San Francisco (CA) Sales Tax
The San Francisco sales tax rate is 8.50%
| Taxing jurisdiction | Rate |
|---|---|
| California state sales tax | 6.00% |
| San Francisco County sales tax | 0.25% |
| City tax | 0% |
| Special tax | 2.25% |
| Combined Sales Tax | 8.50% |
San Francisco sales Tax Calculator California
To make it easier to calculate the San Francisco (CA) Sales tax, we have created a calculator. All that you need to input is the zip code and the number of goods bought. The calculator will tell you how much you should approximately pay in sales tax. The tools are free to use and very simple.
How does the San Francisco sales tax compare to the rest of California?
Each vendor in the USA needs to charge sales tax to the items and services that they sell. The Department of Revenue collects the sales tax proceeds from the vendors. The San Francisco, CA sales tax rate is 8.50%. This includes 6.00% California state sales tax, 0.25% San Francisco County sales tax and 2.25% special tax.
A merchant adds the sales tax to all the qualifying sales completed in San Francisco, CA. The San Francisco sales tax should be clearly stated on the invoice. There are some specific goods and services are tax-exempt in San Francisco (California). Alcohol, tobacco and gas are subject to excise tax.
The 8.50% sales tax rate of the San Francisco, CA applies to the following list of zip codes: 94110, 94112, 94114, 94115, 94116, 94117, 94118, 94121, 94122, 94123, 94124, 94127, 94129, 94131, 94132, 94134, 94143, 94146, 94147, 94153, 94154, 94159, 94171, 94188.
The vendor needs to check their district zip code to make sure that they are charging the right sales tax for the business transactions.
There are 486592 people in and around San Francisco. It is important to be aware that zip-code boundaries do not always coincide with general boundaries. Therefore, when choosing sales tax rates, you should not focus only on zip-codes. In the event of a dispute, it is recommended that you contact the Internal Revenue Service to determine sales tax rates for you.
Alternative sales tax rate for San Francisco
| City | Combined Tax | State Rate | County Tax | City Tax | Special Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sacramento |
8.75% | 6.00% | 0.25% | 1.00% | 1.50% |
Popular questions about sales tax in San Francisco
Sometimes, people have a hard time figuring out the math behind sales taxes. This is especially true when people have the total transaction cost and the total sales tax. To figure out the sales tax percentage, we must do a bit of math, which is very simple and can be done via a phone calculator. Let’s assume that your total transaction with taxes is $106.25 and you know that the shelf price of the products purchased is $100.
The first thing that you do is subtract the cost of the goods from the total. In that case $106.25-$100=$6.25. Now you know that the sales taxes are $6.25. Then you divide the total sales tax by the shelf price of the cost of the goods bought, hence $100. So, ding the math, we have $6.25/$100 = 0.0625. We take the ratio number, and we multiply by 100%. Hence, we get : 0.00625*100%= 6.25%, which is the rate.
Sales taxes are regulated by state and federal laws. Since states control the amount of sales tax that they charge locally, some others have decided to omit sales taxes at all to facilitate transactions. There are municipalities, or cities that can impose their taxes. As of right now, there are 5 states in the USA that do not charge a state sales tax. These states are Alaska, Montana, Oregon, Delaware, New Hampshire.
Some areas have very small sales taxes. Starting, we have Alaska, which has a sales tax of 1.76%. We need to be mindful that products and services are very expensive in Alaska. Moving on with the list, we have Oregon, Delaware, Montana, and New Hampshire that have a 0% sales tax rate. If you need information regarding the ranking of states based on sales taxes, you can check this page.
45 states (do not levy these taxes in the states Alaska, Oregon, Delaware, Montana and New Hampshire) and the District of Columbia impose general sales taxes that apply to the sale or lease of most goods and some services, and states also may levy selective sales taxes on the sale or lease of particular goods or services. States may grant local governments the authority to impose additional general or selective sales taxes.
The first detail to know about sales taxes is that some states imposer the sale tax on the vendor, some to the buyer, and some states place sales taxes on both entities. It is important to know who pays the tax, as this affects whether you can claim the taxes as a refund or not.