Riverside and San Bernardino County sales tax by city

Short answer: The unincorporated base rate is 7.75% in both Riverside County and San Bernardino County, and many Inland Empire cities, such as Riverside, Ontario and Fontana, charge 8.75% (CDTFA rates effective October 1, 2026). For goods you deliver, CDTFA says the rate where the goods are delivered generally applies if you are engaged in business in that district. Set up a tax rate for each delivery location in QuickBooks or Xero so each invoice charges the right rate.

Two counties, two rates side by side

California's statewide sales and use tax rate is 7.25%. Voters in many cities and counties have added district taxes on top. That is why a sale in Fontana and a sale in Rancho Cucamonga, a few miles apart, can carry different rates.

For an Inland Empire business that sells from one counter, this is simple. For a business that delivers across both counties, it is a bookkeeping job. Each invoice needs the rate for the place the goods arrive, and the return has to report each district on Schedule A.

Current rates for main Inland Empire cities

These are the total rates from CDTFA's city and county rate list, effective October 1, 2026. The county rows apply to addresses outside city limits.

Rates change when voters approve new district taxes. Check CDTFA's rate list or its lookup by address before each filing period, and use the lookup for any address near a city line.

Which rate to charge on a delivery

CDTFA's Publication 105 gives the basic rule. For merchandise shipped or delivered to a place inside a special tax district, the total rate for that district generally applies. Over-the-counter sales generally take the rate where your store is.

There is one exception. If you are not engaged in business in the district where the goods arrive, you do not have to collect that district's tax. You can charge the statewide 7.25% instead.

Most Inland Empire businesses that deliver locally will count as engaged in business. CDTFA says that includes having an office, warehouse or other place of business in the district. It also covers having a representative or contractor there to make sales, take orders or install merchandise. Combined California sales above $500,000 in the current or prior calendar year also count.

Rates per delivery address in QuickBooks and Xero

Your software only charges what you set up. A Fontana parts supplier that delivers to a shop in Rancho Cucamonga and a job site in Corona needs three rates, not one.

1. List where you deliver Pull a year of invoices and list each city and unincorporated area your goods went to.
2. Look up each rate Use CDTFA's lookup by address, not a guess from the ZIP code. ZIP codes cross city lines.
3. Set the rate on the address Base sales tax on the ship-to address in QuickBooks Online, or set a default tax rate on each customer in Xero and change it on invoices that ship somewhere else.
4. Recheck each quarter Compare your rate list to CDTFA's current list when a new quarter starts.

Contractors and tax on materials

Contractors are a special case. CDTFA says California law treats construction contractors as consumers of the materials they use and retailers of the fixtures they install. As a consumer, you owe tax on your cost of materials such as lumber, windows and paint.

So a Murrieta remodeler usually pays tax to the supplier on materials, then does not charge sales tax on them again. Fixtures follow different rules. Keep materials and fixtures in separate expense accounts and items, so your CPA can see which is which.

Trucking, warehousing and use tax

Use tax is the other half of the system. CDTFA says use tax generally applies when you buy goods from a seller outside California without paying California tax. Think of truck parts, shop tools or racking ordered from an out-of-state vendor.

If you hold a seller's permit, CDTFA says you report those purchases on your sales and use tax return, on the line for purchases subject to use tax, in the period you first used the item. A carrier or warehouse with no seller's permit may still have to register. From 2024 through 2028, CDTFA treats a business with more than $10,000 a year in such purchases as a qualified purchaser that files once a year, by April 15.

Seller's permit and filing frequency

Most businesses that sell or lease physical goods in California need a seller's permit from CDTFA. The permit also lets you give suppliers a resale certificate for goods you buy to resell.

CDTFA assigns your filing frequency when you register, based on your expected taxable sales or reported tax. It can be monthly, quarterly, quarterly with prepayments, or yearly. On a quarterly schedule, the return and payment are due by the last day of the month after each quarter ends: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31. CDTFA requires a return by the due date even when you had no sales.

Reconcile the sales tax payable account

Sales tax you collect is not your money. It sits in a sales tax payable account until you file and pay. At the end of each period, that balance should equal the tax on your return.

When it does not, the cause is usually one of a few things: invoices with the wrong rate, payments to CDTFA booked as an expense, refunds that never reversed the tax, or sales recorded straight from bank deposits with no tax split out. We find the difference, fix the entries, and leave a clean payable balance that ties to each return.

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