California weekly paycheck calculator (2026)
52 paychecks per year on the weekly schedule. Common in California construction, hospitality, agriculture, and union workforces. Always satisfies the Labor Code 204 semi-monthly minimum. Per-salary tables below.
Tax outcomes depend on your specific situation. This page summarises 2026 published guidance from the California FTB, IRS Pub 15-T, and California Labor Code section 204. Per-paycheck amounts assume even withholding distribution across 52 pay periods.
Weekly pay mechanics in California
A weekly pay schedule pays the worker once per week, almost always on a Friday in California payroll practice. The pay period covers 7 days, typically Sunday-to-Saturday or Monday-to-Sunday depending on the employer's payroll calendar. Across a full calendar year, this produces 52 weekly paychecks. Some calendar years actually produce 53 weekly Friday paydays due to the way 52 Fridays line up against 365 (or 366) days; payroll professionals call this a '53-pay-period year' and it requires careful accounting to avoid double-counting wages.
Weekly pay is most common in California's hospitality industry (restaurants, hotels, casinos), construction trades (commercial, residential, and union jobs), agricultural work (Central Valley farms, packing houses), and certain union workforces (including grocery, healthcare auxiliary, and skilled trades). Office-based and most salaried workers receive biweekly or semi-monthly paychecks instead. The choice between weekly, biweekly, and semi-monthly is at the employer's discretion within the Labor Code 204 framework, weekly always satisfies the legal minimum because it is more frequent than semi-monthly. The DLSE enforces Labor Code 204 violations.
Per-salary weekly net table
| Annual gross | Weekly gross | Federal/wk | CA state/wk | Net per week | ETR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $577 | $30 | $7 | $489 | 15.2% |
| $40,000 | $769 | $53 | $15 | $634 | 17.6% |
| $50,000 | $962 | $76 | $24 | $777 | 19.2% |
| $65,000 | $1,250 | $114 | $43 | $984 | 21.3% |
| $85,000 | $1,635 | $198 | $76 | $1,217 | 25.5% |
| $100,000 | $1,923 | $262 | $103 | $1,390 | 27.7% |
| $120,000 | $2,308 | $347 | $139 | $1,620 | 29.8% |
Weekly pay + California overtime: the marginal-rate effect
For California weekly-paid workers, overtime mechanics often dominate weekly take-home variability. Under California Labor Code section 510, hours worked beyond 8 in a single workday OR beyond 40 in a single workweek are paid at 1.5x the regular rate. Hours beyond 12 in a single workday are paid at 2x. Hours on the 7th consecutive day in a workweek are paid at 1.5x for the first 8 hours and 2x for hours beyond 8. So a construction worker on a $30/hr regular rate working a 50-hour week (40 + 10 hours of OT) earns $30 × 40 + $45 × 10 = $1,200 + $450 = $1,650 weekly gross, vs the $1,200 regular-week gross.
The added $450 of overtime gross is taxed at the worker's marginal rate, not at any special supplemental rate (overtime is taxed exactly like regular wages, the 22% federal supplemental and 6.6% California cash supplemental rates that apply to bonuses do NOT apply to overtime). For a worker in the 12% federal bracket (annual gross under $63,475 single), the marginal tax on $450 of overtime is approximately 12% federal + 4-6% California + 7.65% FICA + 1.1% SDI = about 26% combined. After-tax overtime: approximately $333. The California overtime page has the full per-rate detail: California overtime calculator.
Related California paycheck pages
California weekly paycheck, common questions
Weekly paycheck mechanics on this page reflect 2026 published rates from the California FTB and IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-28, plus California Labor Code section 204. Per-paycheck amounts assume even withholding distribution across 52 pay periods.