Most addresses in zip code 90047 carry a combined sales tax rate of 9.75 percent, but the exact figure depends on which city line your address sits behind. The zip crosses the City of Los Angeles, the City of Inglewood, and pockets of unincorporated Los Angeles County, and Inglewood addresses currently run 10.25 percent because the city layers extra local taxes on top of the countywide rate.1California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Explanation of Tax Rate Changes Before a large purchase, confirm the rate for the specific street address using the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration’s free lookup tool at maps.cdtfa.ca.gov.
Why Rates Differ Within the Zip Code
Zip code boundaries and city limits don’t line up. Two addresses a few blocks apart in 90047 can carry different rates, and a single block can straddle a jurisdictional border. City of Los Angeles addresses and unincorporated county addresses within the zip share the 9.75 percent rate. Inglewood addresses hit 10.25 percent.1California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Explanation of Tax Rate Changes
The CDTFA address lookup is the only reliable way to be certain. Guessing based on the zip alone is how businesses end up undercollecting and owing back taxes later.
What Makes Up the 9.75 Percent
California’s statewide sales tax base is 7.25 percent.2California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rate Information That base comes from several state statutes, including Revenue and Taxation Code Section 6051, which imposes the core tax on retail sales of physical goods.3California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Code – Revenue and Taxation Code 6051 Additional fractions come from companion sections such as 6051.3.4California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Revenue and Taxation Code 6051.3 – Imposition and Rate of Additional Sales Tax Of that 7.25, one percent is authorized by the Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law and funds local government operations.
The remaining 2.5 percent on a 9.75 percent address comes from voter-approved district taxes stacked across Los Angeles County:
- Measure R, a half-cent transit tax approved by LA County voters in 2008 for new transit lines, highway improvements, and local transportation projects.5LA Metro. Measure R
- Measure M, another half-cent transit tax approved in 2016 to expand the county’s rail and bus network. When Measure R expires in 2039, Measure M steps up to a full cent to replace it.6Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Ordinance 16-01 Measure M Los Angeles County Traffic Improvement Plan
- Measure A, a half-cent countywide tax approved in November 2024 that replaced the earlier quarter-cent Measure H homelessness tax. Net effect: a quarter-cent increase across LA County.1California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Explanation of Tax Rate Changes
California caps the total of all district taxes in any county at 2 percent, and district taxes are imposed in increments of one-eighth of one percent.7California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code 7251.18California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code 7261 Inglewood sits higher than that county floor because its voters have approved city-level transaction taxes on top.
Which Rate Applies to Your Sale
The rate that applies to a purchase is determined by where the sale happens, not where the buyer lives. For a retailer with one California location, every sale occurs at that location for tax purposes. For retailers with multiple locations, the sale occurs where the main negotiations take place. When title passes to the buyer doesn’t matter.
So if you live at a 9.75 percent address in 90047 and shop at a store inside Inglewood city limits, you’ll pay 10.25 percent at the register. Walking the goods home doesn’t change what you owe.
Buying a Vehicle
Vehicles work differently. The tax rate on a car purchase is based on where you register the vehicle, not where the dealership sits.9California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tax Guide for Purchasers of Vehicles Register at a 90047 address inside the City of Los Angeles and you’ll pay 9.75 percent even if the dealership is in a higher-rate jurisdiction. The CDTFA address lookup covers registration addresses too.
When You Owe Use Tax Instead
Buying from an out-of-state retailer that doesn’t collect California tax doesn’t make the purchase tax-free. Revenue and Taxation Code Section 6201 imposes a “use tax” on the storage or use of goods bought when sales tax wasn’t collected at the time of sale.10California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Code Revenue and Taxation Code 6201 – Imposition and Rate of Use Tax The rate matches the sales tax rate for your address, so a 90047 resident inside the City of Los Angeles owes 9.75 percent on untaxed out-of-state purchases.
Individuals usually report use tax on their California income tax return (Form 540, Line 91). You can calculate the exact amount from your receipts or use the CDTFA’s lookup table, which estimates use tax from your adjusted gross income. Large online retailers typically already collect California tax because the state requires remote sellers with more than $500,000 in annual U.S. sales to register and collect. Smaller sellers and private-party out-of-state purchases are where the obligation lands on you.
What’s Not Taxed
California’s sales tax applies to “tangible personal property,” defined by statute as anything you can see, weigh, measure, feel, or touch.11California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Revenue and Taxation Code 6016 – Tangible Personal Property That covers clothing, electronics, furniture, appliances, prepared meals, and most physical goods.
Several categories are exempt. Groceries for home consumption, such as unprepared produce, bread, and dairy, aren’t taxed. Prescription medications dispensed by a registered pharmacist are exempt.12California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Drug Stores Over-the-counter drugs are taxable. Professional services like legal, accounting, or medical work are generally outside sales tax because no physical product changes hands, though the line gets blurry when a service produces a physical item.
Casual sales of your own used belongings generally fall under the “occasional sale” exemption in Revenue and Taxation Code Section 6006.5.13California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Sales and Use Tax Law – Section 6006.5 That exemption disappears once selling becomes a pattern: more than two garage sales in a 12-month period, or three or more taxable sales in a year, and you need a seller’s permit and must collect tax at the 90047 rate that applies to your address.14California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Temporary Sellers