Sales Tax Calculator

Enter the pre-tax amount and choose a state from the dropdown. The calculator immediately shows the combined state + local tax and your total. The default local rate is the statewide average; toggle on the "specific city or county" option to enter an exact local rate from your jurisdiction.

Five states have no statewide sales tax: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. Alaska and Montana still allow local jurisdictions to charge sales tax, so a purchase in Anchorage may still incur tax even though the state rate is 0%. Delaware, New Hampshire, and Oregon are true zero-sales-tax states.

Tax-exempt items vary by state. Most states exempt prescription drugs everywhere. Many states exempt groceries (with notable exceptions like Alabama, Mississippi, and South Dakota). Some states exempt clothing under a price threshold (Massachusetts under $175, New York under $110, Pennsylvania mostly all clothing).

For exact rates by ZIP code, use your state's department of revenue address lookup — combined rates can vary significantly within a single city if special tax districts (sports stadiums, transit authorities) overlap with parts of the area.

The result shows three numbers. The state portion is what goes to the state government. The local portion includes any combination of county, city, and special-district taxes that stack on top. Combined together they make up the combined rate you pay at the register.

Sales tax rates have crept up across the country over the past decade. Louisiana, Tennessee, and Arkansas all have combined rates above 9.5% in many jurisdictions. California has the highest state base rate (7.25%) but moderate local rates compared to states like Colorado, where a 2.9% state rate stacks with up to 8% local in some Denver-area jurisdictions.

For online sellers, the 2018 Supreme Court ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair allows states to require sales tax collection from sellers without physical presence, once "economic nexus" thresholds are crossed. Most states use $100,000 in annual sales or 200 transactions per year as the threshold. If you sell on Amazon, Etsy, or eBay, those marketplaces typically collect tax automatically on your behalf — you do not have to manually file in 45 states.

For businesses, sales tax is generally not included in your reportable revenue — it is collected on behalf of the state and remitted regularly (monthly or quarterly depending on volume). Mixing collected sales tax into your operating cash is a common bookkeeping mistake that gets businesses into trouble at filing time.

A note on accuracy: this calculator uses statewide average local rates. For exact tax on a specific address, use a dedicated tool like Avalara, TaxJar, or your state department of revenue's address lookup.