Malibu Sales Tax: 10.25% Rate, What’s Taxed, and Exemptions

The sales tax rate in Malibu, California is 10.25%. That combined rate applies to every taxable purchase inside city limits, from a piece of furniture delivered to a beachfront home to a prepared meal along Pacific Coast Highway.¹ The rate has climbed in recent years because of voter-approved county measures, so older receipts or guides showing a lower figure are out of date.

What Makes Up the 10.25% Rate

California’s statewide minimum is 7.25%, which applies everywhere in the state before local add-ons. On top of that, Malibu pays another 3.0% in Los Angeles County district taxes.

The state 7.25% is itself built from several pieces set by different code sections and constitutional provisions:²

3.9375% to the State General Fund under Revenue and Taxation Code Sections 6051 and 6051.3.
0.50% to the Local Public Safety Fund.
0.50% to the Local Revenue Fund for health and social services under the 1991 Realignment.
1.0625% to the Local Revenue Fund 2011.
1.25% under the Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax, split between county transportation (0.25%) and city or county operations (1.00%).

The 3.0% in Los Angeles County district taxes comes from five voter-approved measures:

Proposition A (0.5%), a transit tax administered by LA Metro.³
Proposition C (0.5%), another transit tax administered by LA Metro.³
Measure R (0.5%) for countywide transportation, set to expire in 2039.⁴
Measure M (0.5%), approved in 2016 with no expiration date; when Measure R sunsets in 2039, Measure M absorbs that half-cent and rises to a full cent.⁴
Measure A (0.5%), approved by county voters in November 2024, which replaced the former quarter-cent Measure H and funds homelessness services, affordable housing, and mental health treatment.⁵

Measure A is the most recent change and the reason today’s Malibu rate is higher than what many older sources list. The prior Measure H added only 0.25% and was scheduled to expire in 2027. Measure A repealed it and doubled the levy to 0.5% with no expiration date.⁶

What You Pay Sales Tax On

Sales tax applies to the retail sale of tangible personal property, which California law defines as anything that can be seen, weighed, measured, felt, or touched.⁷ Clothing, electronics, furniture, building materials, and art bought at a Malibu gallery all carry the full 10.25%.¹

Professional services like legal advice, accounting, and consulting are generally not taxed because no physical product changes hands. When a service produces a tangible product, though, the full price becomes taxable. An artist selling a finished sculpture, for instance, collects tax on the whole amount regardless of how much of it represents labor.

Groceries, Restaurants, and Prepared Food

Food products bought for home consumption are exempt from sales tax. Produce, meat, dairy, bread, cereal, eggs, and canned goods fall into this category, along with bottled water and fruit juices.⁸ Carbonated drinks and alcoholic beverages are not exempt.

The line blurs at restaurants and prepared-food counters. Hot prepared foods are always taxable, whether you eat them there or take them to go.⁹ A cold sandwich from a deli case is generally exempt, but if the store earns more than 80% of its revenue from food consumed on the premises, the exemption can disappear. A combination package that includes any hot food or hot beverage is fully taxable.⁸

Prescription Medicine

Prescription medications dispensed by a licensed pharmacist are exempt from sales and use tax, and so are medicines furnished directly by a physician, dentist, or podiatrist to their own patients.¹⁰ Over-the-counter drugs that don’t require a prescription are taxable. Some medical devices qualify for exemptions too, depending on whether they’re prescribed and how they’re used.

Shipping and Delivery Charges

Pure shipping costs, meaning the actual expense of getting the item to you by mail or common carrier, are not taxed as long as the seller keeps records showing the real cost. Handling charges are always taxable. If a business combines shipping and handling into a single line item and can’t document the shipping portion separately, the entire charge becomes taxable.¹¹

Online Orders and Out-of-State Purchases

If you buy something through Amazon, eBay, Etsy, or a similar platform for delivery to a Malibu address, the marketplace itself is required to collect and remit the correct sales tax. California’s marketplace facilitator law, in effect since October 2019, applies to any platform with more than $500,000 in California sales during the current or prior calendar year. In practice this covers essentially every major online retailer, and the 10.25% Malibu rate should appear automatically at checkout.

When you buy from a seller who doesn’t collect California tax and bring the item into Malibu, you owe use tax at the same 10.25% rate. This applies to out-of-state vendors, private-party sales, and some online transactions where the seller isn’t required to collect. Most individuals can report and pay use tax directly on their California income tax return, using the Franchise Tax Board’s worksheet and lookup table for smaller purchases. If your taxable purchases (excluding vehicles, vessels, and aircraft) exceed $10,000 in a calendar year, you’re classified as a “qualified purchaser” and must register directly with the CDTFA.¹²

Vehicles, boats, and aircraft follow a separate process. The tax on those is collected when you register the vehicle, and the rate is based on your registration address rather than where you bought it.¹³

If You Sell Goods in Malibu

Any business selling tangible personal property in Malibu needs a California seller’s permit before making its first sale. This applies to corporations, sole proprietors, LLCs, and partnerships. Out-of-state businesses also need a permit if they have a physical presence in the state, a representative operating here, or more than $500,000 in combined California sales during the current or prior calendar year.¹⁴

Temporary sellers, such as someone running a booth at a Malibu farmers’ market or a holiday pop-up, need a temporary seller’s permit if they don’t already hold a permanent one. These are typically issued for operations lasting no more than 30 days at a single location.¹⁴

The CDTFA doesn’t give much grace on missed deadlines. Filing a return late costs a 10% penalty on the tax due. Paying late also costs 10%. Doing both doesn’t double the penalty; it still caps at 10% of the tax owed for that period.¹⁵ More serious violations carry sharper penalties:

Collecting tax from customers but not remitting it triggers a 40% penalty when the unremitted amount averages over $1,500 per month and exceeds 25% of your total tax liability for the period.¹⁵
Operating without a permit when the CDTFA determines you intentionally skipped registration adds a 50% penalty on top of the standard 10% late-filing penalty. This doesn’t apply if your average taxable sales were $1,000 or less per month.¹⁵
Negligence, meaning underreported tax that resulted from carelessness or intentional disregard of the law, adds a 10% penalty.¹⁶
Fraud carries a 25% penalty and potential criminal charges.¹⁵

Interest also accrues on unpaid tax. The rate is tied to the federal underpayment rate under Internal Revenue Code Section 6621 plus three percentage points, and it’s adjusted twice a year.¹⁶

1
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates
2
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Detailed Description of the Sales and Use Tax Rate
3
LA Metro. Propositions A and C
4
Ballotpedia. Los Angeles County, California, Sales Tax, Measure M (November 2016)
5
Ballotpedia. Los Angeles County, California, Measure A, Sales Tax Measure (November 2024)
6
LA County Homeless Services. Measure A
7
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Revenue and Taxation Code 6016 – Tangible Personal Property
8
California Legislative Information. California Code Revenue and Taxation Code 6359
9
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tax Guide for Grocery Stores
10
California Legislative Information. California Code, Revenue and Taxation Code – RTC 6369
11
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Shipping and Delivery Charges
12
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Use Tax, Good for You. Good for California
13
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tax Guide for Purchasers of Vehicles
14
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Your California Sellers Permit
15
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Interest, Penalties, and Collection Cost Recovery Fee
16
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Regulation 1703