Tobacco taxes in California stack in layers. The state charges a $2.87 excise tax on every pack of 20 cigarettes, and taxes other tobacco products and e-cigarettes at 54.27% of their wholesale cost for the fiscal year running through June 30, 2026. A federal excise tax sits underneath those state charges, and California sales tax applies to the final retail price on top of everything else.
The $2.87 Cigarette Excise Tax
California’s per-pack tax has held at $2.87 since April 2017, when Proposition 56 took effect. On a per-stick basis, that works out to $0.1435 per cigarette. The figure is the sum of five separate taxes enacted over several decades:
- $2.00 from Proposition 56, approved by voters in 2016
- $0.50 from Proposition 10, approved in 1998
- $0.25 from Proposition 99, approved in 1988
- $0.10 from the original state cigarette tax
- $0.02 dedicated to breast cancer research and screening for uninsured women
Distributors pay the tax by buying stamps from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and affixing one to every package before it enters the supply chain. An unstamped package cannot be legally sold in the state, and the cost is folded into the price the retailer charges you.1California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. Tax Guide for Cigarettes and Tobacco Products
Other Tobacco Products and E-Cigarettes: 54.27% of Wholesale
Cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff, and roll-your-own tobacco fall into a category the state calls “other tobacco products,” or OTP. Since 2017, electronic cigarettes and vaping products sold with nicotine-containing liquid have been taxed in the same category.2California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code RTC 30121
Rather than a flat per-unit charge, OTP is taxed as a percentage of the product’s wholesale cost. From July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, the rate is 54.27%. That’s up from 52.92% the prior fiscal year.3California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. New Tobacco Products Tax Rate Effective July 1, 2025 The CDTFA recalculates the percentage every year to keep the OTP tax burden roughly equivalent to what cigarettes carry. Because the rate floats, the tax on a cigar or vape shifts each July even when the underlying cigarette tax stays flat.
The statutory definition of “electronic cigarettes” is broad. It covers any device or delivery system sold with nicotine that aerosolizes or vaporizes nicotine for inhalation, along with the liquids and cartridges themselves when sold with nicotine. Hardware sold without any nicotine-containing substance, and standalone batteries or carrying cases, sit outside the definition and are not subject to the OTP tax.2California Legislative Information. California Revenue and Taxation Code RTC 30121
Federal Excise Tax
The federal government imposes its own excise tax on top of California’s. For standard small cigarettes, the federal rate is $50.33 per thousand, or roughly $1.01 per pack of 20.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 5701 – Rate of Tax Large cigars carry a separate federal rate. This tax is built into the price before the product reaches California distributors, so you pay it as part of the shelf price without seeing it broken out.
Sales Tax on Top
California sales tax applies to tobacco products at the point of retail sale. Because excise taxes are already embedded in the price the retailer charges, sales tax effectively runs on a tax-inclusive base. The statewide base rate is 7.25%, and local additions push many jurisdictions above 9%. A pack retailing at $10 in a 9% jurisdiction produces roughly $0.90 in sales tax beyond the excise taxes already inside that $10.
Online Purchases Shipped Into California
Buying tobacco online does not sidestep the state excise tax. The federal Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act requires any delivery seller shipping cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco, smokeless tobacco, or electronic nicotine delivery systems into California to comply with the state’s excise tax, licensing, and age-verification rules as if the sale happened inside the state.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 376a – Delivery Sales The PACT Act also bars the U.S. Postal Service from delivering those categories; cigars are exempt from the mailing prohibition. Private carriers can still ship, but the seller carries responsibility for collecting and remitting California’s taxes.
Local Rules and Minimum Prices
No California city or county adds a separate local excise tax on tobacco, but state law lets local governments regulate tobacco sales more restrictively than the state does. Several jurisdictions have adopted minimum retail price floors for cigarettes and other tobacco products. Those floors raise the shelf price above what the excise taxes alone would produce, and the effect is most visible on discount brands. The specifics vary by city and county, so a product’s final price in one California zip code may differ from the same product a few miles away.