The Bradley-Burns California sales tax is a 1.25% local tax built into the state’s 7.25% base sales tax rate, with the money flowing to the city or county where each sale takes place. Every county and incorporated city in California imposes it at the same rate, so the Bradley-Burns piece itself never varies. What varies is everything stacked around it.
What the 1.25% Pays For
The 1.25% splits two ways. One full percentage point goes to the city or county where the sale happens, to spend on general local priorities. The remaining 0.25% is earmarked for county transportation funds that pay for local transit and road projects.1California State Auditor. The Bradley-Burns Tax and Local Transportation Funds
Because the rate is uniform statewide, Bradley-Burns is rarely the number a buyer or seller is actually looking at. It’s a component of the base rate, collected together with the state’s share and any local district taxes on a single return.
Why Your Total Sales Tax Rate Is Usually Higher Than 7.25%
On top of the 7.25% statewide base (which already contains Bradley-Burns), local jurisdictions can add district taxes under the Transactions and Use Tax Law. Those district rates run from 0.10% to 2.00%, and multiple districts can stack in the same area.2California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates A sale in one city might be taxed at the 7.25% floor; a sale a few miles away can run above 10%.
Zip codes aren’t reliable for figuring out which district taxes apply, because district boundaries don’t line up with postal boundaries. The CDTFA’s address-level lookup at maps.cdtfa.ca.gov returns the correct combined rate for a specific street address, and the agency warns against relying on mailing addresses or zip codes alone.3California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Know Your Sales and Use Tax Rate
Which City or County Gets the 1%
The 1% discretionary share goes to the local government where the “place of sale” is. For a business operating from a single California location, every sale is treated as occurring at that location.4California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Code of Regulations Title 18, Article 19 – Regulation 1802
With multiple California locations, the sale is credited to the location that participates in it. If more than one location is involved, it goes to the place where the principal negotiations occur. Forwarding an order elsewhere for credit approval, shipping, or billing does not shift the allocation.4California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Code of Regulations Title 18, Article 19 – Regulation 1802
This matters because misallocations cause revenue disputes between cities and counties, and the CDTFA corrects them. If you operate from more than one site, your point-of-sale and accounting systems need to tag each transaction to the right location.
Who Has to Collect It
In-State Sellers
Any business making retail sales of tangible personal property in California must get a seller’s permit from the CDTFA before its first sale. There is no fee for the permit, but the CDTFA may require a security deposit based on business type and expected sales volume. The application asks for your Social Security number, government ID, bank information, supplier details, and projected monthly sales; partners, corporate officers, and LLC managers provide their own identifying information too.5California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Get a Sellers Permit
If you’re selling for fewer than 90 days, like at a seasonal market or craft fair, you can apply for a temporary seller’s permit instead.5California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Get a Sellers Permit Returns are filed on CDTFA-401-A, which covers state, local, and district sales and use taxes together. The CDTFA sets your filing frequency (monthly, quarterly, or annually) based on your tax liability.
Out-of-State Sellers
You don’t have to be based in California to owe the tax. Any retailer with substantial nexus in the state must register, collect, and remit. Nexus can come from physical presence (a warehouse, office, or sales reps in the state) or from economic activity alone: total combined sales of tangible goods delivered into California above $500,000 in the current or prior calendar year.6California Legislative Information. California Code RTC 6203 – Collection by Retailer The 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair cleared the way for economic nexus rules of this kind.7Supreme Court of the United States. South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.
Marketplace Facilitators
Since October 1, 2019, California’s marketplace facilitator law (AB 147) has required platforms such as Amazon, eBay, and Etsy to collect and remit sales tax for third-party sellers on sales facilitated through the marketplace.8California Legislative Information. AB 147 – Use Taxes, Collection, Retailer One important wrinkle: sales made through a facilitator still count toward your own $500,000 economic nexus threshold. Even if the platform handles collection on those orders, you may still need to register independently once your total California sales cross the line.
Use Tax When No One Collected
When a California resident buys taxable goods from an out-of-state retailer that doesn’t collect sales tax, the buyer owes use tax at the same combined rate. Anyone who stores, uses, or consumes taxable goods in California that were bought without tax is liable for use tax on that purchase.9California Legislative Information. California Code RTC 6202 – Liability for Tax Individuals can report and pay it as a line item on their California income tax return. Businesses report it on their regular sales and use tax returns.
What’s Taxable and What’s Exempt
Bradley-Burns applies to retail sales of tangible personal property: physical items that can be seen, weighed, measured, or touched. Electronics, furniture, clothing, and building materials are all in. Services are generally not taxable, though the line blurs when a service is bundled with a physical product; mandatory installation sold with equipment, for example, can be taxable because it’s tied to the sale of goods.
Groceries, Prescriptions, and Medical Devices
Food products sold for home consumption are exempt. That covers staples like fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, bread, and canned goods.10California Legislative Information. California Code RTC 6359 – Food Products The exemption does not reach hot prepared foods, food sold for on-premises consumption, vending machine food, or alcoholic and carbonated beverages.
Prescription medicines are exempt when prescribed by an authorized provider and dispensed by a registered pharmacist, or when furnished directly by a licensed physician, dentist, or podiatrist to their own patient. Certain prosthetic devices worn on or in the body also qualify, but hearing aids, ophthalmic devices, and dental prosthetics are specifically excluded and remain taxable.11California Legislative Information. California Code RTC 6369 – Prescription Medicines
Resale Certificates
Every sale of tangible personal property is presumed taxable unless the seller can prove otherwise. The usual proof is a resale certificate from the buyer stating the goods are being purchased for resale.12California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Revenue and Taxation Code 6091 – Presumption of Taxability, Resale Certificate Regulation 1668 sets what a valid certificate must contain, including the buyer’s signature, name and address, seller’s permit number (or an explanation if the buyer doesn’t need one), the exact words “for resale,” and a description of the goods. If you sell without collecting tax and later can’t produce a valid certificate, you owe the uncollected tax yourself.13California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Regulation 1668 – Sales for Resale This is one of the most common audit triggers, so collecting certificates at the time of sale beats chasing them later.
Government and Nonprofits
Sales to the federal government are generally exempt. Sales to California state and local agencies may be exempt for certain official purchases. Nonprofits do not get a blanket exemption. Despite being exempt from income tax under IRC Section 501(c)(3), most nonprofits must pay California sales tax on their purchases like any other buyer. Narrow exemptions exist for specific activities, but the CDTFA’s guidance is clear that there is no general exemption.14California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Nonprofit Organizations – Publication 18
What Happens If You Get It Wrong
Penalties scale with the severity of the problem. Late filing or payment carries a 10% penalty on the unpaid tax, plus interest that accrues monthly.15California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Revenue and Taxation Code 6591 – Interest and Penalties A deficiency caused by fraud or intent to evade carries a 25% penalty. The harshest civil penalty, 40%, applies when a business collects sales tax from customers and knowingly fails to remit it.16California Legislative Information. California Code RTC 6597 – Penalty, Tax Reimbursement Collected and Not Timely Remitted
Criminal exposure is separate. A general violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $1,000 to $5,000, up to one year in county jail, or both.17California Legislative Information. California Code RTC 7153 – Violations When unreported tax exceeds $25,000 in any 12-month period and the violation was intentional, the charge becomes a felony carrying a $5,000 to $20,000 fine and a potential prison sentence of 16 months to three years.18California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Revenue and Taxation Code 7153.5 – Violations The CDTFA can also place liens on business property and levy bank accounts to collect.
If the CDTFA issues a Notice of Determination and you disagree, you have 30 days from the mailing date to file a petition for redetermination.19California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Audit Manual Chapter 14 – Appeals Procedures Miss that window and the determination is final; collection can begin right away. Treat any Notice of Determination as urgent on the day it arrives.