diff --git a/src/__tests__/native/transform.test.tsx b/src/__tests__/native/transform.test.tsx
index b7a08fc..34af052 100644
--- a/src/__tests__/native/transform.test.tsx
+++ b/src/__tests__/native/transform.test.tsx
@@ -55,8 +55,10 @@ describe("scale", () => {
       <View testID={testID} className="my-class" />,
     ).getByTestId(testID);
 
+    // Scale is unitless in RN — a percentage var resolves to the fraction
+    // (2% → 0.02), never the string "2%" (which crashes the transform validator).
     expect(component.props.style).toStrictEqual({
-      transform: [{ scaleX: "2%" }, { scaleY: "2%" }],
+      transform: [{ scaleX: 0.02 }, { scaleY: 0.02 }],
     });
   });
 
@@ -75,6 +77,90 @@ describe("scale", () => {
       transform: [{ scaleX: 2 }, { scaleY: 3 }],
     });
   });
+
+  // nativewind/react-native-css#216 — CSS `scale` is unitless in React Native
+  // (75% → 0.75), never the "75%" string that crashes the transform validator.
+  // Both code paths are covered: direct percentages (compile-time
+  // parseScaleValue) and var()-resolved percentages (runtime scale() resolver,
+  // the shape Tailwind v4's `scale-*` utilities actually emit).
+  const scaleStyle = (css: string): unknown => {
+    registerCSS(`.my-class { ${css} }`);
+    return render(<View testID={testID} className="my-class" />).getByTestId(
+      testID,
+    ).props.style;
+  };
+
+  test("percentage — single value applies to both axes", () => {
+    expect(scaleStyle("scale: 75%;")).toStrictEqual({
+      transform: [{ scaleX: 0.75 }, { scaleY: 0.75 }],
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("percentage — identity (100% → 1)", () => {
+    expect(scaleStyle("scale: 100%;")).toStrictEqual({
+      transform: [{ scaleX: 1 }, { scaleY: 1 }],
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("percentage — zero (0% → 0)", () => {
+    expect(scaleStyle("scale: 0%;")).toStrictEqual({
+      transform: [{ scaleX: 0 }, { scaleY: 0 }],
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("percentage — negative flips (-50% → -0.5)", () => {
+    expect(scaleStyle("scale: -50%;")).toStrictEqual({
+      transform: [{ scaleX: -0.5 }, { scaleY: -0.5 }],
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("percentage — greater than 100% (150% → 1.5)", () => {
+    expect(scaleStyle("scale: 150%;")).toStrictEqual({
+      transform: [{ scaleX: 1.5 }, { scaleY: 1.5 }],
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("percentage — fractional (12.5% → 0.125)", () => {
+    expect(scaleStyle("scale: 12.5%;")).toStrictEqual({
+      transform: [{ scaleX: 0.125 }, { scaleY: 0.125 }],
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("percentage — different per-axis values (75% 50%)", () => {
+    expect(scaleStyle("scale: 75% 50%;")).toStrictEqual({
+      transform: [{ scaleX: 0.75 }, { scaleY: 0.5 }],
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("mixed number and percentage per-axis (2 50% → 2, 0.5)", () => {
+    // Both types coexist: the number stays a number, the percentage becomes
+    // its unitless fraction — nothing about number handling changes.
+    expect(scaleStyle("scale: 2 50%;")).toStrictEqual({
+      transform: [{ scaleX: 2 }, { scaleY: 0.5 }],
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("percentage via var() — the Tailwind v4 scale-* shape", () => {
+    expect(
+      scaleStyle(
+        "--tw-scale-x: 75%; --tw-scale-y: 75%; scale: var(--tw-scale-x) var(--tw-scale-y);",
+      ),
+    ).toStrictEqual({ transform: [{ scaleX: 0.75 }, { scaleY: 0.75 }] });
+  });
+
+  test("percentage via var() — different per-axis values", () => {
+    expect(
+      scaleStyle(
+        "--tw-scale-x: 50%; --tw-scale-y: 75%; scale: var(--tw-scale-x) var(--tw-scale-y);",
+      ),
+    ).toStrictEqual({ transform: [{ scaleX: 0.5 }, { scaleY: 0.75 }] });
+  });
+
+  test("unitless number is unchanged — no regression (2 → 2)", () => {
+    expect(scaleStyle("scale: 2;")).toStrictEqual({
+      transform: [{ scaleX: 2 }, { scaleY: 2 }],
+    });
+  });
 });
 
 describe("transform", () => {
diff --git a/src/__tests__/vendor/tailwind/transform.test.ts b/src/__tests__/vendor/tailwind/transform.test.ts
index a056663..2a7cf23 100644
--- a/src/__tests__/vendor/tailwind/transform.test.ts
+++ b/src/__tests__/vendor/tailwind/transform.test.ts
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ describe("Transforms - Scale", () => {
     expect(await renderCurrentTest()).toStrictEqual({
       props: {
         style: {
-          transform: [{ scale: "0%" }],
+          transform: [{ scale: 0 }],
         },
       },
     });
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ describe("Transforms - Scale", () => {
     expect(await renderCurrentTest()).toStrictEqual({
       props: {
         style: {
-          transform: [{ scaleX: "50%" }, { scaleY: 1 }],
+          transform: [{ scaleX: 0.5 }, { scaleY: 1 }],
         },
       },
     });
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ describe("Transforms - Scale", () => {
     expect(await renderCurrentTest()).toStrictEqual({
       props: {
         style: {
-          transform: [{ scaleX: 1 }, { scaleY: "50%" }],
+          transform: [{ scaleX: 1 }, { scaleY: 0.5 }],
         },
       },
     });
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ describe("Transforms - Scale", () => {
     expect(await renderCurrentTest()).toStrictEqual({
       props: {
         style: {
-          transform: [{ scale: "50%" }],
+          transform: [{ scale: 0.5 }],
         },
       },
     });
diff --git a/src/compiler/declarations.ts b/src/compiler/declarations.ts
index 1301364..6281dda 100644
--- a/src/compiler/declarations.ts
+++ b/src/compiler/declarations.ts
@@ -842,7 +842,17 @@ export function parseScaleValue(
     return 0;
   }
 
-  return parseLength(translate[prop], builder);
+  const value = translate[prop];
+  // Scale is unitless in React Native's transform API — CSS `scale: 75%` must
+  // become `{ scale: 0.75 }`, not `{ scale: "75%" }`. lightningcss parses "75%"
+  // as { type: "percentage", value: 0.75 }, so the decimal is already in
+  // `value`; parseLength would format it back to the string "75%" (correct for
+  // layout props, wrong for transforms). Short-circuit percentages here.
+  if (typeof value === "object" && value.type === "percentage") {
+    return round(value.value);
+  }
+
+  return parseLength(value, builder);
 }
 
 function parseLetterSpacing(
diff --git a/src/native/styles/functions/transform-functions.ts b/src/native/styles/functions/transform-functions.ts
index c9826db..8d3ad79 100644
--- a/src/native/styles/functions/transform-functions.ts
+++ b/src/native/styles/functions/transform-functions.ts
@@ -2,15 +2,30 @@ import { isStyleDescriptorArray } from "react-native-css/utilities";
 
 import type { StyleFunctionResolver } from "../resolve";
 
+// CSS `scale` accepts unitless numbers AND percentage strings per CSSWG, but
+// React Native's transform validator only accepts unitless numbers. Tailwind v4
+// emits `scale: var(--tw-scale-x) var(--tw-scale-y)`, whose vars resolve to
+// strings like "100%" / "75%" at runtime — normalize "N%" → N/100 before the
+// type guards. (rotate keeps "Ndeg", translate keeps "N%"; only scale is unitless.)
+const normalizeScaleArg = (value: unknown): unknown => {
+  if (typeof value === "string" && value.endsWith("%")) {
+    const fraction = parseFloat(value);
+    if (!Number.isNaN(fraction)) {
+      return fraction / 100;
+    }
+  }
+  return value;
+};
+
 export const scale: StyleFunctionResolver = (resolveValue, descriptor) => {
   const args = descriptor[2];
 
   if (!isStyleDescriptorArray(args)) {
-    return { scale: resolveValue(args) };
+    return { scale: normalizeScaleArg(resolveValue(args)) };
   }
 
-  const x = resolveValue(args[0]);
-  const y = resolveValue(args[1]);
+  const x = normalizeScaleArg(resolveValue(args[0]));
+  const y = normalizeScaleArg(resolveValue(args[1]));
 
   const isXValid = typeof x === "string" || typeof x === "number";
   const isYValid = typeof y === "string" || typeof y === "number";