If the filer has not lived in California for the entire year, then either a short or long Form 540 NR should be filed.



Short Form 540NR. The filer should use this if he or she is filing as any status but married/registered domestic partner filing separately, if he or she has between 0 and 5 dependents, if total income is $100,000 or less, if income comes from certain sources like wages, taxable interest, unemployment compensation or paid family leave, if there are no itemized deductions, if there are only certain adjustments to the filer's income (e.g. military pay adjustments) and if tax credits come from certain sources like dependents.

Long Form 540NR. The filer should this for all other scenarios not covered in the short form (e.g. income level higher than $100,000, if itemized deductions will be part of the return, etc.);
, The filer can file as one of 5 statuses: single, married/registered domestic partner filing jointly, married/registered domestic partner filing singly, head of household or qualifying widow(er). Depending on filing status, the forms 540 2EZ, 540A or 540 should be utilized.



Form 540 2EZ can be used for all filing statuses except married/registered domestic partner filing singly and cannot be used if the filer can be claimed as a dependent by another filer and if certain income levels are met depending on filing status (e.g. if filing single, filer income has to be less than or equal to $12,242).

Forms 540 and 540A are for any filing status.
 The Form 540 2EZ is only for filers earning $100,000 or less if filing single or head of household and $200,000 or less if married/registered domestic partner filing jointly or qualifying widow(er). The 540 and 540A are for filers earning any amount of income.



The Form 540 2EZ is for filers claiming between 0 and 3 dependents and the 540 and 540A are for filers claiming any number of dependents.



The Form 540 2EZ is for filers that only claim income from sources like wages, taxable scholarship and fellowship grants, as well as other sources. The Form 540A also limits the sources of income the filer can have, but the Form 540 does not.



The Form 540 2EZ is for filers with no adjustments. The Form 540A limits adjustments to what is adjusted to the filer's income on a federal level. The Form 540 allows all adjustments.



The Form 540 2EZ does not allow the filer to itemize deductions. The Form 540A puts limits on itemized deductions; as with adjustments to income, the itemized deductions must match federal itemized deductions. The Form 540 does not have any limitations with regard to itemized deductions.



The Form 540 2EZ allows the filer only to claim withholding as payment, but the Forms 540A and 540 allow for such payments as disability insurance and extension vouchers.



Again, the Form 540 2EZ allows for only certain tax credits to be claimed, as does the Form 540A. The Form 540 allows for all tax credits.



The Form 540 2EZ allows for tax to be paid that is listed on the 540 2EZ tax table, whereas the Forms 540A and 540 allow for other taxes to be paid such as Mental Health Services Tax.
 Once the filer know which tax form to use, the taxable income must be computed using the form and then entered into the online tax calculator, along with filing status, to calculate California state income tax.
Answer the residency question.
Determine filer's status.
Calculate income.
Decide on dependents.
Determine sources of income.
Determine adjustments to income.
Figure out itemized deductions.
Determine what the filer has already paid.
Figure out tax credits.
Determine whether other taxes need to be paid.
Compute taxable income.
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