WHY DOES MY CA REFUND GO UP WHEN I CHECK THE BOX FOR PAID FAMILY LEAVE?

[ngolfer30]

We had a baby this year ... my company offered 2 weeks of PFL in addition to additional PTO that I took right after he was born. I also signed up for California State Disability through EDD and received a 1099G from them. I'm curious why my California State Tax Refund goes way up just by using 2 weeks of PFL from my work. I don't really have any paperwork from my work showing this change besides my pay stubs, so I'd be concerned about an audit. Thanks!

[TerryA · Accepted solution]

That sounds like your employer paid for (some of) your time off. PFL paid by an employer is not excludable from Calif income - it must be paid from the Calif SDI program (that's the 1099-G you received) or the employer's voluntary plan (VPDI) to be excluded from Calif income.

Edit that TT/federal W-2 and uncheck the box for This is a PFL W-2 (or whatever it says) since it isn't qualified PFL for Calif purposes.