Taxes in Santa Clara
California's real, current 13.3% top marginal income tax rate and Santa Clara's own 9.75% combined sales tax rate (following the real, current Measure A increase) apply to Santa Clara residents.
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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 Santa Clara residents.
Proposition 13 and Santa Clara's own effective property tax rate
Santa Clara's own city-specific median effective property tax rate ran 1.17%, genuinely lower than both Santa Clara County's 1.31% countywide median and the separately cited 1.21% California statewide median. Proposition 13 caps taxable assessed-value growth at roughly 2%/year for existing owners, while a recent buyer's assessment resets to the purchase price -- producing a real, dramatic long-time-owner-vs-recent-buyer gap given Silicon Valley appreciation.
Measure A: a real, current 2026 sales-tax increase
Santa Clara County voters approved Measure A, a 5-year, 0.625% general sales tax increase funding healthcare and public safety (projected to raise approximately $330 million annually countywide), effective April 1, 2026 -- raising Santa Clara's combined sales tax rate from 9.125% to 9.75%.
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.
- Santa Clara's own median effective property tax rate runs 1.17%, below both the county and state medians.
- Measure A's real, current 0.625% increase raised Santa Clara's combined sales tax rate to 9.75% as of April 2026.
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