wage bases in a real payroll system because of benefit treatment, the worker's location, the employer's plan or special compensation. A worker employed in more than one state during the year should not add three full-state deductions to every paycheck. Confirm the state assigned to each work period and the applicable program rules.

A useful comparison table therefore has four separate columns: program, year, percentage and maximum or cap. It should also say whether the percentage is the employee share or the combined rate. The table below does that at a high level; always use the agency's current instructions for the final calculation.

The payroll deduction helps finance a program. It does not tell you the amount you would receive if you took leave. A benefit application has separate eligibility, qualifying-event, earnings and documentation rules. It can also involve a waiting period or different benefit calculation. Do not budget for a full replacement of wages based solely on the rate deducted from a paycheck.

California's EDD provides separate claim and benefit information for Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave. New York's Workers' Compensation Board publishes annual PFL contribution and benefit maximums; the two dollar figures are not interchangeable. Washington's Paid Leave program publishes its own claim and job-protection guidance. A worker considering leave should use the agency for the state that covers the employment and the employer's leave policy.

Employer-provided paid time off, short-term disability insurance and a state benefit can interact. Some workers use vacation or sick leave during part of an absence, while others receive a state benefit separately. The tax treatment of benefit payments can also differ from ordinary wage withholding. Ask the employer and program administrator how the benefits coordinate before expecting the normal net deposit to continue.

If you are returning from leave, the first check may cover only part of a pay period. Benefit premiums collected during unpaid weeks can also create an arrears deduction. Compare current gross hours or salary with the benefit lines. A new state-program rate is only one possible reason for a smaller return-to-work check.

State paid-leave coverage and premium withholding can depend on where work is performed and how the state defines covered employment. A worker who moves, works remotely or splits time between states should tell payroll the actual work locations and dates. An employer's headquarters address alone is not a reliable answer for every employee.

Do not assume that residence in a state with no income tax eliminates a paid-leave premium for work in another state. Conversely, do not assume a state program applies merely because the company has an office there. Ask the employer which state's employment and program rules it used, and check the relevant agency's coverage guidance. Keep a workday log if the pattern is mixed.

A move during the year can also affect annual caps. New York's PFL maximum is an annual employee contribution ceiling under that program; a new employer may need year-to-date information depending on the rules and payroll process. California's SDI has no taxable wage ceiling for 2026. Washington's program uses a capped wage base. These three differences make it unsafe to 'copy over' a deduction estimate from the prior job.

If payroll cannot explain the state program code, request the program name, rate, covered wages, employee share, employer share and annual maximum in writing. Then compare those details with the responsible agency's current page. A state withholding question is best resolved with state-specific facts rather than a single national paycheck calculator field.

Find the pay date, pay period and gross wages. Identify every state deduction by its exact label. For each line, record the program name, applicable year, published rate, wage base used, employee share and year-to-date total. If the line has an annual cap, check whether the amount collected so far approaches it. If the employer pays part of the premium, do not add the employer share to the amount withheld from your net pay.

Recalculate a sample period using the appropriate agency source. For a simple California SDI line, multiply covered wages by 0.013. For New York PFL, use 0.00432 and the $411.91 annual maximum. For Washington, start with the 1.13% total rate and then obtain the employee allocation; multiplying wages by 0.0113 alone does not establish the employee deduction. Rounding and special wages can create small differences.

Compare the result with a prior stub. If a line changed, ask whether the year changed, the gross wage base changed, the worker crossed an annual cap, or payroll corrected a prior period. If the explanation is unclear, send payroll the two stubs and a concise question. Keep the written answer and any corrected stub.

Finally, treat these lines as one part of the pay picture. Federal income tax, FICA, state income tax and benefits can all change net pay independently. A source-led review helps you spot a genuine rate or wage-base error without treating every unexpected deposit as proof that the paid-leave program changed.

Ask which state program each abbreviated line represents. Ask whether the printed percentage is the employee share or a combined program rate. Ask which current-period wages were included and whether the program has a year-to-date cap. Ask whether a voluntary plan, exemption or employer-paid share changes the deduction. Finally, ask when a correction will be posted if payroll agrees the amount is wrong.

Write down the answer beside the pay stub rather than relying on memory. A worker can have two similarly named deductions from different programs, especially after a move. The distinction also matters when using a calculator: entering a combined Washington premium as an employee deduction can understate take-home pay, while omitting California SDI can overstate it. A careful, state-specific reconciliation is more useful than a single guessed state-tax percentage.