Credit card processing and merchant services in San Jose, CA

San Jose's sales tax hit an even 10% this year. Santa Clara County voters approved Measure A in November 2025, adding a 0.625% countywide tax, and the combined rate in San Jose went from 9.375% to 10% on April 1, 2026. Milpitas made the same jump on the same day, and CDTFA's table effective October 1, 2026 still lists both at 10%.

Six months later, it's worth checking every place a tax rate is stored. Recurring invoices, quote templates, online stores and mobile readers can each keep their own setting. For a business with $50,000 a month in taxable sales, an old 9.375% setting leaves $312.50 a month uncollected.

San Jose's population was 989,814 in the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate, 2.3% below 2020. Health care and social assistance businesses in the city took in about $7.2 billion in 2022, and hotels, restaurants and bars about $3.4 billion, per the Economic Census.

Software sellers have a date coming. Starting January 1, 2027, California applies sales and use tax to digital products, including prewritten software that's downloaded or accessed remotely, and the place of sale is generally the customer's address. Subscription businesses will need a billing location for every customer.

Card surcharges follow the statewide approach: the 1748.1 ban was never repealed, the Attorney General generally follows the Italian Colors decision, and the card networks cap the fee at your cost. Before adding a fee, check your rate. A free statement review shows it, and our medical and dental and professional services pages explain how interchange-plus pricing works for those businesses.