The short answer
- Tax = price × rate. Total = price × (1 + rate).
- Price before tax = total ÷ (1 + rate).
- Your rate is the state rate plus any local rates where the sale happens.
Adding sales tax to a price
Turn the rate into a decimal (9.03% is 0.0903), multiply by the price and add the result.
- Rate: 7.25% state + 1.78% local9.03%
- Tax: $1,000 × 0.0903$90.30
Taking sales tax out of a total
To find the price before tax, divide the total by 1 plus the rate. Do not take the rate off the total: that removes tax that was never charged on the tax itself, and the answer comes out too low.
- 1 + 0.08251.0825
- $108.25 ÷ 1.0825$100.00
- Tax included$8.25
State, county and city rates
Most states let local governments add their own sales tax. In Texas, for example, the state rate is 6.25% and local taxes average 1.95%, so a $100 purchase usually carries about $8.20 of tax rather than $6.25. Special districts for transit, stadiums or schools can add more. The combined rate depends on the exact address of the sale, which is why two stores a mile apart can charge different amounts.
The average local rates on this page are the Tax Foundation’s population-weighted averages for July 1, 2026. Use them for estimates, and your receipt or your state revenue department’s rate lookup for an exact figure.
Highest and lowest rates
Counting the state rate and the average local rate together, these states charge the most:
California has the highest state rate on its own, 7.25%. Among states with a sales tax, the lowest combined rates are Alaska (1.82%, all local), Hawaii (4.5%, a general excise tax charged to businesses that is usually passed on), Wyoming (5.39%), Maine (5.5%) and Wisconsin (5.72%).
The five states with no sales tax
Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon have no statewide sales tax. Alaska allows local sales taxes, and some resort areas in Montana charge local resort taxes. These states raise money in other ways: Delaware charges a tax on business receipts, Oregon and Montana rely more on income tax, and New Hampshire taxes meals and rooms.
Sales tax rates in every state
| State | State rate | Average local | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 4% | 5.46% | 9.46% |
| Alaska | 0% | 1.82% | 1.82% |
| Arizona | 5.6% | 2.94% | 8.54% |
| Arkansas | 6.5% | 2.98% | 9.48% |
| California | 7.25% | 1.78% | 9.03% |
| Colorado | 2.9% | 4.99% | 7.89% |
| Connecticut | 6.35% | 0% | 6.35% |
| Delaware | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| District of Columbia | 6% | 0% | 6% |
| Florida | 6% | 0.98% | 6.98% |
| Georgia | 4% | 3.56% | 7.56% |
| Hawaii | 4% | 0.5% | 4.5% |
| Idaho | 6% | 0.03% | 6.03% |
| Illinois | 6.25% | 2.73% | 8.98% |
| Indiana | 7% | 0% | 7% |
| Iowa | 6% | 0.94% | 6.94% |
| Kansas | 6.5% | 2.21% | 8.71% |
| Kentucky | 6% | 0% | 6% |
| Louisiana | 5% | 5.13% | 10.13% |
| Maine | 5.5% | 0% | 5.5% |
| Maryland | 6% | 0% | 6% |
| Massachusetts | 6.25% | 0% | 6.25% |
| Michigan | 6% | 0% | 6% |
| Minnesota | 6.875% | 1.26% | 8.135% |
| Mississippi | 7% | 0.06% | 7.06% |
| Missouri | 4.225% | 4.22% | 8.445% |
| Montana | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Nebraska | 5.5% | 1.48% | 6.98% |
| Nevada | 6.85% | 1.39% | 8.24% |
| New Hampshire | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| New Jersey | 6.625% | 0% | 6.625% |
| New Mexico | 4.875% | 2.8% | 7.675% |
| New York | 4% | 4.54% | 8.54% |
| North Carolina | 4.75% | 2.35% | 7.1% |
| North Dakota | 5% | 2.09% | 7.09% |
| Ohio | 5.75% | 1.54% | 7.29% |
| Oklahoma | 4.5% | 4.56% | 9.06% |
| Oregon | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pennsylvania | 6% | 0.34% | 6.34% |
| Rhode Island | 7% | 0% | 7% |
| South Carolina | 6% | 1.49% | 7.49% |
| South Dakota | 4.2% | 1.91% | 6.11% |
| Tennessee | 7% | 2.61% | 9.61% |
| Texas | 6.25% | 1.95% | 8.2% |
| Utah | 6.1% | 1.32% | 7.42% |
| Vermont | 6% | 0.43% | 6.43% |
| Virginia | 5.3% | 0.47% | 5.77% |
| Washington | 6.5% | 3.07% | 9.57% |
| West Virginia | 6% | 0.6% | 6.6% |
| Wisconsin | 5% | 0.72% | 5.72% |
| Wyoming | 4% | 1.39% | 5.39% |
What is taxed and what is not
Sales tax applies to most goods, but every state has its own exemptions:
- Groceries are exempt or taxed at a lower rate in most states; prepared food and restaurant meals are usually taxed in full.
- Prescription medicine is exempt almost everywhere.
- A few states exempt clothing, fully or up to a price limit, and some hold sales tax holidays before the school year.
- Services such as haircuts or repairs are taxed in some states and not in others.
Coupons and discounts
A store discount usually lowers the taxable price. A manufacturer’s coupon, which the store is paid back for, is often taxed on the full price. Rules vary by state.
Online shopping and use tax
Since the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, states can make online and out-of-state sellers collect sales tax once they sell enough into the state, and every state with a sales tax now does. The tax is charged at the rate where the item is delivered. If a seller does not collect it, you may owe the same amount as use tax, usually reported on your state income tax return.
Cars and other big purchases
On a large purchase, the rate matters. A $30,000 car at 7% carries $2,100 of sales tax. Most states charge it where you register the car rather than where you buy it, and many tax only the price after a trade-in. The auto loan calculator adds sales tax and fees to a car payment, and the percentage calculator handles any other percentage sum.
Deducting sales tax
If you itemize deductions on your federal return, you can deduct either state and local income taxes or state and local sales taxes, not both, within the overall limit on state and local taxes. Sales tax is usually the better choice in states with no income tax, such as Texas, Florida and Washington. You can use your receipts or the IRS’s tables. Most people take the standard deduction instead; the federal income tax calculator compares the two.
Rounding and receipts
Stores work out tax to the cent, and most round half a cent up. Some add the tax line by line and others on the whole basket, so a receipt can be a cent or two away from a calculator. If the gap is bigger, check whether some items were taxed at a lower rate (groceries, for example) or not taxed at all. To find the rate a store charged you, divide the tax on the receipt by the taxable subtotal: $8.25 of tax on $100 is 8.25%.