Proposition 30 (2012) and Proposition 55 (2016)

Income-tax revenue · California

$119B+

reported generated since 2012 (DOF projection)

What this page does not claim: That these rates by themselves caused statewide fiscal stress, migration, or housing outcomes. Capital-gains volatility and the broader income-tax structure surround these temporary rates.

Promise

Proposition 30 was titled as temporary taxes to fund education. Proposition 55 was titled as a tax extension to fund education and healthcare. The LAO’s 2012 analysis described about $6 billion a year in added revenue, on average, from 2012–13 through 2016–17 if Prop 30 passed. The LAO’s 2016 analysis put Prop 55 revenue at roughly $4–9 billion a year from 2019 to 2030, depending on the economy and markets, with about half associated with schools and community colleges.

Legal scope

Proposition 30 raised high-income personal income tax rates through 2018 and a temporary quarter-cent statewide sales tax for 2013–2016. Proposition 55 extends the personal income tax increases through 2030. It does not extend the sales tax. It also adds a Medi-Cal funding formula for 2018–19 through 2030–31.

Timeline

Voters passed Proposition 30 in November 2012 and Proposition 55 on 8 November 2016. The sales-tax piece ended after 2016. The income-tax rates continued under Proposition 55.

Approved funds and reported collections

The SCO Track Prop 30/55 page reports that since 1 January 2012 the measures generated more than $119 billion. That figure is a Department of Finance projection as of 30 June 2025, not a receipt for cash observed in November 2026. Funds transfer quarterly to the Education Protection Account for K–12 schools, charter schools, county offices of education, and community colleges, with classroom-use rules and audits.

Spending versus outcomesResearch pending

The Education Protection Account is a documented destination for the education share. A full accounting of what was appropriated, what was spent in classrooms, and which student results moved because of that spending is not in this snapshot.

Sources for this case

LAO Prop 30 (2012)
LAO Prop 55 (2016)
SCO Track Prop 30/55

Vintage: LAO ballot analyses, 2012 and 2016. SCO tracker retrieved Nov 2026; the DOF projection on that page is dated 30 June 2025.