Sales receipt showing sales tax in many places in Los Angeles County, including the City of Los Angeles. Los Angeles Almanac Photo.
Also see:
-- Sales Tax Distributions to Los Angeles County & Cities
-- Taxable Retail Sales by City in Los Angeles County
Sales taxes within California are broken as follows:
-- 6.00% to the State
-- 1.00% to local city/county operation funds
-- 0.25% to county transportation funds.
Any sales tax above the 7.25% above is levied locally by local city, county, public services, and special districts. California law had capped combined local sales taxes at no more than 2.00% above the 7.25%. However, state legislature routinely authorized local governments to exceed that cap, through separate legislation. In June 2026, voters approved Measure ER, effective October 1, 2026, which raised the Los Angeles County baseline sales tax by 0.5% (from 9.75% to 10.25%). State legislation had raised the statutory cap, enabling total combined rates in various municipalities to climb to 11% or as high as 11.75%. This is a 5-year temporary provision, expiring in October 2031, to generate extra funding for local healthcare and safety-net programs. This was meant to replace deep federal budget cuts to these programs by the Trump administration.
Exempt from sales taxes are groceries (unprepared foods) and prescription medications and qualifying medical equipment.
The sales tax rate within all unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County is 10.25%. Of the county's 88 incorporated cities, 25 also have a 10.25% sales tax rate. Seven incorporated cities have a 10.75% sales tax rate. The remaining 56 incorporated cities have sales tax rates at 11% or higher. One city (Santa Fe Springs) has a 11.50% sales tax and two (Lancaster and Palmdale) have a sales tax of 11.75%.
Source: California Dept. of Tax and Fee Administration
