Sales Tax Calculator
Calculate the price after tax, work backwards from a total to find the pre-tax price, or discover the tax rate from two prices.
US State Sales Tax Rates (state rate only)
| State | Rate | State | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 4% | Alaska | 0% |
| Arizona | 5.6% | Arkansas | 6.5% |
| California | 7.25% | Colorado | 2.9% |
| Connecticut | 6.35% | Delaware | 0% |
| Florida | 6% | Georgia | 4% |
| Hawaii | 4% | Idaho | 6% |
| Illinois | 6.25% | Indiana | 7% |
| Iowa | 6% | Kansas | 6.5% |
| Kentucky | 6% | Louisiana | 4.45% |
| Maine | 5.5% | Maryland | 6% |
| Massachusetts | 6.25% | Michigan | 6% |
| Minnesota | 6.875% | Mississippi | 7% |
| Missouri | 4.225% | Montana | 0% |
| Nebraska | 5.5% | Nevada | 6.85% |
| New Hampshire | 0% | New Jersey | 6.625% |
| New Mexico | 5.125% | New York | 4% |
| North Carolina | 4.75% | North Dakota | 5% |
| Ohio | 5.75% | Oklahoma | 4.5% |
| Oregon | 0% | Pennsylvania | 6% |
| Rhode Island | 7% | South Carolina | 6% |
| South Dakota | 4.5% | Tennessee | 7% |
| Texas | 6.25% | Utah | 5.95% |
| Vermont | 6% | Virginia | 5.3% |
| Washington | 6.5% | West Virginia | 6% |
| Wisconsin | 5% | Wyoming | 4% |
State rates only — local/county taxes can add 0–5%+. Rates may change; verify with your state authority.
How US sales tax actually works
Sales tax in the US is layered. The rate you actually pay at the till is the sum of state, county, city and sometimes special district taxes. In parts of Alabama and Louisiana combined rates cross 10%. In Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon there is no statewide sales tax at all, though localities may still charge one.
Sales tax is generally added on top of the sticker price at checkout in the US — unlike UK VAT or EU consumption taxes, which are usually rolled into the shelf price. This is one of the biggest surprises for visitors: an item marked $19.99 might cost $21.47 at the register.
Common sales-tax questions merchants ask
When do I charge sales tax on an out-of-state sale?
Since South Dakota v. Wayfair (2018), states can require out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax once economic-nexus thresholds are met. The typical trigger is $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions into that state per year, but each state sets its own limit — some are lower, some are gross-receipts based. If you sell online across state lines, register in every state where you cross that state's threshold.
What is usually exempt?
Most states exempt:
- Groceries (in many but not all states — check your state's rules).
- Prescription drugs.
- Sales for resale (business-to-business, with a valid resale certificate).
- Services in many states (though this is shrinking — more states are taxing SaaS and digital goods).
Included vs excluded pricing
If a customer pays a flat "$50 including tax" and you are in a 7% jurisdiction, the pre-tax price is $50 ÷ 1.07 ≈ $46.73 and the tax portion is about $3.27. Flip the toggle above from "Add tax" to "Extract tax" to do that calculation quickly.
Sales tax vs VAT vs GST
These are three names for consumption taxes with different mechanics:
- Sales tax (US): charged once, at the final sale to the end consumer. Businesses buying to resell are exempt.
- VAT (UK, EU): charged at every step of the supply chain, but businesses reclaim VAT on their inputs. Only the end consumer bears it fully.
- GST (Australia, Canada, NZ, India, Singapore): mechanically similar to VAT under a different name.
The end-consumer burden is comparable, but the compliance overhead is very different. VAT/GST systems require every registered business to file returns; US sales tax is usually only collected and remitted by the final retailer.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate the sales tax on a purchase?
Multiply the pre-tax price by the tax rate (as a decimal): a $100 item at a 7% rate has $7 of tax on top for a total of $107. The calculator above does this for you and the reverse (extracting tax from a total).
Are the rates in the table above the actual rate I will pay?
Only the state portion. Local sales tax — city, county, transit or special district — can add anywhere from 0% up to about 5% on top. For a precise number check your state's Department of Revenue sales-tax lookup tool.
Do I owe sales tax on services?
It depends on the service and the state. Traditionally the US taxed goods but not services; today more states tax digital services, SaaS subscriptions, streaming and other digital-first products. Physical services (haircuts, legal advice) remain untaxed in most states.
What is "use tax"?
Use tax is the counterpart of sales tax on items you bought without paying sales tax — for example, items shipped from a state that does not charge sales tax to your home state. In theory you owe use tax on those purchases; in practice enforcement outside of business audits is limited.
What if the amount includes tax and I want to know the pre-tax price?
Use the "Extract tax" mode above, or divide the total by (1 + rate). A $107 total at a 7% rate is $107 ÷ 1.07 = $100 pre-tax with $7 of tax. This is the same reverse-VAT calculation UK shoppers use.
Rates and rules change frequently and vary by locality. This calculator is for education and rough planning; check your state's revenue department before filing or invoicing.