Key Takeaways
- It is worth $60 or $120, depending on your filing status. Not life-changing, but it is yours.
- You need to have rented in California at least half the year and be under the income limit.
- “Nonrefundable” is the catch. It only lowers tax you owe. If you owe nothing, you get nothing.
- Roommates can each claim it. One credit per qualifying person, not per apartment.
- Forgot past years? You can amend. California generally allows several years back.
- Bigger help exists. If $60 matters to your budget, rental assistance programs are worth checking.
What this guide covers
There is a tax credit for California renters that a lot of people who qualify have never heard of. It is not big money. But it is money, it takes about a minute to claim, and if you missed it in past years you may be able to get those back too.
Here is the whole thing, without the tax jargon.
What the California Renters Credit Is
The amounts, plainly
It is called the Nonrefundable Renter’s Credit, and it goes on your California state tax return. Not your federal return.
| Your filing status | Credit amount |
|---|---|
| Single | $60 |
| Married or RDP filing separately | $60 |
| Married or RDP filing jointly | $120 |
| Head of household | $120 |
| Qualifying surviving spouse | $120 |
What nonrefundable actually means, with an example
This is the part that confuses everyone, so let’s do it with numbers.
Nonrefundable means the credit can reduce the California tax you owe, but it cannot create a refund on its own. It can take your tax bill down to zero. It cannot take it below zero.
Three quick examples
You owe $400 in California tax. The $60 credit reduces it to $340. You benefit by the full $60.
You owe $30 in California tax. The credit wipes out the $30. The other $30 of the credit is simply lost. You benefit by $30.
You owe $0 in California tax. There is nothing to reduce, so the credit does nothing for you this year. This is why some renters claim it and see no change at all.
If you already have withholding coming back as a refund, the credit can still increase that refund, because it lowers your total tax first. The limit is your tax, not your refund.
Do You Qualify? The Checklist
You need all of these to be true.
The income limits
Your California adjusted gross income must be at or below the limit for your filing status. As published by the Franchise Tax Board at the time of writing:
- $53,994 or less if you are single or married/RDP filing separately
- $107,987 or less if you are married/RDP filing jointly, head of household, or a qualifying surviving spouse
These thresholds are adjusted each year for inflation, so check the current figures on the FTB website for the tax year you are filing.
The half-year rent test and principal residence
You must have paid rent for at least half the year on a property in California that was your main home. Not a vacation place, not a second home.
Half the year means more than six months in total. It does not have to be the same address, so if you moved within California during the year, add the months together.
The property tax exemption tests
Two related conditions:
- The place you rented must not have been exempt from California property tax. Most normal rentals are fine. Some government-owned and certain nonprofit properties are exempt, and renting one of those disqualifies you.
- You (or your spouse) must not have claimed the homeowner’s property tax exemption during the same period.
The dependent rule
You cannot be claimed as a dependent by someone else, unless you meet the specific exception the FTB allows. The rule is aimed at students and adult children whose parents claim them.
You also have to be a California resident for the required part of the year.
The Edge Cases People Ask About
Roommates: can you each claim it?
Yes. The credit belongs to the person, not the apartment. If you and two roommates each pay rent, each file your own California return, and each meet the tests, you can each claim your own credit.
The only issue arises if one person pays all the rent and the others reimburse them informally. In that case, whoever is actually paying rent for their home is the one meeting the test.
Married couples and filing status
Filing jointly gets you the $120 amount, once, on the joint return. Not $120 each.
Filing separately gets each of you the $60 amount, if you both qualify on your own. There are extra rules where spouses lived apart or where one owned a home, so check the FTB instructions if that is your situation.
Students and adult children claimed as dependents
If your parents claim you as a dependent, you generally cannot take the credit, subject to the FTB’s exception.
If you are a student who is not claimed as a dependent, pays rent on a California home for more than six months, and is under the income limit, you likely qualify. Plenty of students in that position never claim it. Worth checking, and worth checking for past years too.
How to Claim It
On Form 540
If you are filling out a California return by hand, the credit has its own line on Form 540 and Form 540 2EZ. You confirm you meet the conditions and enter the amount.
There is no separate application and no receipts to send in. That said, keep your lease and rent records with your tax paperwork in case the FTB ever asks.
In tax software
Most software handles this with a question rather than a form. TurboTax, FreeTaxUSA and others usually ask something like “did you pay rent in California?” during the state section.
Two things to watch:
- Answer the renting question, even if it looks unrelated to your refund. Skipping it is the most common reason people miss the credit.
- Check it appeared. Look at the credits section of your finished California return before filing and confirm the $60 or $120 is there.
Forgot to Claim It? Getting Missed Years Back
Amending a California return
If you qualified in a past year and did not claim it, you can generally file an amended California return to fix that.
California normally allows you to claim a refund within four years of the original due date of the return, or one year from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later. So several past years are usually still open.
Be realistic about whether it is worth it. If you owed California tax in those years, amending could recover $60 or $120 per year, and doing three years at once may be worth the hour. If you owed no California tax in those years, the nonrefundable rule means there was nothing to reduce and amending will not produce money.
Check your old returns first: look at the total tax line. If it is zero, skip it.
Why It Is Only $60
Fair question. The amounts have not changed in a very long time, while California rents have gone up enormously. A credit set decades ago simply has not kept pace.
Lawmakers have introduced bills to increase it and to make it refundable, which would matter far more since refundable credits pay out even when you owe no tax. Some proposals have advanced, none has changed the core amounts so far.
So claim what exists, and do not count on more. If your budget genuinely needs help, the programs below are where the meaningful money is.
If $60 matters, this matters more
Rental assistance programs can cover hundreds or thousands in rent, not dollars. Free check, about two minutes.
Check My Eligibility FreeBigger Help for California Renters
Rental assistance programs and how to check
The renters credit is a small tax break. If rent itself is the problem, there is much larger help out there, and most of it pays your landlord directly.
- County and city emergency rent programs, which can cover back rent
- Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, which cap your share of rent at a portion of your income
- Income-restricted apartments, where rent is set by income tier
- Utility assistance, which frees up money for rent
- Deposit and moving cost help when you are relocating
Dial 211 for local referrals anywhere in California. A free eligibility check against 100+ California rental assistance programs takes about two minutes, costs nothing, and a real person calls you within 24 hours.
Also worth knowing: California tenant rights, and if your rent just jumped, California rent control.
California Renters Credit FAQ
How much is the California renters credit?
$60 if you are single or married/RDP filing separately, and $120 if you are married/RDP filing jointly, head of household, or a qualifying surviving spouse. The amounts have been the same for many years. It is a nonrefundable credit, which means it reduces California tax you owe but cannot pay out on its own if you owe nothing.
What are the income limits this year?
At the time of writing, the Franchise Tax Board lists a California adjusted gross income limit of $53,994 or less for single filers and married/RDP filing separately, and $107,987 or less for married/RDP filing jointly, head of household, and qualifying surviving spouse. These thresholds are adjusted annually for inflation, so confirm the figures for your specific tax year on the FTB website before relying on them.
Can I claim it if I live with roommates?
Yes. The credit is per qualifying person, not per household or per apartment. If each of you pays rent, files your own California return, and meets the income and residency tests, you can each claim your own credit. The one thing to be careful about is where a single person pays all the rent and others reimburse them privately, since the test looks at who is actually paying rent for their home.
Can I still claim it for last year?
Usually yes. California generally allows a refund claim within four years of the original due date of the return, or one year from when you paid the tax, whichever is later. So you can often amend several past years. Before you bother, check the total tax line on those old returns. Because the credit is nonrefundable, amending only helps if you actually owed California tax that year.
Why did I not get money back from it?
Almost certainly because it is nonrefundable and you owed little or no California tax. The credit reduces your tax bill, and once that bill hits zero the rest of the credit disappears rather than being paid out. It is not an error, and it is not something you did wrong. It is simply how this particular credit is built, and it is the main reason lawmakers keep proposing to make it refundable.