Updated August 7, 2026. Quick answer: every figure Clear Money Guide holds about California, on one page, each one copied from a dataset that cites its own statute or agency. Built for reporters on deadline — take any line, follow the link for the source.
What stands out about California
These are the figures where California differs most from the rest of the country — selected by counting how many jurisdictions share each value, not by editorial preference.
- Return deadline: 21 calendar days after the tenant vacates — the only jurisdiction of the 51 we have data for
- Disclosure trigger: in the job posting (15+ employees); on applicant request and to existing employees on request (all employers) — the only jurisdiction of the 51 we have data for
- Death benefit limit: 80% of the death benefit, capped at $300,000 — the only jurisdiction of the 50 we have data for
- Formation fee: $70 — the only jurisdiction of the 48 we have data for
What dying costs here
- Small estate limit: 208850
- Small estate scope: covers_real
Source and full detail: the cost-of-dying index. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
Estate and property law status
- Authorized: limited
- Statute or act: SB 696 (2023), enacting Gov’t Code 8231 et seq. (incl. 8232-8232.4, 8231.18) and amending Civil Code 1182, 1183
- Effective date: 2023-09-30
- Conditions: TIERED operative dates, not one date. Gov’t Code 8232-8232.4 and Civil Code 1182/1183 became operative 2024-01-01. Gov’t Code 8231.18 became operative 2025-01-01. The remainder – the substantive authorization for notaries to actually perform audio-visual RON – ‘shall become operative when the Sec…
- Association name: California Life and Health Insurance Guarantee Association (CLHIGA) — note the statutory spelling is ‘Guarantee’, not ‘Guaranty’
- Death benefit limit: 80% of the death benefit, capped at $300,000
- Cash surrender limit: 80% of the value, capped at $100,000
- Annuity limit: 80% of present value, capped at $250,000
- Aggregate limit: $300,000
- Statute citation: Cal. Ins. Code § 1067.02(c) (California Life and Health Insurance Guarantee Association Act, Cal. Ins. Code §§ 1067 et seq.)
- Free look days: Not less than 10 days and not more than 30 days, with the exact period set by the insurer and stated on the policy (general individual life and annuity); not less than 30 days for a policy or annuity issued to a senior citizen
- Trigger: receipt of the policy by the owner
- Extended windows: Not less than 30 days for every individual life insurance policy and individual annuity contract initially delivered or issued for delivery to a SENIOR CITIZEN, defined by the statute as a person 60 years of age or older on the date of purchase
- Refund basis: Nonvariable individual life and nonvariable annuity (including modified guaranteed contracts): the policy is void from the beginning and all premiums paid and any policy fee are refunded within 30 days of notice of cancellation. Variable life and variable annuity: refund of the ACCOUNT VALUE plus…
- Grace period days: Not less than 60 days
- Coverage during grace: The policy remains in force during the grace period; the statute states no deduction of unpaid premium from the death benefit
- Variations: The 60-day requirement covers both individual AND group life insurance
Source and full detail: notary rules by state · guaranty association limits · life insurance free-look periods · life insurance grace periods. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
Working and earning here
- Quit deadline: 72 hours after quitting; at the time of quitting if the employee gave at least 72 hours’ notice
- Fired deadline: Immediately, at the time of discharge
- Statute citation: Cal. Labor Code 201, 202, 203
- Has law: Yes
- Disclosure trigger: in the job posting (15+ employees); on applicant request and to existing employees on request (all employers)
- Employer threshold: 15+ employees for the job-posting duty; no threshold for the on-request duties
- Covers remote roles: unclear
- Salary history ban: yes
- Local ordinances: none identified
- Wage replacement: progressive: approximately 90% of weekly wages for lower earners, 70% for higher earners, capped at $1,765 per week (2026)
- Max weeks family: 8 weeks in a 12-month period
- Max weeks medical: 52 weeks, but under a SEPARATE program (State Disability Insurance), not Paid Family Leave
- Funding: employee payroll deduction only – SDI withholding at 1.3% of wages for 2026, with no taxable wage ceiling
- Mandatory: mandatory
- Authority: statute and department guidance
- Contested: no
Source and full detail: final paycheck laws by state · pay transparency laws by state · paid family leave by state · the convenience-of-the-employer rule. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
Renting here
- Deposit cap: 1 month’s rent (furnished or unfurnished); up to 2 months for a narrow small-landlord exception
- Return deadline: 21 calendar days after the tenant vacates
- Interest required: no
- Statute citation: Cal. Civ. Code 1950.5
Source and full detail: security deposit law by state. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
Starting a business here
- Formation fee: $70
- Annual report: $20 Statement of Information
- Franchise tax: $800 annual minimum
- Publication requirement: none
- Expedite options: 24-hour (Class C) $350; same-day $750; 4-hour (Class A) $500; 24-hour preclearance $500
- Statute citation: Cal. Gov. Code 12190(b), (k); Cal. Corp. Code 17702.09; Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code 17941, 17942, 23153(d)
- Five year total: $4,130
Source and full detail: LLC cost by state. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
Tax treatment here
- Has law: Yes
- Treatment: ordinary income
- Rate: top marginal 12.30% (13.30% including the 1% Behavioral Health Services Tax)
- Preferential mechanism: none
- Tax year: 2025
- Statute citation: Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 17041 (rates); § 17043 (1% additional tax on income over $1,000,000)
Source and full detail: capital gains tax by state. Figures copied from those pages, which own them.
For journalists: how to cite this
Clear Money Guide, California Money Statistics 2026. https://clearmoneyguide.com/state-money-statistics/california/. Every figure on this page is copied from a Clear Money Guide dataset that states its own primary source and the date it was read — follow the section links for the statute or agency behind any number. Free to reuse with attribution under CC BY 4.0.
What this sheet does and does not contain
This sheet aggregates; it does not research. Every figure is copied from the owning page linked in each section, and a figure we do not own is simply absent — not estimated, not inferred from a neighbouring state. That is why sheets differ in length: this one states 52 figures, and a state where we hold less will show fewer. A short sheet means we have less, not that the state has less.
Statutory law changes. Each linked owner page carries the date its figures were read; check there before relying on anything here. See also California financial adviser statistics and all 51 state money sheets.
General information about published law and public data, not legal, tax or investment advice. No advertising appears on this page and we earn nothing from it.