What is California's battery-embedded fee and when did it start?

It started January 1, 2026. Per CDTFA it is 1.5% of the retail sales price, capped at $15 per product, on products whose battery can't easily be removed with common household tools; devices already paying the e-waste fee and a few other categories are excluded. CalRecycle sets each next year's rate by October 1.

What is California's e-waste fee in 2026?

By diagonal screen size: $4 for 4 inches to under 15 inches, $5 for 15 inches to under 35 inches, and $6 for 35 inches and up. CalRecycle readopted these tiers by emergency regulation approved on September 29, 2025, so they continue in 2026.

Who collects California recycling fees on Best Buy Marketplace orders?

Best Buy's tax page lists California's e-waste fee and battery-embedded fee among the fees it collects on marketplace orders, but sellers must set attributes such as screen size and 'Contains Embedded Battery' correctly. Wrong values can block California sales, and resulting costs are passed to the seller.

Who is responsible for electronics EPR registration?

Generally the producer under state law, such as a company selling electronics under its own brand. Requirements vary, but typically mean registering with the state, joining a recycling program, paying fees and reporting annually. Marketplaces don't do it for you, and Best Buy's seller terms put environmental fees on the seller.

Electronics State Fees: California E-Waste, Battery, EPR

Sales tax is only the first layer when you sell electronics in the U.S. California charges an e-waste recycling fee on covered display devices ($4, $5 or $6 per item by screen size), and since January 1, 2026 a battery-embedded fee on products whose batteries can't easily be removed (1.5% of price, capped at $15 per item). Brand owners may also have to register with electronics recycling (EPR) programs in a dozen or more states and pay annual fees. A marketplace such as Best Buy can collect some of these fees, but only if your product attributes are right; on your own website they are all yours.

How are these fees different from sales tax?

Sales tax is a percentage of price that the seller, or the marketplace, collects from the customer and remits to the state. Electronics recycling fees are separate charges states created to fund disposal of old electronics; some are flat per item, some a percentage, and they are collected from consumers at retail. EPR (extended producer responsibility) is different again: nothing is collected from consumers, and instead the producer (the brand owner, sometimes the importer) registers with the state, joins a recycling program and pays registration and recycling costs.

So one device sold into California can carry sales tax plus an e-waste or battery-embedded fee for the customer, while the brand owner has its own EPR obligations. Keep the three apart.

California's covered electronic waste (e-waste) fee

California charges a recycling fee on covered electronic devices, mainly video display devices such as TVs, monitors and laptops, in three tiers by diagonal screen size: $4 for 4 inches to under 15 inches, $5 for 15 inches to under 35 inches, and $6 for 35 inches and up. Those tiers were due to expire on January 1, 2026; CalRecycle readopted them by emergency regulation, approved by the Office of Administrative Law on September 29, 2025, so they continue in 2026. Which devices are covered follows the Department of Toxic Substances Control's determinations.

California's covered battery-embedded (CBE) fee

Since January 1, 2026 California charges a fee on covered battery-embedded products, meaning products whose battery is not designed to be removed easily with common household tools: many earbuds, fitness bands, smartwatches, electric toothbrushes and Bluetooth speakers. Per the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA), the rate is 1.5% of the retail sales price, not to exceed $15 per product. Devices already subject to the e-waste fee, certain medical devices, certain energy storage systems and certain nicotine delivery systems are excluded, and manufacturers determine which of their products qualify. CalRecycle sets each next year's rate by October 1, so the 2027 rate may change.

Will the marketplace collect them?

It depends on the marketplace. Best Buy Marketplace's Seller Hub tax page says Best Buy, as marketplace facilitator, calculates, collects and remits sales tax and certain fees on marketplace orders. For California it lists mobile telephony and 988 fees, the e-waste recycling fee, the mattress recycling fee and the covered battery-embedded fee; for North Carolina it lists the white goods disposal tax.

The calculation runs off the attributes sellers set. In December 2025 Best Buy required sellers in identified categories to set a 'Contains Embedded Battery' attribute on every product: Yes if the battery isn't easily removable, No if it is removable or there is no battery. Missing or wrong values can block the product from sale in California, and the seller terms say Best Buy will pass through costs caused by a seller's failure to comply with the law. Screen size and similar attributes work the same way.

On Amazon, Walmart and other platforms, check each platform's own statement of what it collects; don't assume every fee is covered.

Selling into California from your own website

On a Shopify or similar site you are the retailer. CDTFA's guidance says retailers collect these fees from consumers at the time of the retail sale, and retailers register with, report to and pay CDTFA. If your products sold into California fall within the definitions, review whether you need to register and how checkout will show the fee separately. Tools like Stripe Tax and Shopify Tax are built for sales tax; confirm separately whether they handle these fees.

EPR registration for brand owners

Best Buy's Seller Hub warns that a company selling electronics under its own brand may be a manufacturer under state law, which means registering with each applicable state program, joining a recycling or stewardship organization, paying registration fees and recycling costs, and reporting annually. Its examples include California, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont and Washington; covered products and thresholds vary by state.

Best Buy's seller terms are blunt about it: recycling, packaging and environmental fees and registrations arising from your sales are your responsibility regardless of how the law allocates them, and Best Buy can recover anything it pays. The international seller terms also ask foreign sellers to register in the U.S. where needed. EPR registrations are usually handled by the brand itself or a compliance service provider.

Lithium batteries: shipping and platform limits

Products with lithium batteries need UN38.3 testing and must be packaged and marked under DOT rules at 49 CFR 173.185, and others in the supply chain can ask you for the test summary. Platforms often go further. Best Buy's excluded products list bars hazardous materials except lithium-ion batteries contained in or packed with equipment (UN3481) under 300 watt-hours each, lithium metal batteries in or with equipment (UN3091) under 25 grams of lithium, and non-spillable wet batteries. Products with batteries of 300 watt-hours or more need $5,000,000 of product liability insurance on Best Buy.

On tariffs, the 2024 Section 301 four-year review raised duties on Chinese non-EV lithium-ion batteries to 25% from 2026, so loose batteries and power banks deserve a careful HTS check.

How to book it

Collected fees aren't revenue: sales tax and recycling fees a marketplace collects have nothing to do with your income or expenses; fees you collect on your own site are a liability you remit. Fees you pay are expenses: EPR registration, recycling program costs, testing and certification are business expenses. Watch bundled pricing: if your own site folds the fee into the price, separate it out for reporting, or you may pay sales tax on the fee as if it were price.

Example (hypothetical numbers, to show the method): a Bluetooth speaker sells for $80 and its battery isn't easily removable. On Best Buy, a California customer pays sales tax plus a battery-embedded fee of $80 × 1.5% = $1.20, collected by Best Buy, provided the attribute is set to Yes. The same speaker sold to California from your own site means you, as retailer, collect that $1.20 and report it to CDTFA (confirm registration first). A 27-inch monitor sold into California carries a $5 e-waste fee.

Bottom line

For electronics, keep three lists: who collects sales tax in each channel; which states and channels carry recycling fees and who collects them; and which states require EPR registration from you as a brand owner. Set marketplace attributes correctly, register your own site where needed, and separate collected amounts from fees you pay in the books.

Best Buy's onboarding requirements, certifications, commissions and entity choice are in our guide; sales tax tools for your own site are in this guide, and North Carolina sales tax in this guide. To map your products' obligations state by state, book a free 15-minute call or add WeChat YCLUSA.