San Mateo voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether to approve Measure H, a citywide quarter-cent transactions and use (sales) tax the City Council placed on the ballot. City materials frame it as a general-fund boost for streets, parks, public safety and other day-to-day services. For more November contests, see our Nov. 3, 2026 Bay Area election guide.

What the measure would do

If voters approve it, the local sales tax would rise by a quarter cent on every taxable dollar — 25 cents on a $100 taxable purchase, according to the city's Measure H FAQ. Groceries and prescription medications would remain exempt. Anyone who shops in San Mateo, including visitors, would pay the local rate on taxable goods.

San Mateo's combined sales tax rate is currently 9.625%. With Measure H, the city says the updated rate would be 9.875%. That would put San Mateo in line with Belmont, Brisbane, Colma, Daly City, East Palo Alto, Half Moon Bay, Pacifica, Redwood City, San Bruno and South San Francisco, which already sit at 9.875%. Burlingame would remain the other San Mateo County city still at 9.625% if Measure H passes and Burlingame does not change its own rate.

How much money and where it goes

City estimates put new revenue at about $7 million a year. Because Measure H is a general tax, the money would go into the City's General Fund and could pay for a range of services. The FAQ lists keeping streets, sidewalks, parks, infrastructure and community facilities safe and clean; pothole repair; fire protection, paramedic, crime prevention and 9-1-1 response; and traffic safety and traffic management as examples — not locked legal earmarks.

Accountability provisions listed by the city include independent financial audits, public reporting and a resident oversight committee to review expenditures. The measure needs a simple majority.

What your vote means

  • Yes: Add a quarter-cent local sales tax (combined rate 9.875%); roughly $7 million a year to the general fund.
  • No: Leave the combined rate at 9.625% and keep current general-fund revenue tools.

San Mateo voters will also see Measure F, a separate charter-amendment package of administrative updates, on the same ballot. Official impartial analyses, FAQs and Resolution No. 84 (2026) are posted on the city's Citywide Ballot Measures page; arguments appear in the San Mateo County voter guide.

Nearby, San Carlos Measure G and Pacifica Measure BB ask voters about their own local sales-tax rates this fall.