California Employer Payroll — DE 9, DE 9C, SDI, SUI & CalSavers

Verify the employer's EDD account, SUI experience rate (Form DE 2088), and employee classification. Confirm AB5 / ABC-test status for any workers paid on a 1099 basis. Establish the correct deposit schedule (next-day, semi-weekly, monthly, or quarterly) based on prior-period payroll size. Ensure every employee has a current Form DE 4 on file — mandatory since the federal W-4 redesign eliminated personal allowances.

Build or reconcile the payroll register for the quarter. Identify subject wages for each of the four EDD tax buckets: PIT (unlimited), SDI/PFL at 1.1% (no wage cap since SB 951 effective 2024), SUI at the employer's experience rate on the first $7,000 per employee, and ETT at 0.1% on the first $7,000. Flag any HSA contributions that must be added back to California wages (California does not conform to the federal HSA exclusion). Identify supplemental wage events (RSU vests, bonuses, commissions) subject to the 10.23% supplemental withholding rate and flag high earners over $360,659 for under-withholding risk.

Determine and execute required EDD payroll tax deposits during the quarter using DE 88 deposit coupons or EDD e-Services for Business. California deposit frequency mirrors federal rules: quarterly depositors remit by the last day of the month following the quarter; monthly depositors by the 15th of the following month; and next-day / semi-weekly depositors follow the federal 941 calendar. Deposits must cover PIT withheld plus SDI withheld. SUI and ETT are deposited quarterly with the DE 9.

Prepare Form DE 9 (Quarterly Contribution Return and Report of Wages) summarizing total subject wages, UI taxable wages, SDI wages, PIT withheld, SDI withheld, SUI due, and ETT due, then reconcile to DE 88 deposits made. Prepare the companion Form DE 9C (Continuation sheet) listing each employee's name, SSN, quarterly subject wages, and SDI wages. The DE 9 is due on the last day of the month following the close of each calendar quarter (April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31).

Confirm compliance with the CalSavers Retirement Savings Program mandate (Government Code §100000 et seq.) — employers with 5+ California employees that do not sponsor a qualified retirement plan must register and facilitate employee enrollment. Also confirm that all new hires this quarter were reported to the California New Employee Registry within 20 days of hire (or within 20 days of first wages paid for re-hires) using Form DE 34. Penalties for CalSavers non-compliance escalate to $750 per employee per year; new-hire reporting penalties are $24 per failure.

After Q4, reconcile all four quarters of DE 9 / DE 9C filings to produce accurate Form W-2 Box 16 (California wages) and Box 17 (California income tax withheld) figures. Box 14 must reflect CA SDI withheld at 1.1% of uncapped wages. Verify the HSA add-back is reflected in Box 16 exceeding Box 1 by the employer HSA contribution amount. Identify any employees who were under-withheld for California (common for high earners with equity comp) and notify them to consider a DE 4 adjustment or estimated payments on Form 540-ES. File annual Form DE 7 (Annual Reconciliation Statement) with EDD by February 1.