Sales Tax Calculator
✦ Finance & MoneyUse this sales tax calculator to add tax to a price or pull it out of a total with every state's 2026 rate and average local rate — or as a reverse sales tax calculator from what you paid.
- ✓ Calculated in your browser
- ✓ Nothing you type is stored
- ✓ No sign-up required
- ✓ Formula and sources shown
The formula
Sales tax, forward and reverse
Adding tax: tax = price × (state rate + local rate); total = price + tax
Inside a total: price = total ÷ (1 + state rate + local rate); tax = total − price
Split: state tax = price × state rate; local tax = tax − state taxThe combined rate is the state rate plus whatever local rate applies where the sale is rung up. The default local rate is the population-weighted average for the state from the dataset; the exact rate in your city or county may be higher or lower, and you can type it in. Amounts are shown to the cent and the state and local parts always add to the tax shown.
Calculating it by hand
- Choose what you know: a price before tax (add tax to it) or the total you paid (find the tax inside it).
- Enter the amount, pick the state, and leave the local rate at the state average or replace it with the rate printed on your receipt or found in the state's rate lookup.
- To add tax: multiply the price by the combined rate — $1,200 × 8.25 % = $99.00 — and add it to the price.
- To reverse it: divide the total by one plus the combined rate — $54.32 ÷ 1.0975 = $49.49 — and subtract that from the total to get the tax, $4.83.
- Split the tax by multiplying the pre-tax price by the state rate; the remainder is the local part.
Worked examples
A $1,200 laptop in Texas at the 2 % local maximum
Choose "Add tax to a price", enter $1,200, pick Texas and set the local rate to 2 (most Texas cities charge the 2 % local cap; the state average is 1.95 %).Combined rate: 6.25 % + 2 % = 8.25 %.Tax: $1,200 × 0.0825 = $99.00 — $75.00 state (6.25 %) and $24.00 local (2 %).
Sales tax $99.00 · total $1,299.00 · $75.00 state + $24.00 local
A $54.32 receipt in Tennessee — how much was tax?
Choose "Find the tax in a total", enter $54.32, pick Tennessee and set the local rate to 2.75 (the maximum county rate; the state average is 2.61 %).Combined rate: 7 % + 2.75 % = 9.75 %.Price before tax: $54.32 ÷ 1.0975 = $49.49. Tax: $54.32 − $49.49 = $4.83, of which $3.46 is state tax and $1.37 local.
The item cost $49.49 and $4.83 of the total was sales tax
Sales tax on a $30,000 car in Texas
Choose "Add tax to a price", enter $30,000, pick Texas and set the local rate to 0 — Texas motor vehicle sales tax is the 6.25 % state rate with no local add-on.Tax: $30,000 × 0.0625 = $1,875.00.Total: $31,875.00. Texas computes the tax on the price after any trade-in allowance, so enter the net price if you are trading in.
Sales tax $1,875.00 · total $31,875.00 · all state tax
Methodology
How sales tax rates are built
The rate you pay is almost never the state rate alone — counties, cities and transit districts add their own on top, so two registers in the same state can charge different amounts. This page uses the state rate plus an average local rate, and says so wherever it matters.
Read sources and limitsWhat a sales tax calculator does
A sales tax calculator multiplies a price by the combined state and local rate where the sale happens to give the tax and the total, or divides a tax-inclusive total by one plus that rate to recover the price before tax. This one holds every state's rate and average local rate and splits the tax into state and local parts.
You can replace the average local rate with the exact rate for your city or county. Two things the page deliberately does not do: look up a rate by ZIP code, and apply exemptions. Both are explained below, because knowing what the average local rate means is what makes the figure useful.
How to calculate sales tax — and how to reverse it
Forward: $100 in California at the 7.25 % state rate plus the 1.78 % average local rate is a 9.03 % combined rate, so the tax is $9.03 and the total $109.03 — $7.25 of it state tax and $1.78 local. The calculator opens on exactly this case.
Reverse (the "price before tax calculator" question): a $54.32 receipt in Tennessee at 7 % plus a 2.75 % local rate carries 9.75 %. Dividing by 1.0975 gives a pre-tax price of $49.49, so the tax was $4.83 — $3.46 of it the state's and $1.37 the county's. Never multiply the total by the rate to find the tax inside it; that overstates it by the rate squared.
Sales tax rates by state: why the rate is really two numbers
Most states set a statewide rate, then let counties, cities and special districts add their own on top. The result is that the rate depends on where the register is, not just which state you are in. Colorado's 2.9 % state rate is the lowest nonzero rate in the country, but local additions run as high as 9.1 % there; Louisiana pairs a 5 % state rate with local rates averaging 5.13 %, giving it the highest combined average in the dataset at 10.13 %, with Tennessee (9.61 %) and Washington (9.57 %) next.
A few states fold a mandatory local levy into their headline rate: California's 7.25 % includes a 1.25 % statewide local component, and Utah and Virginia do the same. Hawaii, New Mexico and South Dakota levy broad gross-receipts or excise taxes that reach many services other states leave untaxed, so their modest rates understate what is collected. Five states have no statewide sales tax — Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon — and Alaska is the odd one out, allowing local sales taxes that average 1.82 %.
Sales tax rate by ZIP code: what this page can and cannot tell you
A ZIP-code lookup needs a boundary database that is updated every quarter as jurisdictions change their rates — a data product this site does not have, so it does not pretend to. What it can do is bracket the answer: the chart under the calculator shows the tax at the state rate alone, at the local rate you entered or the state average, and at the highest local rate anywhere in the state. Your real figure sits inside that range, and the receipt or the state revenue department's rate finder gives the exact rate for an address.
The average local rate is the population-weighted mean of every local jurisdiction in the state, so it is the best single guess for a resident chosen at random — and it will be wrong for almost every individual address, usually by less than a percentage point. For a $100 purchase that is under a dollar; for a $30,000 one it is up to a few hundred dollars, which is why the local-rate field exists.
Sales tax on a car, and other purchases with their own rules
Vehicles are the purchase people most often reach for a calculator on, and several states tax them differently from ordinary goods. Texas charges a 6.25 % motor vehicle sales tax with no local add-on, so a $30,000 car is $1,875 of tax — set the local rate to 0 to reproduce it. Some states cap the local portion on vehicles, some tax the price after a trade-in credit, and a handful levy a separate excise instead of sales tax. The calculator gives the state-rate figure; confirm the vehicle rules with your state before signing.
Prepared food, lodging, alcohol and tobacco often carry extra local or special taxes on top of the general rate, and some cities levy their own. Online purchases are taxed at the rate for the delivery address in every state that has a sales tax, following the 2018 Wayfair decision; where a seller does not collect it, the buyer owes the same amount as use tax.
What is not included
Exemptions are not modelled. Most states exempt or reduce the rate on groceries, many exempt prescription medicine, and a few exempt clothing below a threshold, so the tax on a supermarket receipt is usually lower than the headline rate implies. Special-purpose district taxes, resort taxes, and item-specific rates for prepared food, lodging or motor vehicles are also outside a general calculator.
Rates change through the year as local jurisdictions vote on them. The figures here carry the dataset's "as of" date beside the year selector, and every result says how its rate was sourced: the 2026 state and average local rates are taken from the Tax Foundation's midyear table, a secondary source, and have not yet been verified against each state's revenue department. Confirm the rate with the state before relying on it for anything that matters. For the income side of a purchase decision, the income tax calculator and paycheck calculator use the same year-stamped datasets.
Sales Tax questions
How do I calculate sales tax on a price?
Multiply the price by the combined state-plus-local rate as a decimal: a $100 item at 8.25 % carries $8.25 of tax for a $108.25 total. The calculator does this and splits the tax between the state and local portions — in Texas, $6.25 state and $2.00 local on that $100.
How do I find the price before tax from a total?
Divide the total by one plus the combined rate. If you paid $108.25 at 8.25 %, the price before tax is $108.25 ÷ 1.0825 = $100.00 and the tax was $8.25. Choose "Find the tax in a total" and the calculator does the division — it is the reverse sales tax calculation, and multiplying the total by the rate instead would give $8.93, too much.
What is the sales tax in California?
7.25 % statewide — the highest state rate in the country, and it already includes a mandatory 1.25 % local component. District taxes add an average of 1.78 % on top for a 9.03 % combined rate, so a $100 purchase carries $9.03 of tax; in the highest-rate districts the local addition reaches 5.25 %. The calculator opens on California and lets you type in your district rate.
Which state has the highest sales tax?
Louisiana, with a 5 % state rate and local rates averaging 5.13 % — a combined 10.13 % in the dataset for 2026. Tennessee (9.61 %), Washington (9.57 %), Arkansas (9.48 %) and Alabama (9.46 %) follow. California has the highest state rate at 7.25 %, but its average combined rate of 9.03 % is lower than those five because its local rates are smaller.
Which states have no sales tax?
Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon have neither state nor local sales tax, so the sticker price is the whole price. Alaska has no state rate but permits local sales taxes, which average 1.82 % and reach 7.85 % in some boroughs. Pick any of the four in the calculator and it reports $0 of tax.
Can I look up my sales tax rate by ZIP code?
Not here. ZIP-code rates need a boundary database that is updated every quarter, and this site does not carry one. The calculator uses the state rate plus the population-weighted average local rate and shows the range from the state rate alone to the highest local rate in the state; your receipt or the state revenue department's rate finder gives the exact rate for your address, which you can type into the local-rate field.
How much is sales tax on a car?
Usually the state's general rate on the purchase price, often with vehicle-specific rules: Texas charges a flat 6.25 % motor vehicle sales tax with no local add-on, so a $30,000 car carries $1,875 of tax; many states tax the price after a trade-in credit, some cap the local part, and a few levy a separate excise. Enter the price and set the local rate to match your state's vehicle rule.
Do I pay sales tax on online purchases?
Yes, in every state that has a sales tax. Since the Supreme Court's 2018 Wayfair decision, out-of-state sellers above a state's sales threshold must collect tax at the rate for your delivery address. If a seller does not collect it, you owe the same amount to your state as use tax, usually reported on your state income tax return.
Are groceries and medicine taxed at these rates?
Usually not in full. Most states exempt or reduce the rate on unprepared food, nearly all exempt prescription drugs, and some exempt clothing under a set price. This calculator applies the general rate and does not model exemptions, so a supermarket receipt will normally show less tax than it estimates.
Is sales tax charged on shipping?
It depends on the state. Many states tax delivery charges whenever the item itself is taxable, some exempt separately stated shipping, and a few tax shipping but not handling, or the reverse. This calculator taxes only the amount you enter; include the shipping charge in the price if your state taxes it.
What is the difference between sales tax and use tax?
They are the same rate on the same purchase, collected differently. Sales tax is collected by the seller at the register; use tax is paid by the buyer directly to the state when the seller did not collect it — a purchase from an out-of-state seller, or an item bought tax-free in another state and brought home. The calculator's figure is the amount due either way.
How current are the rates, and are they verified?
They are the rates in force on 1 July 2026, from the Tax Foundation's State and Local Sales Tax Rates, Midyear 2026 — a secondary source. They have not yet been verified against each state's revenue department, and the calculator says so beside every result. State rates change rarely; local rates change more often, so for a large purchase confirm the rate with the state revenue department's lookup.
Source notes
Method, sources & limitations
Every figure on this page comes from the formula above applied to the values you enter. Nothing is estimated from market data, and no result is a forecast. These are the sources behind the method and any fixed figures it uses:
- California Department of Tax and Fee Administration — Sales and use tax rates (statewide 7.25 %, district rates)
- Texas Comptroller — Sales and use tax (6.25 % state rate, local rates up to 2 %)
- Texas Comptroller — Motor vehicle sales tax (6.25 %, no local tax)
- Tennessee Department of Revenue — Sales and use tax rates (7 % state, local up to 2.75 %)
- Tax Foundation — State and Local Sales Tax Rates, Midyear 2026 (the dataset's state and average local rates; secondary source)
Educational information only. Results are estimates produced from the assumptions you enter, and are not financial, tax, legal or medical advice. Check anything that matters against a qualified professional and the cited sources.