Paying CA State Tax for Sole Prop

[Balletgirl88]

Hello. I wanted to ask about paying state taxes quarterly for California. I understand $400 is the minimum threshold for taxable income that requires a payment to the state. At the moment I am well under this number, yet I suspect I may be close to $700 by the end of the year. Can taxes on say the $700 be paid annually without penalty, or must they be paid quarterly? It appears the tax rate is 15% for the state? I understand the federal tax rate will be 10% and plan to pay those. The reason I ask is that I have recently filed an amended tax return and CA has yet to process it so I can create an FTB account. It will likely be after the 6/15 deadline to pay quarterly taxes by then.  Thank you.

[Mike9241]

the income taxes you would owe to Ca is based on your total taxable income there not just what the sole proprietorship earns. the same rule appies for federal purposes.

if your only income was the $700, then for federal you would owe about $100 in self-employment taxes but there would be no income taxes. with taxes that low no estimated taxes would be required.

for Ca with only $700 in income you wouldn't even need to file a return.

apparently, you are providing incomplete information.   the top Ca tax bracket is over 12% but you need over 1/2 million $$ in taxable income to be in that tax bracket. where did you come up with 15%?

[Balletgirl88]

Thank you for the help I am trying to teach myself the ins and outs of running a "sole prop."  I am currently a full time grad-student and currently living off savings for this year. My only income will indeed be relatively small from my KDP Ebook sales this year (unless something crazy happens). I have been attempting to decipher the tax brackets for the state. To me its extremely confusing. I thought I understood the tax bracket for self employment to be at 15% of what your income is above the $400 plus a payment of say 10% to the IRS for any royalties under $9,500. Apparently not.  Again, I appreciate the help!