State Disability Insurance (SDI)
State Disability Insurance is a payroll deduction that funds short-term disability and paid family leave; California takes 1.3% of all wages in 2026.
State Disability Insurance (SDI) is an employee payroll deduction that pays for short-term benefits when you cannot work because of illness, injury or pregnancy, and in some states for paid family leave.
In California, SDI is 1.3% of all wages in 2026, according to the Employment Development Department (EDD). There has been no wage limit since 1 January 2024. It funds:
- Disability Insurance: 70% to 90% of earlier wages, from $50 to $1,765 a week, for up to 52 weeks;
- Paid Family Leave: up to 8 weeks in a 12-month period to bond with a new child, care for a seriously ill family member, or help with a military deployment.
Other states with similar deductions in 2026 include New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Hawaii (disability), and Washington, Massachusetts, Oregon, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Minnesota and Maine (paid leave).
Example: a California employee on $85,000 pays $1,105 of SDI a year (1.3%), or $42.50 from each of 26 bi-weekly paychecks.
See the SDI line for your salary in the US paycheck calculator.