State guide
California payroll: official rules and published software prices
California has its own minimum wage, tip rules, and Employment Development Department registration steps. This page cites official state pages for those rules, then lists vendor prices from official pricing pages. Software settings can lag the law. Confirm every rule on the agency site. This is not legal or tax advice.
Source status labels: Official vendor page, Official government page, Quote-only / unpublished. A cell marked TBD was not found on an official page on the check date. Dates use the America/Los Angeles calendar (Pacific Time). Last checked 10 November 2026.
Vendor names in this article link to official pages for verification. Affiliate tracking links are placeholders only. See the disclosure.
Official California rules used on this page
| Topic | What the official source says, as of this check | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Statewide minimum wage | Effective 1 January 2026, $16.90 per hour for all employers, unless a higher industry-specific or local wage applies. | DIR, Minimum Wage FAQs Official government page |
| Local or industry wages | Cities and counties may set higher rates. DIR points to a UC Berkeley list as a public reference and says DIR does not monitor or verify that list. Fast food and certain health care wages are flagged separately. | Same DIR FAQ |
| Tip credit against minimum wage | Not allowed. Tips cannot be credited toward the employer's minimum-wage obligation. Tips belong to the employee. | DIR minimum wage FAQ; DIR tips and gratuities FAQ Official government page |
| EDD employer registration | Register within 15 days if you hire employees and pay more than $100 in wages in a calendar quarter (business employers). Household employers have a different threshold on the same page. | EDD, Step 1: Register as an Employer Official government page |
| Paid sick leave, CalSavers, overtime daily rules, pay-stub contents | These rules exist and change. Exact current accrual caps, retirement-plan thresholds, and pay-stub items are TBD on this page pending a fresh official-source pass. Vendor blogs can lag (for example, a Gusto California article still described an older statewide minimum wage). Use DIR, EDD, and CalSavers official sites. | Marked TBD rather than copied from a possibly stale vendor article |
Official sources checked 10 November 2026: links in the table. Do not rely on a software marketing article for the current minimum wage.
Published software list prices (same as other guides)
None of the vendors below published a separate "California plan" price on the pages checked. You pay the regular national list price. What changes is whether the plan can file California taxes and whether tip-credit settings should stay off.
| Vendor and plan | Monthly list price, 1 person paid | Monthly list price, 5 people paid | California-specific notes from official or help pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gusto Simple | $55 | $79 | Pricing starts at $49 + $6/person. A Gusto California marketing page lists UI, SDI, ETT, and PIT among taxes it calculates, files, and pays. Middesk one-time registration lists California among PFML states it can include where required. Confirm current tax types on EDD, not only on a marketing page. |
| OnPay Payroll Essentials | $55 | $79 | Page lists tax filings in all 50 states, including local withholding calculations, on the base plan. California-only feature list: TBD. |
| Patriot Full Service, one state | $42 | $62 | Official example table matches these totals. Full Service includes state tax filings and deposits. California registration walkthrough: TBD. |
| Square full-service payroll | $41 | $65 | Automated state tax payments and filings listed as included. California-only notes: TBD. |
| Homebase Payroll, team of 5 or fewer | $35 | $59 | Available in all 50 states and D.C., per the payroll page. California-only notes: TBD. |
| QuickBooks Workforce Payroll | $57 | $85 | Full-service tax calculation, filing, and payment as published. California-only notes and any state tax filing fees: TBD. |
| Rippling, starting figures | Exact monthly total TBD (custom quote). Starting figures are $40 base + $8 per user on the small-business page. | Payroll in all 50 states, with no extra multi-state charge, as published. California-only notes: TBD. | |
| ADP RUN and Paychex Flex | Public list prices TBD. California-only notes TBD. | ||
Price sources, checked 10 November 2026: Gusto pricing; Gusto California payroll page (used only for the tax-type claim, not for minimum wage); Gusto registration help; OnPay costs; Patriot pricing; Square Payroll pricing; Homebase pricing; Homebase payroll; QuickBooks products; Rippling small business; Rippling pricing; ADP RUN packages; Paychex compare payroll solutions.
If you use software that offers a federal tip-credit setting, do not apply that setting to California work locations. Official DIR guidance says tips cannot be credited toward California minimum wage. See the restaurant guide for how Gusto and OnPay describe tip entries.
Still TBD on this page
- Current official paid sick leave accrual and cap, daily overtime details, and pay-stub item list (confirm on DIR).
- Current CalSavers employer coverage rules (confirm on the official CalSavers site).
- City-by-city minimum wages (use the local ordinance or a maintained official list; DIR does not verify the Berkeley inventory).
- Vendor support for specific California local payroll taxes, unless a vendor help article names the locality.
Questions
What is California's statewide minimum wage as of this check?
The California Department of Industrial Relations FAQ states that effective 1 January 2026, the statewide minimum wage is $16.90 per hour for all employers, unless a higher industry or local wage applies. Fast food and some health care workers have separate rates. Cities and counties may set higher wages. Confirm the rate for each work location on the DIR site and the local ordinance.
Can a California employer use a tip credit toward minimum wage?
No. The DIR minimum-wage FAQ and the DIR tips FAQ state that an employer may not use tips as a credit toward the minimum wage. Labor Code section 351 is cited there. Employees must receive the minimum wage plus tips. This is not legal advice.
When do I have to register with EDD?
EDD's Step 1 page says you must register as an employer within 15 days if you own a business, hire employees, and pay more than $100 in wages in a calendar quarter. Household employers have a different cash-wage threshold on that page. Confirm details on EDD's site.