Yes. Los Angeles County’s sales tax rate increased on October 1, 2026, when Measure ER added 0.5 percentage point to the countywide rate. The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) lists the county rate as 10.25% and the statewide rate as 7.25%. Cities with their own district taxes can have higher combined rates, so 10.25% is not the rate for every Los Angeles County delivery address.
For sellers, the practical step is to check the rate for each ship-to address using CDTFA’s current city-and-county rate lookup, then make sure your checkout and tax records reflect the applicable rate. The exact position depends on your circumstances—confirm with the state, or talk to us and we will check it for you.
Key takeaways
- Measure ER added 0.5 percentage point to the Los Angeles County rate; CDTFA lists the county rate as 10.25%.
- City rates can be higher: selected cities in CDTFA’s October 1, 2026 listing are at 11.25%.
- Verify the full ship-to address and transaction date in CDTFA’s rate lookup.
- Review product taxability, checkout settings, California registration, returns, and remittance.
- Do not assume an expiration date for Measure ER; check official terms and current CDTFA information.
What Measure ER changed
Measure ER is the Los Angeles County measure that added a 0.5 percentage-point countywide district tax. CDTFA’s rate-change explanation identifies the county rate as moving from 9.75% to 10.25% and says the new county tax applies within the unincorporated county and incorporated cities that do not impose a district tax. Cities with their own district taxes may have a higher combined rate.
For ecommerce sellers, the key point is not to treat “Los Angeles County” as one universal checkout rate. The countywide component is only part of the total. A city’s own district taxes can change the combined rate, and other local rate changes may also apply. This is similar to the address-specific sourcing issue discussed in Did October rate changes affect my California delivery addresses.
What is the current Los Angeles County sales tax rate?
CDTFA lists the Los Angeles County rate as 10.25%, including the statewide, county, and applicable countywide components shown for the county. The statewide rate is 7.25%. The total rate for a particular city can be higher because of city or other district taxes.
Do not apply the county figure automatically to every order with a Los Angeles County address. Use the full delivery address to identify the applicable rate, and check CDTFA’s current rate information for the transaction date. Rates can vary between nearby cities, and a city’s rate may differ from the unincorporated county rate.
Which Los Angeles County cities have the highest rates?
CDTFA’s published rates effective October 1, 2026 list several Los Angeles County cities at 11.25%, including Azusa, Bell Gardens, Calabasas, Commerce, Compton, Covina, and Santa Monica. These are examples from the official city-and-county rate listing, not a substitute for checking every city or a specific address.
Rates can change and may differ even between neighboring communities. Before quoting a rate in a customer-facing policy or using it to configure a tax rule, verify the destination in CDTFA’s lookup. The table below compares selected official rates and illustrates why the countywide figure alone is not enough.
How to find the rate for your Los Angeles County city
Use CDTFA’s “Find a Sales and Use Tax Rate” lookup or its California City and County Sales and Use Tax Rates page. Search the delivery address or city and confirm the rate that applies on the sale date. CDTFA notes that its lookup displays the rate in effect today, so for a past transaction use the rate information applicable to that transaction’s date.
For marketplace and direct-to-consumer orders, keep the destination address as the starting point for your rate review. A city name alone may not be enough to resolve an address near a boundary. If the address, transaction date, or product treatment makes the answer uncertain, confirm with CDTFA or ask us to check it for you.
Update rates and verify every ship-to address
Review the tax settings used at checkout and in any marketplace or order-management workflows you control. Make sure the applicable rate is being calculated for each ship-to address, rather than applying one Los Angeles County rate to all California orders. Check that the rate table or tax configuration reflects the current CDTFA information and that the address is being assigned to the correct city or district.
After updating, test representative orders for different destinations, including addresses in cities with higher rates and addresses in unincorporated areas. Keep records of the rate lookup or configuration review and reconcile tax charged against order and settlement reports. For a broader look at how location rules affect sellers, see Did Pennsylvania change local sales tax sourcing on October 1 and Did Pennsylvania’s destination-sourcing grace period end.
Check taxable sales and exemptions
A higher rate does not make an otherwise exempt product taxable. CDTFA says food products for human consumption are generally nontaxable, although exceptions include some hot prepared food and food purchased for dine-in. Sellers should classify products based on California’s rules and the facts of the sale, rather than assuming every grocery item is treated identically.
Qualifying prescription medicines are generally exempt when they meet the conditions described by CDTFA, including being prescribed for treatment of a human being and dispensed on prescription by a registered pharmacist. Not every health, wellness, or over-the-counter product qualifies. If a product’s classification is unclear, confirm its treatment with CDTFA or ask us to review the facts. The increase changes the rate on taxable sales; it does not itself remove these exemptions.
Report and remit tax collected at the updated rates
Review the tax collected on orders delivered to Los Angeles County and make sure your records distinguish taxable sales, exempt sales, and the tax collected. Reconcile checkout or marketplace reports with your sales records before preparing the applicable California return. Report and remit tax according to your CDTFA filing schedule and registration obligations; do not assume that a marketplace’s collection or reporting resolves every obligation you may have.
If you discover that an order was charged at an incorrect rate, preserve the transaction details and determine the appropriate correction under your circumstances. Filing requirements and the treatment of past transactions can depend on your registration, sales channel, and facts. For related examples of state compliance changes, see Did Illinois’ remote-retailer sales tax amnesty end October 31 and Can Maryland’s digital advertising tax ruling change your filings?.
Review California registration and compliance obligations
Whether you must register and collect California tax depends on your business activities and applicable state rules. Remote sellers should review their California registration and collection obligations rather than assuming that selling through a marketplace automatically settles every issue. CDTFA’s guidance for sellers making sales into California explains the state’s use-tax collection requirements; your own facts and sales channels matter.
Also review whether your California account information, filing frequency, and return reporting remain appropriate. A rate change is a useful prompt to check the whole process: registration, product taxability, address-level rate calculation, records, returns, and remittance. For another example of a changing nexus rule, see Did Kentucky eliminate its 200-transaction nexus threshold. The exact position depends on your circumstances—confirm with the state, or talk to us and we will check it for you.
How long will the Measure ER increase last?
The CDTFA rate-change materials identify Measure ER’s 0.5 percentage-point countywide tax and the resulting rate, but the information available here does not establish an expiration date for the increase. Do not assume it ends after a set number of years or on a particular date without checking the measure’s official terms and current state rate information.
For planning, treat the rate as current until an official change is published, and recheck CDTFA’s rate pages when preparing future transactions or returns. If you need to know whether a specific future sale falls within the measure’s term, the exact position depends on the measure’s legal terms and the transaction circumstances—confirm with the state, or talk to us and we will check it for you.
Selected Los Angeles County sales tax rates listed by CDTFA effective October 1, 2026. Verify the exact delivery address and transaction date before applying a rate.
| Location | Combined rate | What the comparison shows |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County rate | 10.25% | County figure; not necessarily the rate for a city with additional district taxes. |
| Alhambra | 11.00% | Higher than the county figure because the city rate includes additional local taxes. |
| Avalon | 10.75% | The exact position here depends on your own facts, so it is worth confirming with the state directly or talking to us about your situation. |
| Azusa | 11.25% | Among the highest rates in the selected CDTFA listing. |
| Bell Gardens | 11.25% | CDTFA lists a city rate above the county figure. |
| Calabasas | 11.25% | Illustrates that city rates can exceed the county rate. |
| Commerce | 11.25% | A selected city rate at the high end of the listed examples. |
| Santa Monica | 11.25% | A selected city rate at the high end of the listed examples. |
Frequently asked questions
Did Los Angeles County sales tax go up on October 1?
Yes. CDTFA says Measure ER added 0.5 percentage point to the countywide district tax, and lists the county rate as 10.25%. City rates can be higher where additional district taxes apply.
What is the Los Angeles County sales tax rate now?
CDTFA lists the county rate as 10.25%, while the statewide rate is 7.25%. The combined rate for a specific city or delivery address may be higher, so verify the address in CDTFA’s current lookup.
Which cities in Los Angeles County have the highest sales tax?
CDTFA’s rates effective October 1, 2026 list selected cities including Azusa, Bell Gardens, Calabasas, Commerce, and Santa Monica at 11.25%. Check the official listing for the complete current city rates and verify the actual ship-to address.
What is the sales tax rate in my Los Angeles County city?
The rate depends on the city or district associated with the delivery address. Search the address in CDTFA’s rate lookup and confirm the rate for the transaction date; if the result is unclear, confirm with the state or ask us to check it for you.
How long will the Los Angeles County sales tax increase last?
The CDTFA rate-change information identifies the increase but does not establish an expiration date in the information summarized here. Check the official measure terms and CDTFA’s current rate information rather than assuming a sunset date.
What is Measure ER in Los Angeles County?
Measure ER is the countywide district tax measure that added 0.5 percentage point to the Los Angeles County sales tax rate. CDTFA lists the county rate as 10.25% after the change.
Are groceries and prescription medicines subject to the increase?
The rate increase applies to taxable sales, not to items that qualify for an exemption. Food products for human consumption are generally nontaxable in California, subject to exceptions, and qualifying prescription medicines are generally exempt under specified conditions. Product details matter, so check CDTFA’s rules for the item and sale.
Official sources
- https://cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/explanationoftaxratechanges.htm
- https://cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/rates.aspx
- https://cdtfa.ca.gov/taxes-and-fees/sales-use-tax-rates.htm
- https://maps.cdtfa.ca.gov/
- https://cdtfa.ca.gov/industry/grocery-stores/industry-topics.htm
- https://cdtfa.ca.gov/formspubs/pub27/sales-of-medicines-medical-supplies-and-medical-appliances.htm
Related reading
- Did pennsylvania change local sales tax sourcing on october 1
- Did illinois’ remote-retailer sales tax amnesty end october 31
- Did october rate changes affect my california delivery addresses
- Can maryland’s digital advertising tax ruling change your filings?
- Our sales tax compliance services
Getting this handled
If you would rather not work this out yourself, that is what we do. We register you, file your returns and keep you compliant across every state where you have an obligation — one point of contact, one invoice. Talk to us about your situation.
Reviewed by Paul le Roux, CA(SA). Sales Tax Compliance USA handles US sales tax registration, filing and remittance for cross-border and domestic ecommerce sellers as a fully managed service.
This article is general information for educational purposes and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Sales tax rules change and depend on your specific facts. Consult a qualified tax professional about your own position.