California’s sin taxes are excise charges the state adds to tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, and firearms on top of regular sales tax. A pack of cigarettes carries $2.87 in state excise tax before anything else. Distilled spirits are taxed at $3.30 or $6.60 per gallon depending on proof, beer and most wine at $0.20 per gallon. Cannabis buyers pay a 15% excise tax at the register. Firearms, firearm precursor parts, and ammunition carry an 11% excise tax at retail. Sugary drinks are the one category you might expect to see here and don’t: California has no statewide soda tax, and new local ones are blocked through 2030.
Cigarettes and Other Tobacco
Every cigarette sold in California is taxed at $0.1435 per stick, which comes to $2.87 for a pack of 20.1California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tax Guide for Cigarettes and Tobacco Products That total is built from five layers added over three decades:
- $2.00 per pack from Proposition 56 (2017), funding healthcare and tobacco prevention
- $0.50 per pack from Proposition 10 (1999), for the California Children and Families Trust Fund
- $0.25 per pack from Proposition 99 (1989), for tobacco-related health programs
- $0.10 per pack base cigarette tax, deposited in the Cigarette Tax Fund
- $0.02 per pack for the Breast Cancer Fund
Distributors buy state tax stamps and affix one to every pack before it reaches a retail shelf. A pack without a stamp has not been properly taxed, and the distributor who moved it is breaking the law.
Cigars, chewing tobacco, snuff, pipe tobacco, and nicotine vaping products are taxed on wholesale cost rather than per unit. From July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, that rate is 54.27%.2California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. New Tobacco Products Tax Rate Effective July 1, 2025 CDTFA recalculates the percentage each year to keep it roughly equivalent to the per-cigarette tax on a comparable amount of tobacco.
Alcohol
California’s alcohol excise rates are per wine gallon and have not changed since 1991.3California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tax Rates – Special Taxes and Fees
- Beer: $0.20 per gallon
- Still wine: $0.20 per gallon
- Sparkling hard cider: $0.20 per gallon
- Champagne and sparkling wine: $0.30 per gallon
- Distilled spirits, 100 proof or less: $3.30 per gallon
- Distilled spirits, over 100 proof: $6.60 per gallon
The tax falls on the first entity to sell or distribute the alcohol inside California, typically the manufacturer, importer, or wholesaler.4California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Revenue and Taxation Code 32201 – Rate You will not see a separate line for it on a store receipt because it is already baked into the wholesale price the retailer paid. A federal excise tax from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau sits on top of the state rate, so producers and importers face two tax layers before a bottle ever reaches a distributor.
Cannabis
Cannabis is taxed at the register. As of October 1, 2025, California’s cannabis excise tax is 15% of the gross receipts from every retail sale, whether the buyer is a medical patient or a recreational customer.3California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tax Rates – Special Taxes and Fees Gross receipts include the sale price and any delivery charges. Assembly Bill 564, enacted in 2025, rolled back an earlier increase to 19% and froze any further rate change until the 2028–2029 fiscal year. The retailer must show the 15% charge on every customer receipt. California’s separate cultivation tax on growers was eliminated, so the entire state excise sits with the retailer now.
The Medical Patient Exemption Is Narrower Than People Think
Medical cannabis patients can skip state sales and use tax on their purchases, but only if they present both a valid Medical Marijuana Identification Card from the California Department of Public Health and a government-issued photo ID at the time of purchase.5California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Cannabis Retailers with Cannabis Businesses The exemption does not touch the 15% cannabis excise tax, which medical patients still owe in full. Without both documents at the register, the exemption does not apply at all.
Local Taxes Push the Total Higher
The 15% state rate is the floor. Most California cities and counties layer their own cannabis taxes on top, sometimes another 5% to 15% depending on the jurisdiction. A recreational buyer in parts of Los Angeles or San Francisco can face a combined rate above 30% once state excise, state sales tax, and local taxes are added together.
Firearms and Ammunition
Starting July 1, 2024, California began collecting an 11% excise tax on the retail sale of every firearm, firearm precursor part, and round of ammunition sold in the state.6California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code 36011 The California Firearm Excise Tax was created by Assembly Bill 28, the Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Act, and sits on top of federal excise taxes and standard California sales tax. Revenue funds violence prevention and school safety programs. The retailer calculates the 11% on gross receipts and is responsible for reporting and paying it to the state.
Two categories of sales are exempt. Sales to any active or retired peace officer, or to the law enforcement agency employing that officer, are not subject to the 11%. A retailer whose total gross receipts from firearms, precursor parts, and ammunition sales fall below $5,000 in a given quarter is also exempt from collecting and reporting the tax that quarter.7California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tax Guide for Sellers of Firearm and Ammunition Products The threshold resets each quarter: a shop that sells $4,500 in Q1 and $6,000 in Q2 owes the tax only on Q2.
Sugary Drinks: No Statewide Tax
California has no statewide sin tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, and the state blocks local governments from adding one. In 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 1838, prohibiting cities and counties from creating new sugary beverage taxes through 2030. Four cities had already enacted per-ounce soda taxes before the ban: Albany, Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco. Those taxes were grandfathered and still apply within city limits. Everywhere else in California, no soda tax applies.
What Late Filing or Payment Costs
The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration administers every excise tax covered above.8California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Department of Tax and Fee Administration Any business selling taxable products needs the correct CDTFA permit before opening, and filing frequency depends on sales volume.
Penalties for late filing or late payment start at 10% of the tax owed, and the two do not stack: a business late on both still owes no more than 10% for that reporting period.9California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Interest, Penalties, and Collection Cost Recovery Fee Cannabis is the exception. Cannabis retailers face a separate 50% failure-to-pay penalty on top of the standard 10% late-filing penalty if they miss a payment deadline. If CDTFA finds that a failure to file was fraudulent, a 25% penalty applies and criminal prosecution becomes possible. Interest also runs on unpaid balances, so missed deadlines compound quickly.