California has some of the highest tax rates in the country across nearly every category. The state’s personal income tax tops out at 13.3%, its base sales tax is 7.25%, and corporations pay an 8.84% income tax rate. Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll actually pay.
Personal Income Tax Rates
California uses a graduated income tax system with ten brackets, meaning your rate increases as your income rises. Only the income within each bracket is taxed at that bracket’s rate, not your entire income.
For single filers in 2026, the brackets are:
- 1% on income up to $11,079
- 2% on $11,080 to $26,264
- 4% on $26,265 to $41,452
- 6% on $41,453 to $57,542
- 8% on $57,543 to $72,724
- 9.3% on $72,725 to $371,479
- 10.3% on $371,480 to $445,771
- 11.3% on $445,772 to $742,953
- 12.3% on $742,954 to $1,000,000
- 13.3% on income over $1,000,000
Married couples filing jointly get wider brackets. The 9.3% rate, for example, doesn’t kick in until $145,448 instead of $72,724 for single filers. The top 13.3% rate applies to joint income above $1,485,906.
That 13.3% top rate includes a 1% surcharge called the Mental Health Services Act tax, which applies to all taxable income above $1 million. To put the graduated structure in practical terms: a single filer earning $80,000 doesn’t pay 9.3% on the full amount. Their effective rate would be closer to 5%, since most of their income falls in lower brackets.
Sales Tax
California’s statewide base sales tax rate is 7.25%. On top of that, cities and counties add their own district taxes, which means the rate you pay at the register varies depending on where you shop. Combined rates range from the 7.25% floor up to 11.25% in some areas. Most shoppers in populated parts of the state pay somewhere between 8.5% and 10.25%.
Groceries (unprepared food), prescription medicine, and most over-the-counter drugs are exempt from sales tax. Prepared food, clothing, electronics, and vehicles are all taxable. If you buy something online from an out-of-state retailer, you owe the same rate as your local sales tax, collected either by the retailer at checkout or reported on your state return as use tax.
Corporate and Business Tax
C-corporations doing business in California pay a flat 8.84% tax on net income. S-corporations, which pass most of their income through to shareholders, pay a reduced rate of 1.5% at the entity level. The shareholders then report that income on their personal returns and pay California income tax on it.
Both C-corps and S-corps are also subject to a minimum franchise tax of $800 per year, regardless of whether the business turns a profit. LLCs taxed as partnerships don’t pay the corporate rate, but they do owe the same $800 minimum franchise tax plus an additional LLC fee that scales with gross revenue above $250,000.
Property Tax
Under Proposition 13, passed in 1978, California caps the base property tax rate at 1% of a property’s assessed value. Assessed value is set at the purchase price and can increase by no more than 2% per year, regardless of how fast market values climb. This means two neighbors with identical homes can pay very different property tax bills if one bought decades ago.
The actual rate you pay will be somewhat higher than 1% because voter-approved bonds for schools, infrastructure, and other local projects add to the base rate. These additional levies vary by location, so your total effective rate might land between 1.1% and 1.5% depending on which bond measures your community has approved. Your county assessor’s office or annual tax bill will show the exact breakdown.
Gasoline and Fuel Taxes
California’s combined state taxes and fees on gasoline are the highest in the nation at 70.9 cents per gallon as of January 2026. That figure includes the base excise tax, which adjusts annually for inflation, plus various environmental and transportation fees. On top of the state levy, you also pay the federal gasoline tax of 18.4 cents per gallon, bringing the total government-imposed cost to roughly 89 cents per gallon before the price of the fuel itself.
Diesel fuel carries its own set of rates, generally a few cents higher per gallon than gasoline. These taxes are built into the pump price, so you won’t see them itemized on your receipt.
How California Taxes Stack Up
California’s 13.3% top income tax rate is the highest of any state. Its base sales tax rate of 7.25% is also the highest statewide floor in the country, though combined local rates in some other states can exceed California’s. The 8.84% corporate rate ranks among the top ten nationally. Property taxes, by contrast, are moderate in rate terms because of Proposition 13, though high home values mean the dollar amounts can still be significant.
These rates apply to your state tax bill only. You’ll still owe federal income tax separately, though state income taxes can be deducted on your federal return if you itemize (subject to the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions).