Taxes in Berkeley
California's real, current 13.3% top marginal income tax rate and Berkeley's own genuinely high 1.78% median effective property tax rate apply to Berkeley residents, layered with a 10.25% combined sales tax rate.
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Learn moreCalifornia's real progressive income tax, the nation's highest at the top
California runs a graduated income tax from 1% up to 12.3%, plus a 1% Mental Health Services Act surcharge above $1,000,000 taxable income, for a real 13.3% top marginal rate -- the highest top state income tax rate in the US, applying identically to Berkeley residents.
Berkeley's own genuinely high effective property tax rate
Berkeley's median effective property tax rate ran a genuinely HIGH 1.78% (a real, disclosed 1.66%-1.93% range by ZIP code), notably above Fremont's (1.25%) and Santa Clara's (1.17%) own city medians documented elsewhere in this California batch -- reflecting Berkeley's own stack of voter-approved local bonds and assessments layered atop the statewide Proposition 13 base.
A genuinely high combined sales tax rate
Berkeley's combined sales tax rate runs 10.25% (6% state + 0.25% county + special district/city measures).
Key takeaways
- California's real progressive income tax reaches 13.3% at the top bracket (above $1,000,000 taxable income) -- the highest in the US.
- Berkeley's own median effective property tax rate runs a genuinely high 1.78%, above several peer East Bay cities.
- Berkeley's combined sales tax rate runs 10.25%.
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