Sales tax calculator

How to use this calculator

1. Enter the price and choose whether it is before tax or already includes tax.
2. Enter your state rate. If you know your city or county rate, add it in the second field.
3. Read the breakdown: price before tax, state tax, local tax and the total you actually pay.
4. Use Copy link to save the calculation or send it to someone else.

The sales tax formula

When you have both a state and a local rate, add them together first. A 6.25% state rate plus a 2% city rate is an 8.25% combined rate, so a $100 item costs $108.25.

Worked example

You buy a $249.99 pair of headphones in a city with a 6.25% state rate and a 2.25% local rate. Combined, that is 8.5%. The tax is 249.99 × 0.085 = $21.25, and you pay $271.24 at the register.

Going the other way: your receipt total is $54.13 and you know the combined rate is 8.25%. The price before tax is 54.13 ÷ 1.0825 = $50.00, so the tax was $4.13. This is useful for expense reports, where the taxable amount often has to be listed separately.

Why you can't subtract the rate from the total

A common mistake is taking 8.25% off the receipt total. On $54.13 that gives $49.66, which is 34 cents too low. Tax was charged on the pre-tax price, so it is a smaller share of the total than the rate suggests. Always divide by 1 plus the rate instead.

How US sales tax actually works

Sales tax in the United States is set by states, counties, cities and sometimes special districts, so the rate depends on where the sale takes place rather than on a single national rate. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia charge a statewide sales tax. Five states do not: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon. Alaska is the interesting case, because it has no statewide rate but does allow local governments to charge their own, so you can still pay sales tax in some Alaskan towns.

California has the highest statewide base rate at 7.25%. In many states the statewide rate looks modest, but combined state and local rates in some cities run well above 9%. The Tax Foundation publishes an annual ranking of average combined rates by state, and every state revenue department publishes its own official rate lookup, usually by address or ZIP code. Use those official lookups when the amount matters, because rates change on set dates each year.

What gets taxed, and what doesn't

Which items are taxable also varies by state. Many states exempt or reduce tax on groceries and prescription drugs. Clothing is exempt in some states and fully taxable in others. Most services were historically untaxed, but a growing number of states now tax specific services such as landscaping, streaming or repairs. Several states also run annual sales tax holidays, often before the school year, when clothing or school supplies below a price cap are temporarily exempt.

Online orders and shipping

Since the Supreme Court's 2018 South Dakota v. Wayfair decision, states can require out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax once they pass a sales threshold in that state. In practice this means most online orders are taxed at the rate of the delivery address, not the seller's location. Whether shipping charges are taxable depends on the state and sometimes on how the invoice is written.

For businesses

If you collect sales tax, the amount you charge is not revenue. It is money held on behalf of the state until your filing date. Keep it separate in your bookkeeping, file on the schedule your state assigns you, and remember that filing frequency often changes as your sales grow. Sales tax rules differ from income tax rules, and this page is general information, not tax advice.

Last reviewed on September 15, 2026 by the Dailycaltor team.