California Sales Tax: 7.25% Base, Up to 11.75% Locally

California has one statewide base rate and a patchwork of district taxes on top of it, so the rate you pay depends on the address of the sale. Los Angeles County moved up on 1 October 2026, which is the most recent change the state lists.

This guide sets out how the 7.25% base is built, how district taxes add to it, what CDTFA says about food and prescription medicine, and how use tax works for online and out-of-state purchases. It uses the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) pages read on 3 November 2026. The dollar comparisons are our own arithmetic from CDTFA's rate table.

The Statewide Base Rate and What It Is Made Of

CDTFA says the statewide tax rate is 7.25%. Its detailed description lists the components of that rate, and the five state lines add to 6.00% (our sum) with a further 1.25% local share, for the 7.25% total.

CDTFA also says the sales and use tax rate in a specific California location has three parts: the state tax rate, the local tax rate and any district tax rate that may be in effect. The 7.25% is the base only; in most areas district taxes sit on top of it.

District Taxes and Your Combined Rate

CDTFA says that in most areas of California, local jurisdictions have added district taxes that increase the tax owed by a seller, that the district rates range from 0.10% to 2.00%, and that some areas have more than one district tax in effect. Counties, cities and towns may impose them. District taxes are voter-approved, and CDTFA notes that voters approve new or extended district taxes each election.

CDTFA publishes a rate table by city and county (effective 1 October 2026) and a lookup by address. Its table warns that unincorporated communities are not listed and that, where a location is outside an incorporated city, the county unincorporated-area rate or the county rate applies. CDTFA also says some communities within a county or city may not be listed, so the address lookup, not the table, is the safe way to find your rate.

Reading CDTFA's October 2026 table ourselves, the lowest rate listed is 7.250% (for example Alpine County) and the highest is 11.750% (Lancaster and Palmdale, both in Los Angeles County). Other lines we checked include San Diego 7.750%, Fresno 8.350%, San Francisco 8.625%, Sacramento 8.750%, Los Angeles 10.250% and Santa Monica 11.250%. We did not copy the full table; these are readings of the table as it stood on 3 November 2026 and CDTFA warns that rates may be outdated once a newer table is posted.

What Changed on 1 October 2026

CDTFA's explanation of tax rate changes lists the rate changes that became operative on 1 October 2026. The biggest is Los Angeles County, where Measure ER, approved by voters in the 2 June 2026 election, added a new 0.500 percent countywide tax, moving the county rate from 9.750% to 10.250%. CDTFA's page shows the same 0.500 percent step for the cities in Los Angeles County that it lists, for example Alhambra and Arcadia from 10.500% to 11.000%.

Outside Los Angeles County, CDTFA lists two city changes for the same date: Perris in Riverside County rose from 7.750% to 8.750% (Measure B, a new 1.000 percent city tax) and Red Bluff in Tehama County rose from 7.500% to 8.500% (Measure S, a new 1.000 percent city tax). Earlier changes operative on 1 April 2026 and 1 January 2026 are listed on the same CDTFA page. We have not read a list of changes operative on 1 January 2027, so check CDTFA before relying on the table after that date. Separately from rates, CDTFA has published notice L-1036, titled "Sales and Use Tax Applies to Digital Products Beginning January 1, 2027" (next-year change, not yet in effect); we have not read its detail here, so check CDTFA for which digital products and sellers it covers.

Worked Example: Same $1,000 Purchase in Seven Places (Our Arithmetic)

This table is our own calculation from rates in CDTFA's table effective 1 October 2026. It assumes an ordinary taxable purchase of $1,000, no exemption and no cap.

The same $1,000 carries $72.50 of tax at the 7.25% base and $117.50 in Lancaster, a difference of $45.00 that comes entirely from district taxes. In Los Angeles County the 1 October 2026 step of 0.500% adds $5.00 on a $1,000 purchase (from $97.50 to $102.50 at the county rate). Always confirm the rate for the actual delivery or sale address.

What Is Exempt: Food and Prescription Medicine

CDTFA's Publication 61 (tax expenditures) says sales of food for human consumption are generally exempt from tax unless sold in a heated condition (except hot bakery items or hot beverages, such as coffee, sold for a separate price), served as meals, consumed at or on the seller's facilities, ordinarily sold for consumption on or near the seller's parking facility, or sold for consumption where there is an admission charge. It adds that the exemption for food products includes candy and confectionery, snack foods and bottled water.

Publication 61 also says sales of medicines are exempt from sales and use taxes when, among other cases, they are prescribed for treatment of human beings and dispensed by a registered pharmacist. It lists wheelchairs, crutches, canes, quad canes, white canes for the legally blind and walkers, bought under the direction of a physician, as exempt as well.

Two cautions. Publication 61 describes the law for fiscal year 2023-24, and CDTFA states that laws or regulations may have changed since then and that the law prevails over the publication (revision December 2025). And we have not read CDTFA's position on clothing, services or over-the-counter medicine here, so we make no claim about them; check CDTFA before assuming an item is taxable or exempt.

Use Tax on Online and Out-of-State Purchases

CDTFA says California's sales tax generally applies to the sale of merchandise, including vehicles, in the state, and that use tax applies to the use, storage or other consumption of those same kinds of items in the state. Generally, if sales tax would apply when you buy physical merchandise in California, use tax applies when you make a similar purchase without tax from a business located outside the state, and the buyer must pay use tax separately. Items that are exempt from sales tax are exempt from use tax as well. CDTFA says use tax also generally applies to foreign purchases brought into California for storage, use or other consumption.

For individuals, CDTFA says the easiest way to report and pay is on the California state income tax return, using the worksheet in its instructions; you can instead pay CDTFA directly through its online services. Use tax on vehicles, vessels and aircraft cannot be reported on the income tax return (see our California vehicle sales tax guide).

Businesses with a seller's permit report use tax on their sales and use tax return. CDTFA also describes a "qualified purchaser" program: from 1 January 2024 through 31 December 2028 the test is purchases subject to use tax of more than $10,000 per calendar year (excluding vehicles, vessels and aircraft) where the tax has not been paid to a retailer, reverting on 1 January 2029 to $100,000 of gross receipts; qualified purchasers file for the previous calendar year by 15 April. We have not read the use tax rate rule here; use CDTFA's rate lookup for the address where the item is used.

Official Sources

• CDTFA: California City & County Sales & Use Tax Rate Information
• CDTFA: City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates (effective October 1, 2026)
• CDTFA: Detailed Description of the Sales & Use Tax Rate
• CDTFA: Explanation of Tax Rate Changes
• CDTFA: Publication 61, Tax Expenditures: Necessities of Life
• CDTFA: California Use Tax
• CDTFA: Sales & Use Tax in California