Select your US state to auto-fill the combined rate, or enter a custom rate. Get tax amount and total price instantly.
Know the total you paid (tax included) but need the pre-tax price? Enter the total and the tax rate to extract exactly how much was tax and how much was price.
Add multiple items with different tax rates (e.g. food at 0%, clothing at 6%, electronics at 9%). Get a complete receipt with totals — useful for business expense reports or verifying store receipts.
Enter a purchase price and see what it would cost in multiple states side by side. Useful for major purchases like cars, electronics, or furniture where crossing a state line can save hundreds.
Click any row to load that state's rate into the Add Sales Tax calculator above. Rates are combined averages (state + local). Source: Tax Foundation, January 2026.
| State | State Rate | Avg Combined | Groceries | Load ↑ |
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Most states exempt certain categories from sales tax. Click any card to learn more. Always verify with your specific state's revenue department.
How to Calculate Sales Tax in the US — Formulas, Rates & State Rules
The US has no federal sales tax. Instead, each of the 45 states with sales tax sets its own rate, and thousands of counties and cities can stack additional local rates on top — creating over 12,000 tax jurisdictions across the country.
How to Calculate Sales Tax (Add Tax)
Formula: Tax = Pre-Tax Price × (Tax Rate ÷ 100)
Total Price = Pre-Tax Price + Tax
Example: $200 item at 8.25% combined rate → Tax = $200 × 0.0825 = $16.50. Total = $216.50.
How to Reverse Calculate Sales Tax (Remove Tax)
Formula: Pre-Tax Price = Total Price ÷ (1 + Tax Rate ÷ 100)
Tax Paid = Total − Pre-Tax
Example: paid $216.50 total at 8.25% → Pre-Tax = $216.50 ÷ 1.0825 = $200. Tax = $16.50.
⚠️ Never subtract the rate % from the total directly — $216.50 − 8.25% = $198.63 (wrong).
State Rate vs Combined Rate — What to Use
State rate is set by state government alone. Combined rate adds county and city local taxes. Always use the combined rate for calculating what a customer actually pays. Example: Colorado's state rate is just 2.9%, but Denver's combined rate reaches 8.81% once county and city taxes are added.
5 States With No Sales Tax
Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon have no statewide sales tax. Note: Alaska allows municipalities to levy local sales taxes, so purchases in cities like Juneau may still incur tax. Delaware charges businesses a gross receipts tax instead.
Sales Tax vs VAT — Key Difference
US sales tax is collected once at the final point of sale to the consumer. VAT (used in UK, EU, 160+ countries) is collected at every stage of production but the end consumer pays the same total. Both are consumption taxes — but VAT leaves an audit trail at each stage, making it harder to evade.