🧾 Sales Tax Details
Calculate tax on a price or find the pre-tax amount
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🗺️ US State Sales Tax Rates — Click to Apply
How to Calculate Sales Tax
Sales tax is a consumption tax imposed by state and local governments on the sale of goods and services. In the United States, sales tax rates vary significantly by state — from 0% in states like Oregon and Montana to over 10% when combined with local taxes in some cities.
Our free sales tax calculator makes it simple to find the total price including tax, the tax amount alone, or work backwards from a total to find the pre-tax price.
Sales Tax Formula
- Total with tax: Price × (1 + Tax Rate/100). Example: $100 at 8% = $108
- Tax amount: Price × (Tax Rate/100). Example: $100 at 8% = $8 tax
- Pre-tax price: Total / (1 + Tax Rate/100). Example: $108 total at 8% = $100
States With No Sales Tax
Five US states have no statewide sales tax — Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon. However Alaska allows local municipalities to impose sales taxes, so actual rates may vary by city.
States With Highest Sales Tax
- California — 7.25% state rate (highest in the US)
- Indiana, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Tennessee — 7% state rate
- Minnesota, Nevada — 6.875% and 6.85% respectively
- Combined state and local rates can exceed 10% in some areas
Sales Tax Calculator — How Sales Tax Works and How to Calculate It
Sales tax is a consumption tax levied on the sale of goods and services, collected by the seller at the point of sale and remitted to the state or local government. In the United States, sales tax rates and rules vary dramatically by state, county and city — creating one of the most complex sales tax systems in the world. Understanding how to calculate sales tax accurately, find pre-tax prices and navigate multi-jurisdiction rates is essential for consumers and businesses alike.
The Sales Tax Calculation Formula
Forward calculation (finding tax and total): Tax Amount = Price × (Tax Rate ÷ 100). Total Price = Price + Tax Amount. Or more directly: Total Price = Price × (1 + Tax Rate ÷ 100). Reverse calculation (finding pre-tax price from total): Pre-tax Price = Total ÷ (1 + Tax Rate ÷ 100). The reverse calculation is essential when you see a total price and need to determine what portion is tax. A common error is subtracting the tax percentage from the total — always divide by (1 + rate) instead. Use our VAT calculator for international equivalents and our discount calculator to calculate combined discounts and taxes. See our tip calculator for a related calculation.
| Pre-tax Price | Tax Rate | Tax Amount | Total Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50.00 | 7% | $3.50 | $53.50 |
| $100.00 | 8.5% | $8.50 | $108.50 |
| $250.00 | 10.25% | $25.63 | $275.63 |
| $1,000.00 | 9.75% | $97.50 | $1,097.50 |
US Sales Tax Rates by State — 2025 Reference
US sales tax rates vary from 0% to over 10% when combining state and local rates. States with no statewide sales tax are Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon. The highest combined state and local rates are typically found in Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas and Washington. Local rates (city and county) can add 1-5% on top of the state rate, creating significant variation even within a state. California's base state rate is 7.25%, but with local additions many areas exceed 10%.
| State | State Rate | Avg Local | Avg Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 7.25% | 1.57% | 8.82% |
| Texas | 6.25% | 1.95% | 8.20% |
| New York | 4.00% | 4.52% | 8.52% |
| Florida | 6.00% | 1.08% | 7.08% |
| Oregon | 0% | 0% | 0% |
What Is and Isn't Taxable — Common Exemptions
Sales tax exemptions vary by state but commonly include unprepared groceries and food for home consumption (exempt in most states), prescription medications (exempt in all states), medical devices and equipment (exempt in most states), agricultural supplies and equipment (exempt in most states) and clothing below certain price thresholds (exempt in some states like Pennsylvania and New Jersey). Digital goods, streaming services and software are increasingly being taxed as states modernise their tax codes, though rules vary significantly. When in doubt about whether a purchase is taxable, check your state's department of revenue website or ask the seller for their tax treatment.
Online Shopping and Sales Tax — After Wayfair
The 2018 US Supreme Court ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair changed online sales tax collection dramatically. Prior to Wayfair, online retailers without physical presence in a state were not required to collect that state's sales tax. After Wayfair, states can require economic nexus sellers — those with $100,000+ in sales or 200+ transactions in the state — to collect and remit sales tax. Most major e-commerce retailers now collect sales tax in most or all states. Marketplace facilitators like Amazon, eBay and Etsy collect and remit sales tax on behalf of third-party sellers in most states, simplifying compliance for small businesses. Consumers who purchase from non-collecting sellers technically owe "use tax" to their state — the functional equivalent of sales tax self-reported by the buyer.
Sales Tax for Small Businesses — Compliance Basics
Small businesses with sales tax nexus in a state must register for a seller's permit, collect tax at the correct rate for each transaction, file periodic returns (monthly, quarterly or annually depending on volume) and remit collected taxes by the deadline. Rates must be applied based on the delivery destination, not the seller's location, for most states' online sales. Sales tax software integrates with most point-of-sale and e-commerce systems to automate collection, reporting and filing. Non-compliance penalties include back taxes, interest and penalties that can significantly exceed the original tax owed. Use our profit margin calculator to ensure your pricing accounts for sales tax obligations in your business planning. Whether you are a consumer calculating the total cost of a major purchase, a business verifying the correct rate to charge customers or a traveller estimating costs in an unfamiliar state, our sales tax calculator gives you instant accurate results for any price and tax rate combination. The reverse calculation mode is particularly useful for finding the pre-tax price embedded in a total — enter the total and rate to see the breakdown immediately. For international shopping, remember that most countries use VAT rather than sales tax, which works on the same mathematical principle but is embedded differently in the listed price.
Sales Tax Holidays — When You Can Shop Tax-Free
Many US states offer annual sales tax holidays — short periods (typically one weekend) when sales tax is waived on specific categories of purchases. The most common are back-to-school holidays (typically late July to mid-August) covering clothing, school supplies and computers, and disaster preparedness weekends covering emergency supplies. Florida, Texas, Massachusetts and several other states have established regular sales tax holiday traditions. These holidays can produce meaningful savings on large purchases — a $500 laptop in a 9% tax state saves $45 during a tax-free weekend. Mark your state's tax holiday dates and plan larger eligible purchases around these periods to avoid paying tax on purchases you were planning to make anyway.