Food in California is taxed depending on what it is and where you buy it. Groceries you take home to prepare and eat are exempt from sales tax under Revenue and Taxation Code Section 6359, which covers produce, meat, fish, eggs, dairy, bread, cereal, coffee, tea, and even candy.1California Legislative Information. California Code, Revenue and Taxation Code – Section 6359 Sales tax kicks in once food is heated, served as a meal, sold by a restaurant, or eaten on the seller’s premises. Because combined state and local rates run from 7.25% to 11.25% depending on the city, that line matters at the register.2California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates
What Counts as Tax-Free Groceries
Section 6359 lists exempt food products broadly. Cereals, meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, spices, sugar, milk and milk products (including milkshakes and malted milk beverages), coffee, tea, cocoa, and all fruit and vegetable juices qualify. Bottled water, still or spring, is also exempt.1California Legislative Information. California Code, Revenue and Taxation Code – Section 6359 If you pick these up at a grocery store and walk out with them, no sales tax applies.
Candy is the item that catches transplants off guard. Many states tax candy; California treats it as a food product, so gum, chocolate, and confectionery ring up tax-free at the grocery store. The exemption only falls away under the same conditions that make any food taxable: being served as a meal, sold hot, eaten on the premises, or dispensed through certain vending machines.3California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Sales and Use Tax Law – Section 6359
When Food Gets Taxed
Once food crosses from “groceries” to “meal,” it’s taxable. Regulation 1603 draws that line in a few clear places.4California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Regulation 1603 – Taxable Sales of Food Products
Anything served at a restaurant, hotel, boarding house, or soda fountain is taxable, whether you eat it there or take it to go. Hot prepared food is taxable anywhere it’s sold: rotisserie chicken, hot soup, a warmed sandwich from the grocery deli. If the item was intended to be sold hot, it stays taxable even if it has cooled by the time you pay for it.
Food eaten on the seller’s premises is taxable too. That includes items you’d normally think of as groceries once they’re consumed at tables, counters, or from trays the retailer provides. Drive-in establishments — places whose main setup is parking for customers to eat in their cars — must charge tax even on to-go orders. And food sold inside a venue that charges admission (a stadium, amusement park, or concert hall) is taxable. National and state parks, campgrounds, marinas, and RV parks are carved out of that admission-venue rule.3California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Sales and Use Tax Law – Section 6359
Cold food sold to go is generally still exempt. A cold deli sandwich you take home ordinarily rings up tax-free. That changes if the seller trips the 80-80 rule.
The 80-80 Rule at Restaurants
Some businesses sell almost nothing but prepared food. California treats them as tax-in-full establishments. If a seller meets both of these conditions, every food sale they make is taxable — even cold to-go items that would normally be exempt:
- More than 80% of gross receipts come from selling food products, and
- More than 80% of food sales are already taxable (meals, hot food, food eaten on premises).4California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Regulation 1603 – Taxable Sales of Food Products
A typical sit-down restaurant easily meets both thresholds, which is why even the bottled water you grab on the way out gets taxed. A grocery store with a small deli counter usually stays under the rule because most of its revenue comes from exempt groceries.
Drinks: What’s Taxed and What Isn’t
Not every drink counts as a food product. Carbonated beverages are excluded by statute, so soda, sparkling water, and carbonated energy drinks are always taxable at retail. Sparkling mineral water is taxable for the same reason: if it’s carbonated, it’s taxed.3California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Sales and Use Tax Law – Section 6359
Beer, wine, and spirits are also excluded from the food-product definition and are always taxable, at restaurants, bars, grocery stores, and hotel minibars alike. Even a corkage fee a restaurant charges for opening a bottle you brought is subject to sales tax.5California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Dining and Beverage Industry
Fruit juice, vegetable juice, non-carbonated bottled water, milk, milkshakes, coffee, and tea are exempt when sold as grocery items. Hot coffee and tea become taxable when they’re served as part of a meal or sold by an establishment that meets the 80-80 rule.
Vitamins, Protein Powders, and Supplements
Supplements are one of the most confused categories at the checkout. California taxes products in liquid, powder, tablet, capsule, lozenge, or pill form when two things are both true: the label describes the product as a dietary or food supplement, and the product is designed to adjust your intake of vitamins, proteins, minerals, or calories.6California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Regulation 1602 – Food Products Vitamin pills, protein powders, cod liver oil, and wheat germ oil fall into the taxable category.
Some exceptions matter. A product that qualifies as a “complete dietary food,” providing at least 70 grams of protein, 900 calories, and the minimum daily requirements of key vitamins and minerals in its recommended daily dose, is exempt. Products prescribed as medicine under Revenue and Taxation Code Section 6369 are exempt. And unusual whole foods like brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, and seaweed stay tax-free unless their label specifically calls them a food or dietary supplement. Adding vitamins to a traditional food product, such as enriched milk or fortified flour, does not make it taxable.6California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Regulation 1602 – Food Products
Restaurant Extras: Tips, Service Charges, and Delivery
At a restaurant, essentially everything you order is taxable — meals, sides, drinks, desserts — because the food qualifies as a meal served by an eating establishment. Catering follows the same principle: all charges a caterer bills for preparing and serving food are taxable, including charges for preparing food the customer supplies and charges for disposable tableware.7California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tax Guide for Caterers – Industry Topics
Tips and Service Charges
A voluntary tip you write in on the receipt is not part of the taxable amount. A mandatory service charge is. Any charge printed on the menu or automatically added to the bill is included in taxable gross receipts, even if the bill labels it “suggested” or says it may be removed on request.8California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tips, Gratuities, and Service Charges – Mandatory Charges Large-party auto-gratuities are the common example.
Delivery Fees
When the food being delivered is taxable, the delivery charge is taxable too. When the food is exempt — a cold deli sandwich from a store that doesn’t trigger the 80-80 rule — the delivery charge is also exempt. Mixed orders should be split accordingly.9California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Delivery Charges – Food Product
CalFresh and WIC Purchases
Purchases made with CalFresh benefits (California’s name for federal SNAP) are completely exempt from sales tax. Retailers cannot add tax to any portion of a transaction paid for with CalFresh. If a customer pays partly with CalFresh and partly with cash, the CalFresh amount is applied first to whatever items would otherwise have been taxable, shielding the maximum amount from tax.10California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Sales and Use Tax Law – Section 6373
The exemption extends to prepared foods bought through the CalFresh Restaurant Meals Program, which lets eligible elderly, disabled, and homeless recipients use benefits at participating restaurants. Those meals are sold sales-tax-free. WIC purchases are exempt for a different reason: WIC works as an in-kind benefit, so the government is treated as the purchaser.
The Sales Tax Rate You’ll Actually Pay
California’s statewide base sales tax rate is 7.25%.11California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rate Information Most cities and counties add local district taxes on top, from an extra 0.10% up to 4.00%. The lowest combined rate anywhere in the state is 7.25%, in places like Alpine County and Simi Valley. The highest reaches 11.25% in cities such as Lancaster and Palmdale.2California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates That’s the rate applied to any food item that doesn’t qualify for the grocery exemption.
Two Things That Aren’t Food-Tax Rules
Pet food for dogs, cats, birds, and other companion animals is fully taxable. California’s food exemption only covers food for human consumption, and CDTFA regulations draw the companion-animal line explicitly.
The California Redemption Value (CRV) that shows up on many beverage receipts isn’t a sales tax at all. It’s a container deposit you get back when you return the container to a recycling center. As of January 1, 2026, the rates are $0.05 for containers under 24 ounces, $0.10 for containers 24 ounces or larger, and $0.25 for bags, boxes, bladders, and pouches.12CalRecycle. California Redemption Value and Processing Fee Reporting Rates The CRV appears as its own line item and is not itself subject to sales tax.