California Sales Tax: Rates, Nexus, Exemptions, and Filing Requirements Explained

California’s statewide base sales tax rate is 7.25%, the highest minimum in the U.S.
Sales tax applies to most tangible personal property; sellers (including remote sellers) must collect and remit tax if they have physical or economic nexus (over $500,000 in sales).
Exemptions include most services, food, prescription drugs, digital goods, certain non-profits, sales for resale, and partial exemptions for farming/manufacturing.
Exemptions require providing the correct exemption certificate at the time of sale.
Sales tax can be filed electronically or by paper; high-liability taxpayers must pay electronically on an accelerated schedule.

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.