The Santa Clarita sales tax rate is 9.75 percent as of January 1, 2026. That rate applies to most purchases of tangible goods made inside the incorporated city, whether you walk into a local store or have an item shipped to a Santa Clarita address. The figure combines California’s statewide base with several voter-approved district taxes that apply across Los Angeles County.
How the 9.75 Percent Rate Is Built
Every California sales tax rate starts at 7.25 percent. That floor includes the state’s own levy plus a 1 percent local share that every city and county collects under the Bradley-Burns Uniform Local Sales and Use Tax Law.1California State Association of Counties. Sales and Use Tax Issue Brief Los Angeles County voters have layered another 2.50 percent on top through district transaction and use taxes, which brings Santa Clarita to 9.75 percent.2California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates
Two of those district taxes drive most of the local add-on. Measure M, approved by county voters in November 2016 with more than two-thirds support, adds 0.50 percent for the Los Angeles County Traffic Improvement Plan. The money funds freeway work, pothole repair, repaving, bridge retrofits, signal synchronization, and expansion of the county’s rail, subway, and bus systems.3Ballotpedia. Los Angeles County, California, Sales Tax, Measure M (November 2016) Measure M has no built-in sunset and continues until voters end it.
Measure A, approved in November 2024, doubled an earlier homelessness tax from 0.25 percent to 0.50 percent and took effect on April 1, 2025. It funds affordable housing, rental assistance, mental health and addiction treatment, and services for veterans, families, and seniors experiencing homelessness.4LA County Homeless Services & Housing. Measure A It also runs until voters repeal it. The remaining pieces of the 2.50 percent district total come from older countywide transportation measures.
City Limits vs. Unincorporated Areas
The 9.75 percent rate applies only inside the incorporated boundaries of the City of Santa Clarita. Surrounding unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County share Santa Clarita ZIP codes and mailing addresses, but the rate at those locations can differ depending on which district taxes reach that spot.5California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Explanation of Tax Rate Changes Two businesses a mile apart, both with “Santa Clarita, CA” on the mail, can end up charging different rates if one is outside the city line.
To check a specific address, use the CDTFA’s online rate lookup, which returns the correct rate for any California street address.2California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates
What Gets Taxed and What Doesn’t
California sales tax applies to retail sales of tangible personal property: physical items you can touch, move, or carry. Clothing, electronics, furniture, sporting goods, and building materials all get the full 9.75 percent in Santa Clarita.6California Tax Service Center. What Is Taxable?
Several everyday categories are exempt:
- Grocery food for home consumption, including produce, dairy, meat, bread, and canned goods. The exemption disappears if the food is sold heated, served as a meal, or eaten on the seller’s premises.7California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Common Sales and Use Tax Nontaxable Sales and Partial Exemptions
- Prescription medicine and certain medical devices.6California Tax Service Center. What Is Taxable?
- Items paid for with CalFresh EBT benefits.
Professional services such as legal advice, accounting, consulting, and medical care generally are not subject to California sales tax because they do not involve the sale of tangible goods. Labor can become taxable when it is part of creating a new physical product, such as custom manufacturing.
Online and Out-of-State Purchases
Use tax is the companion to sales tax. If you buy something from outside California for use in Santa Clarita and no sales tax was charged, you owe use tax at the same 9.75 percent rate.8California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. California Use Tax
In practice, most online orders already have tax collected at checkout. California’s marketplace facilitator law treats platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy as the retailer for sales made through them, so the platform collects and remits the tax rather than the individual seller.9California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Sales and Use Tax Law – Chapter 1.7 Where use tax still matters is on purchases from smaller independent websites or out-of-state sellers who do not go through a major platform. In those situations, you are responsible for reporting and paying the tax yourself.
Vehicle Purchases
Buying a car works differently from buying something off a store shelf. When you purchase a vehicle from a California dealer, the dealer collects sales tax at the point of sale. When you buy from a private party or an out-of-state seller, use tax applies instead, and the DMV typically collects it when you register the vehicle.10California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tax Guide for Purchasers of Vehicles
The rate matches the sales tax rate for the address where the vehicle is registered, so a Santa Clarita registration means 9.75 percent on the full purchase price. The full purchase price includes cash, loan assumptions, and the fair market value of anything you traded in. If you acquired the vehicle outside the DMV registration process, you must pay the use tax directly to the CDTFA by the last day of the month following your purchase. Penalties and interest begin accruing once that deadline passes.10California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tax Guide for Purchasers of Vehicles
If You Sell Goods in Santa Clarita
Any business selling tangible goods in California needs a seller’s permit from the CDTFA before making its first sale. The permit itself is free. The CDTFA may, however, require a security deposit to cover potential unpaid taxes if the business later closes.11California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Obtaining a Seller’s Permit You can register online. The application asks for basic business information, your Social Security number or federal employer identification number, and details about any partners or corporate officers.
The CDTFA assigns a filing frequency at registration: monthly, quarterly, quarterly prepay, yearly, or fiscal yearly, based on your reported or anticipated taxable sales.12California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Online Services – File a Return Higher-volume sellers file more often. Returns are filed through the CDTFA’s online portal, with payment by ACH debit or credit card.
Late Filing Penalties
California charges a 10 percent penalty if you fail to file your sales tax return by the due date, and a separate 10 percent penalty if your payment is late. When both happen on the same return, the combined penalty is capped at 10 percent of the tax owed for that period, so the two do not stack to 20 percent.13California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Sales and Use Tax Law – Section 6591
Interest also accrues from the original due date until you pay. For 2026, the CDTFA charges interest on underpayments at an annual rate of 10 percent, applied monthly at a factor of 0.00833 per month or partial month.14California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Interest Rates On a $5,000 tax bill that is three months late, that works out to roughly $500 in penalties plus about $125 in interest.