California Employer Tax Information
To sign up with Square Payroll in California, you must provide your State Employer Payroll Tax Account Number (EDD Number).
Add Your EDD Number to Square Payroll
You must have an EDD number to sign up with Square Payroll. This information is required for us to make state tax payments and filings on your behalf.
Don’t Have an EDD Number?
The easiest way to get an EDD number is to enroll online with the EDD’s E-Services for Business portal. If prompted to enter a payroll agent, select “No”. You should register for your EDD number as though you do not have a payroll agent. Once you successfully enroll, you’ll receive an EDD number for your business.
Alternatively, you can call the EDD at 888-745-3886 on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m Pacific time to speak with a staff member.
Can’t Find Your EDD Number?
There are three ways to locate your EDD number:
If you have already registered for an account but have not yet filed a state payroll tax return, you can quickly retrieve the number from the EDD by calling 888-745-3886.
If you are transitioning to Square Payroll from a different payroll provider (or have filed state payroll tax returns in the past), your EDD number can be found on previously filed quarterly tax forms. You can find your EDD number on Form DE-9 or DE-9c (it’s a eight-digit number in the following format: XXX-XXXX-X).
If you cannot locate your EDD number but know your EDD e-Services login information, you can locate your EDD number by logging in to the EDD website.
Click for more information to get or locate an EIN.
If you need to make changes to your EDD number, please contact us.
Add Your California SUI Tax Rate to Square Payroll
To locate your state unemployment insurance (SUI) Tax Rate, log into the EDD website. If you are a new employer, you will receive your tax rate after you complete the online registration with the EDD.
Although Square Payroll will assist in verifying your tax rates each quarter, given that you have provided a valid Employment Development Department (EDD) number, you are responsible for ensuring that these rates are accurately reflected under Tax Info on your Dashboard:
State Unemployment Insurance (SUI) Rate
Employment Training Tax (ETT) Rate
The State Disability Insurance (SDI) rate is fixed for all employers so Square Payroll will update your SDI according to the annual rate set by CA EDD. Please contact us if you need to update your rates.
California State Tax Details
Square Payroll processes the following per the frequency below to the listed state agencies:
| Agency | Name | Frequency |
| California Employment Development Department (EDD) | Payroll Tax Deposit Coupon (DE 88) | Semi-Weekly / Monthly / Quarterly |
| Quarterly Contribution Return and Report of Wages (DE 9) | Quarterly | |
| Quarterly Contribution Return and Report of Wages Continuation (DE 9C) | Quarterly | |
| Report of New Employees (DE 34) | Per New Employee |
Review a full list of tax resources for all Square Payroll supported states. Find out how Square is supporting small business owners with payroll services in San Francisco.
CalSavers Retirement Program
CalSavers is California’s retirement savings program that enables eligible employees to automatically contribute a portion of their paycheck to a Roth IRA. Employers can sign up for CalSavers directly through the state to offer this benefit to their employees for free. CalSavers is a voluntary retirement program for employees.
All California employers are required to give employees access to CalSavers, unless they offer a company sponsored retirement plan, like a 401(k) plan through Square Payroll’s third party integration with Guideline.
If employees opt in to the CalSavers program, employers can set up a benefit deduction in their team’s payroll profile to withhold contribution amounts from their paycheck.
To do so:
Log in to your Square Dashboard, click Staff & payroll > Team, and select an employee’s name.
Click Add Benefit > Create New.
Enter a plan name as you’d like it to appear in your employee’s pay stubs. For example, CalSavers or Roth IRA. Note: The benefit name can’t be edited retroactively.
Click Select > Roth IRA as the benefit type for the CalSavers program.
Specify the details for your employee’s deductions such as the calculation method and any deductions to date. Note: Selecting Percentage of Disposable Income would calculate the contribution as a percentage of the gross pay minus taxes or other pre-tax deductions. If an employee wishes to deduct 5% of their gross pay, we recommend manually calculating the amount and inputting via Dollar Amount setting for accuracy.
If you would like the contributions to not exceed a specific dollar amount within a calendar year, click Add Limit in the Deduction Limit field and enter the limit as a dollar amount. Information about CalSavers contribution limits can be found within the CalSavers FAQ.
Click Save.
If creating a manual deduction, employers must submit each paycheck’s contribution amount to CalSavers within 7 days of taking the deduction out of the participating employee’s paycheck. Square Payroll does not complete this payment on behalf of employees or employers.
Note: The initial CalSavers mandate was expanded to include employers with at least one employee, effective January 1, 2023. Employers with 1-4 employees have until December 31, 2025 to register. If employers miss the program deadline or fail to allow employees to participate, they can face penalties of $250 per employee if they don’t comply within 90 days of receiving notice. The penalty then increases to $500 per employee if the employer fails to comply within 180 days of receiving notice.