Filing state taxes are going to be a lot easier in 2016 thanks to State Senator Jerry McNerney.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed McNerney’s Senate Bill 711 into law that aligns numerous state tax requirements with federal requirements for the first time in a decade.

“Filing taxes can be overly complicated and confusing, especially when state and federal tax laws treat the same issues in different or opposite ways,” said McNerney, D-Pleasanton, who is chair of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee. “With the governor’s signing of SB 711, filing taxes in California is now easier, especially for taxpayers with small businesses.”

McNerney represents the Fifth District that represents all of San Joaquin County and Alameda County’s Tri-Valley.

SB 711, which won overwhelming approval in the state Legislature, takes effect immediately.

California has not enacted a comprehensive tax conformity law, aligning state tax law with federal law, since 2015. As a result, there are now more than 1,000 substantive differences between federal and state tax law.

SB 711 is a consensus measure and implements tax policy changes that are fiscally responsible and avoid policy disputes.

The bill advances the state’s tax conformity date to Jan. 1, 2025, so it does not conform to any changes from the federal mega bill recently enacted by Congress.

The numerous tax conformity changes in SB 711 include making it easier to file taxes for those with IRA retirement plans, for first responders’ retirement and disability payments, and for divorced couples. The tax changes made by SB 711 are also expected to result in a modest increase in state revenues.

SB 711 was the product of years of painstaking work by the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee.