Sales Tax and Reverse Sales Tax Calculator California

Amount Before Tax $

Tax Rate

Toggle Dropdown

%

• 6%
• 6.5%
• 7.25%
• 7.375%
• 7.5%
• 7.75%
• 7.875%
• 7.975%
• 8%
• 8.125%
• 8.25%
• 8.375%
• 8.475%
• 8.5%
• 8.725%
• 8.75%
• 8.875%
• 8.975%
• 9%
• 9.125%
• 9.25%
• 9.5%
• 9.75%
• 10%
• 10.25%
• 10.5%

Sales Tax Amount $

Amount After Taxes $

California - CA Sales Tax Calculator: User Guide

Having a hard time dealing with Sales Tax in California? Don't Worry! This guide is just for you. Our experts have researched and worked days and nights to bring you a straightforward California Sales Tax Calculator, followed by a comprehensive guide.

California Sales Tax Facts:

• California is the modified-origin state bases state where the location of the vendor determines sales tax rates. The sales tax levied on the state level is 7.25%. The base rate for this sales tax is 6%, plus the mandatory local rate of 1.25% makes it to 7.25%.
• The sales tax rate charged on county-level ranges between 0.25% and 1%.
• The sales tax rate levied on the city level ranges from 0% to 1.75%.
• In some cases, a special sales tax rate may also apply that ranges from 0% to 3.25%.
• Some of the commonly imposed sales tax types in California are Consumers use, rental tax, sales tax, sellers use, lodgings tax, and more.
• The lowest possible sales tax rate of 6.5% is levied in Los Angeles, California.
• The highest possible sales tax rate of 10.5% is levied in Santa Fe Springs, California.
• The average combined rate in California is 8.245%.
• In California, prescription drugs and un-prepared food are exempt from sales tax. Moreover, there are also some goods which are partially or fully exempt from sales tax on certain conditions.
• Unfortunately, California State doesn't have any scheduled holidays.

How to calculate Sales Tax in California?

Businesses and Sellers who have nexus in California collect sales tax on tangible personal property. They are required to collect, manage, and transfers it to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) while staying in compliance with state laws and avoid penalties and interest.

The sales tax determined on three factors:

1. Nexus: It is a connection of business with a state. The business is only liable to pay taxes to the states with Nexus.
2. Location and Products or Services: The sales tax rate varies from product to product and location to location, so you must check the sales tax rate applicable to your product according to the product category, county, and city in California.
3. Exemptions: Almost all goods are eligible for sales tax regulation. However, products, including "fresh" food, prescription medicine, medical devices, and few more are exempted under California Law. So you should check with California state government as to which goods and services sold in California are subject to sales tax.

To calculate Sales Tax in California, follow the steps below:

Step 1 – Determine your Nexus:

You, as a Business owner, are only required to collect sales tax if you have Sales Tax Nexus in the California State. And to determine your Nexus in California, you must have any of the following:

• A physical location like office, warehouse, sample room, distribution center, or other places of business.
• An employee working for you like salesman, canvasser, representative, agent, or solicitor operating in this state under the authority of the retailer.
• An Affiliate in the state who directly or indirectly refer potential purchasers of tangible personal property to the retailer (This nexus occurs on certain conditions).
• Presence at a tradeshow in California under certain circumstances.

Step 2 – Determine the Sales Tax Rate:

Once you have determined that your Nexus is with California, next is to deduce the Sales Tax rate (State + Local Sales Tax) applicable on your product, for which you can refer the tables below:

California Sales Tax Rates by Location:

The state-wide Sales Tax rate in California is 6% plus 1.5% of mandatory local sales tax. Besides, many cities and counties levy additional local sales tax on tangible personal property and certain services. Following are the Sales Tax rate on State, County, and city level in California:

Step 3 – Calculate Sales Tax:

After the determination of the Sales Tax rate according to the location and type of purchases, it is easy to calculate the sales tax amount charged on the product and gross price (amount after tax) of a product.

Example # 1:

For instance, you are selling a fan on your store in Bakersfield, California, having a net price tag of $100. The amount that a buyer has to pay (including sales tax) on a check out would be:

Manual Method:

Net Price (amount before Tax) of a Fan: $100

Total Sales Tax rate: 1% (Bakersfield) + 0% (Kern County) + 7.25% (California State) = 8.25%

Total Sales Tax amount = $100 x 8.25% = $8.25

Gross Price (Amount after Tax) = 100 + 8.25 = $108.25

It means the amount the buyer has to pay for a Fan on a cash counter would be $108.25.

Using our Sales Tax Calculator:

All of the steps mentioned above can be skipped to get an instant result using our Sales Tax Calculator. All you need is:

1. Input the $25 Net Price of a Fan as Amount Before Tax
2. Input or select 25% of the combined Sales Tax rate on the Tax Rate menu.

Our calculator will automatically calculate the result, and represents it in 3 different forms, as shown in the image below:

Reverse Sales Tax Calculation

In the example above, we have explained to you to calculate the Sales Tax amount payable in a product, and the Gross Price of the Product.

But there are also instances when you are required to deduce how much sales tax buyer has actually paid on a product or you may want to check the accuracy of the sales tax indicated on your item's receipt.

This is where the Reverse Sales Tax Calculation Kicks in. And luckily, our California Sales Tax Calculator can perform this calculation like a Pro.

Example:

Your buyer has paid $525 for a Refrigerator at your store in San Jose, California. Now the buyer is inquiring how much the Refrigerator actually cost before the sales tax was added. So you need to follow the steps below to determine the amount before tax (net price) of a Refrigerator:

Gross Price (Amount after Tax) of Refrigerator: $525

Total Sales Tax rate: 0.250% (San Jose) + 1.750% (Santa Clara County) + 7.25% (California State) = 9.250%

Manual Method:

Gross Price with sales tax = [Net Price × (tax rate in decimal form + 1)]

525 = [Net Price x ((9.250/100) + 1)]

525 = Net Price x 1.09

$481.7 = Net Price

So the original Price (net price) of the Refrigerator was $481.7.

Using our Sales Tax Calculator:

You can also use our Sales Tax Calculator for Reverse Sales Tax calculation to skip the above mentioned manual method. All you need is:

1. Input the $525 Gross Price of Refrigerator as Amount after Tax
2. Input or select 9.250% of combined Sales Tax Rate on the Tax Rate

Our calculator will automatically calculate the result and represents it in 3 different forms.

FAQs