[iohead]

At the time of this writing (mid 2021), US tax breakdown for the highest income bracket in California is as follows.

# Federal

  * Long Term Capital Gains Tax         = 20%

  * Short Term Capital Gains Tax        = 37%

  * Earned Income / Ordinary Income Tax = 37%

  * Net Investment Income Tax           = 3.8%

  * Medicare Payroll Tax (W-2 Wages)    = 1.45%

  * Additional Medicare Tax (W-2 Wages) = 0.9%

# State (California has the highest rate)

  * CA State Income Tax                 = 12.3%

  * CA Mental Health Tax                = 1%

In summary, if you make "a lot" of money in California, you'd be paying combined Federal/State taxes of at least 37.1% and as much as ~55%, depending on the type of income. Deductions and credits mostly phase out at said income levels. In particular, Trump's doing away with the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction meant that now you also pay both Federal and State taxes on the same income as if the other tax (Federal or State) did not exist.

[jpmattia]

You left out FICA, but it's also worth noting that the W-2 taxes have a maximum for the year, so the income bracket of 37% does not overlap with W-2 taxes.

[iohead]

Sure, but that's why you'll see that my summary totals aren't just a summation of all the enumerated percentages. The point is to illustrate what the total tax range is at the highest income levels.