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California sales tax rates by ZIP code

District taxes are widespread and several districts often stack in one ZIP code. California is the single strongest argument for a non-unique or ZIP+4 file.

7.25%California state base rate
7.25%Lowest combined rate
11.75%Highest combined rate
2,569CA ZIP codes in our file

Counts and the combined rate range are drawn from our October 2026 file. Rates change monthly.

What you actually have to charge in California

Local jurisdictions add their own rate on top, so the rate you must actually charge is almost never the state rate.

  • State base rate7.25%
  • Local taxesYes — city, county and/or special district rates apply on top
  • ShippingExempt alone — taxable if combined with handling
  • Taxing jurisdictions we track399
  • ZIP codes with more than one rate678 of 2,569 (26%) — a single rate per ZIP code would be wrong for these
  • Update frequencyMonthly, delivered two business days before the month begins

See the CA data before you buy. Every edition has a free sample file cut from our October 2026 file, with the full state, county, city and district breakdown exactly as it ships, including 30 CA rows.

What's in the California rate file

California data ships inside every edition — we do not sell single-state files. Each row carries the ZIP code, county and city name, the rate at each jurisdiction level, the combined total, and whether shipping is taxable. The higher editions add district reporting codes, FIPS codes, effective dates and sales tax holiday windows.

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Research

Official California sales tax resources

Every link below goes to an official California government source, not to us. The state is always the authority — our file is how you avoid checking it by hand every month.

How local tax works in California. All local tax is state-administered. The 1.25% Bradley-Burns uniform local rate plus voter-approved district transactions-and-use taxes are collected by CDTFA and allocated back to cities, counties and districts.

Worth knowing. The 7.25% statewide rate already includes the Bradley-Burns local portion. District taxes stack on top and are sourced differently, so retailers allocate local tax on Schedules A, B and C as well as reporting district tax on Schedule A2.

Questions

California sales tax questions

What is the sales tax rate in California?

The statewide base rate is 7.25%. Local jurisdictions add their own rate on top, so the rate you must actually charge is almost never the state rate.

Is shipping taxable in California?

It depends on how you bill it. In California a separately stated shipping charge is generally not taxable — but bill shipping and handling as one combined charge and the whole thing becomes taxable.

That distinction catches people out, which is why our file carries both flags — TAX_SHIPPING_ALONE and TAX_SHIPPING_AND_HANDLING_TOGETHER — on every row, for the specific jurisdiction. Your system doesn't have to encode the rule.

How many sales tax jurisdictions are there in California?

We track 399 bodies that actually levy a sales tax in California — 38 counties and 361 cities — across 2,569 CA ZIP codes. We count a county, city or district only where it charges something, not merely because it appears in the file.

Where can I download California sales tax rates?

Every Sales Tax Systems edition includes California along with the other 49 states, DC and Canada — we do not sell state-by-state files. Download a free sample to see the format and the CA rows in it.

Sales tax rates in other states

Alabama 4%Alaska 0%Arizona 5.6%Arkansas 6.5%Colorado 2.9%Connecticut 6.35%Delaware 0%District of Columbia 7%Florida 6%Georgia 4%Hawaii 4%Idaho 6%Illinois 6.25%Indiana 7%Iowa 6%Kansas 6.5%Kentucky 6%Louisiana 5%Maine 5.5%Maryland 6%Massachusetts 6.25%Michigan 6%Minnesota 6.875%Mississippi 7%Missouri 4.225%Montana 0%Nebraska 5.5%Nevada 6.85%New Hampshire 0%New Jersey 6.625%New Mexico 4.875%New York 4%North Carolina 4.75%North Dakota 5%Ohio 5.75%Oklahoma 4.5%Oregon 0%Pennsylvania 6%Rhode Island 7%South Carolina 6%South Dakota 4.2%Tennessee 7%Texas 6.25%Utah 4.85%Vermont 6%Virginia 4.3%Washington 6.5%West Virginia 6%Wisconsin 5%Wyoming 4%

California is one state. The file covers all of them.

Every edition includes all 50 states, DC and Canada, updated monthly, from $499/year.

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