A California sales tax increase almost always comes from a local ballot measure stacking on top of the statewide 7.25 percent base rate, and the combined rates that result now run as high as 11.25 percent in Lancaster and Palmdale.1California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates New rates take effect on the first day of each calendar quarter, so what you pay at the register can change four times a year depending on where you shop.
How Local Increases Get Approved
Nearly every sales tax increase you see in California starts as a “transactions and use tax” placed on a local ballot by a city, county, or special district. Voters decide. The threshold for passage depends on what the measure says the money will do.
A general tax, with revenue flowing into the jurisdiction’s general fund without strings, needs a simple majority above 50 percent and has to appear on a general election ballot. A special tax earmarked for a specific purpose, such as parks, libraries, or transportation, requires two-thirds voter approval.2California Secretary of State. Proposition 218 – Text of Proposed Law That gap explains a familiar pattern at local elections: a dedicated transit or infrastructure measure fails while a general-purpose increase on the same ballot passes.
Each approved measure typically adds 0.125, 0.25, or 0.50 percent. These layers are cumulative. A single storefront can sit inside a city tax, a county overlay, and a special district increment all at once, which is why two businesses only a few miles apart can ring up noticeably different totals on identical items.
The 2 Percent District Cap and Why Cities Exceed It
California law tries to hold stacking in check. Revenue and Taxation Code Section 7251.1 caps the combined district taxes within a county at 2 percent, which would put the standard maximum combined rate at 9.25 percent.3California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Revenue and Taxation Code 7251.1 – Limitation: Rate of Tax
In practice, that ceiling leaks. The state legislature can pass bills granting individual counties or cities permission to exceed the 2 percent cap, and enough jurisdictions have obtained those exceptions that combined rates above 10 percent are no longer unusual. Each exception requires its own legislation and its own justification, but once granted, it opens room for additional voter-approved district taxes to stack beyond what the general cap would allow.
Rate Changes That Took Effect April 1, 2026
The most recent round of increases took effect April 1, 2026, and raised combined rates in cities across several counties:
- Santa Fe Springs (Los Angeles County): 11.00 percent
- Campbell (Santa Clara County): 10.50 percent
- San Jose (Santa Clara County): 10.00 percent
- Milpitas (Santa Clara County): 10.00 percent
- Los Gatos (Santa Clara County): 9.875 percent
- McFarland (Kern County): 9.25 percent
- Dunsmuir (Siskiyou County): 8.25 percent
Santa Clara County’s countywide rate for unincorporated areas also climbed to 9.75 percent in the same round.4California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Special Notice – New Sales and Use Tax Rates Effective April 1, 2026 Earlier in 2025, similar waves of increases took effect in cities including Culver City on prior quarterly dates.5California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tax Information Bulletins Each of these changes traces back to a measure voters approved in an earlier election cycle, finally reaching its effective date.
New district taxes always take effect on January 1, April 1, July 1, or October 1. The CDTFA publishes a special notice before each quarterly effective date listing every change.6California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Know Your Sales and Use Tax Rate
Highest Combined Rates in California
As of early 2026, Lancaster and Palmdale in Los Angeles County carry the highest combined sales tax rates in California at 11.25 percent.1California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates A handful of other cities sit just below that mark, most of them in Los Angeles and Santa Clara counties, where multiple district taxes have piled up over several election cycles.
For comparison, the national population-weighted average combined state and local sales tax rate was 7.53 percent as of January 2026.7Tax Foundation. State and Local Sales Tax Rates California’s base rate alone sits near that national average, and most Californians pay well above it once their local district taxes are added in.
How to Find Your Exact Rate
Because rates can shift from one block to the next in some metro areas, the only reliable way to confirm what you pay is the CDTFA’s address lookup tool. Enter a street address and it returns the combined rate for that specific location, including every district tax that applies.8California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Find a Sales and Use Tax Rate The agency also publishes downloadable rate tables organized by city and county, refreshed on each quarterly effective date.9California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rate Information
Businesses can sign up for CDTFA email alerts to see upcoming quarterly changes before they take effect. Given that California cities saw rate changes in every quarter of 2025 and into 2026, checking each quarter is not overcautious. For a seller operating in several jurisdictions, it’s the minimum needed to charge the right rate.
What Isn’t Affected by a Sales Tax Increase
Rate increases only touch items that are taxable to begin with, and California exempts several large categories. Most grocery food purchased for home consumption stays exempt no matter how high the local rate climbs. That includes produce, meat, dairy, bread, cereal, canned goods, frozen foods, and non-carbonated bottled water, along with candy and snack foods sold for off-premises consumption.10California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Sales and Use Tax Regulations – Article 8
Prescription medicine is also exempt. Several categories that shoppers often assume are exempt are not: carbonated beverages, alcohol, prepared hot food for immediate consumption, dietary supplements, vitamins, and over-the-counter drugs all remain taxable, and each quarterly rate increase applies to them in full.
Digital goods delivered electronically, such as software downloads, ebooks, music, streaming subscriptions, and mobile apps, are generally not subject to California sales tax because the state treats them as intangible. The same product sold on a physical storage device like a flash drive is taxable in full. Some localities add a separate utility user tax on streaming services, but that is a different levy from the sales tax and operates on its own.