California Renter's Credit Calculator
See if you qualify for the tax year 2025 nonrefundable renter's credit ($60/$120) and how much of it you can actually use.
For tax year 2025, the nonrefundable renter's credit is $60 (single / married filing separately) or $120 (married filing jointly / head of household / qualifying surviving spouse) if your California AGI is $53,994 or $107,988 or less. It's nonrefundable — it can reduce your tax to $0 but can't create a refund by itself.
Enter your filing status, income, and rental details to check eligibility and see how much credit you can use.
Renter's Credit Calculator
Your Renter's Credit
Full Credit
Usable This Year
CA Tax Before Credits
How this is calculated
The full-year credit is $60 for single filers and those married/RDP filing separately, or $120 for married/RDP filing jointly, head of household, and qualifying surviving spouse filers, as long as California AGI is $53,994 or $107,988 or less for those groups respectively — a household exactly at the limit still qualifies; $1 over does not. You also need to have rented your main home in California for at least half the year, and the rental property must not have been exempt from California property tax. Being claimable as someone else's dependent doesn't disqualify you by itself — it only disqualifies you if you also lived in that person's home for more than half the year.
Residency length matters too: you need at least 6 full months of California residency to qualify at all — fewer than that and the FTB's Qualification Record disqualifies you outright, with no partial credit. From 6 full months up to a full year, the credit is prorated: 1/12 of the full amount for each full month of residency (this exactly matches the FTB Qualification Record's own credit chart for 6–12 months).
The credit is nonrefundable, so it can only reduce your California tax liability to $0 — it can't create a refund on its own. If you leave "Your California tax before credits" blank, this tool estimates it from your AGI using California's standard deduction and tax brackets (via the CA state income tax calculator's math); that estimate ignores other credits and adjustments, so it may differ from your actual liability. For head of household, the estimate approximates using the same brackets and standard deduction as single filers, since California calculates head-of-household tax on its own separate schedule that isn't modeled here — treat that estimate as rougher than the single/MFS/MFJ/QSS estimates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who qualifies for the California renter's credit?
For tax year 2025, you may qualify if you were a California resident and rented your main home in California for at least half the year (and at least 6 full months of residency — see below), your California AGI was $53,994 or less (single or married/RDP filing separately) or $107,988 or less (married/RDP filing jointly, head of household, or qualifying surviving spouse), nobody else can claim you as a dependent — or if they can, you didn't live in their home for more than half the year — and the property you rented wasn't exempt from California property tax.
How much is the California renter's credit?
$60 if you're single or married/RDP filing separately, or $120 if you're married/RDP filing jointly, head of household, or a qualifying surviving spouse, for a full year of California residency for tax year 2025. Residents of at least 6 full months but less than a full year get 1/12 of that amount for each full month they lived in California; fewer than 6 full months of residency gets no credit.
Does the renter's credit give me a refund?
No. The renter's credit is nonrefundable — it can reduce your California tax to $0, but it can't create a refund or take your tax below $0 by itself.
What if I only lived in California part of the year?
It depends on how long. If you were a California resident for at least 6 full months but not the whole year, your credit is 1/12 of the full $60 or $120 amount for each full month of California residency — for example, 6 months of residency gets half the full-year credit. If you were a California resident for fewer than 6 full months, the FTB's Nonrefundable Renter's Credit Qualification Record disqualifies you entirely — you don't get a prorated amount, you get $0.
How do I claim the renter's credit?
Claim it on Form 540, line 46. Before you file, complete the Nonrefundable Renter's Credit Qualification Record in the Form 540 instructions booklet — you don't mail it in, but you keep it with your tax records in case the FTB asks for it later.
This tool provides an educational estimate only and is not tax advice or affiliated with the FTB. The California tax before credits shown when you leave that field blank is a simplified estimate that ignores other credits, adjustments, and (for head of household) California's separate HOH tax schedule — consult a CPA or use FTB-certified software for your actual return.