Sales tax calculator

5 states levy no statewide sales tax: New Hampshire, Oregon, Montana, Alaska and Delaware. Alaska is the one to watch, because its local governments can levy their own sales tax — the local average there is 1.82%, so a purchase can still be taxed. A state with no general sales tax can still charge separate taxes on things like lodging, rental cars or prepared food, and none of these states is tax-free overall — they raise the money through income, property or business taxes instead.

Usually because of local taxes. States set a statewide rate, and counties, cities and special districts can add their own on top; the local figure this calculator uses by default is a population-weighted average of those add-ons, published by the Tax Foundation. It is a good guide to the state as a whole and a poor guide to any single address — two towns a few miles apart can differ by a percentage point or more. If your receipt shows a different rate, enter the exact local rate in the override field. Differences can also come from what is taxed: many states exempt or reduce the rate on groceries, medicine or clothing.

Divide the total by one plus the rate; do not subtract the rate from the total. At 7.53%, a $100.00 total is $100.00 ÷ 1.0753 = $93.00 before tax, and the tax is $7.00. Taking 7.53% off the total instead gives $92.47, which is wrong because the tax was charged on the pre-tax price, not on the total. Reverse mode does the division for you. Results can be a cent off a real receipt, because stores round the tax on each line or on the whole bill.

No. Several states suspend sales tax for a few days a year, most often on back-to-school clothing and supplies, and some for items such as emergency-preparedness supplies or energy-efficient appliances. The dates, price caps and qualifying items are set by each state and can change from year to year, so we do not publish them here. Check the state's revenue department for the current holiday. During one, enter the rate the state says applies to qualifying items: often 0%, though in some states local taxes still apply.

Not necessarily, because the state rate is only part of the bill. Colorado has the lowest statewide rate of any state that charges one, at 2.9%, yet its combined average is 7.89% once local taxes are included. Louisiana has the highest combined average in the country, at 10.11%. Sort the table by the combined column to compare what shoppers actually pay on average.