US Sales Tax Calculator
Enter any US state or local sales tax rate and calculate the tax amount instantly. Works for all 50 states — add tax to a pre-tax price or strip it from a total.
US Sales Tax Calculator — How American Sales Tax Works
The United States has no federal sales tax or VAT. Instead, 45 states (plus Washington D.C.) levy their own state sales tax, with most also allowing counties and cities to add local taxes on top. The combined rate you pay depends on exactly where you make a purchase — it can range from 0% in states like Oregon and Montana to over 10% in parts of Tennessee, Louisiana, and Alabama.
Because US rates vary by state, county, and city, this calculator uses a manual rate field rather than a fixed dropdown. Simply look up your combined rate and enter it. The most common combined rates are listed in the guide below to help you find yours quickly.
How to Use This Sales Tax Calculator
- Choose your mode: Add Tax (pre-tax price → total with tax) or Remove Tax (total → pre-tax price).
- Enter the dollar amount.
- Look up your combined state + local sales tax rate in the table below and type it in — for example, 8.875% for New York City or 9.25% for Nashville, TN.
- Click Calculate. You will see the pre-tax amount, the tax amount, and the total.
- Click Copy next to any figure to copy it to your clipboard.
Worked Examples
Sales Tax +
Adding 8.875% NYC sales tax: $200.00 pre-tax × 1.08875 = $217.75 total. Tax = $17.75.
Sales Tax −
Removing 10.25% Chicago tax from a total: $110.25 ÷ 1.1025 = $100.00 pre-tax. Tax = $10.25.
Common US Sales Tax Rates by State (2025)
| Date | Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Oregon, Montana, Delaware, New Hampshire | 0% | No state sales tax at all |
| Alaska | 0% state / up to 7.5% local | No state tax but local taxes allowed |
| Hawaii | 4% + 0.5% county | Broad base — covers most services too |
| New York City | 8.875% | 4% state + 4.5% NYC + 0.375% MTA |
| California | 7.25% to 10.75% | Highest state base rate; LA County reaches 10.25% |
| Texas | 8.25% | 6.25% state + up to 2% local |
| Florida | 7–7.5% | 6% state + 1–1.5% county surtax |
| Tennessee | ~9.55% avg combined | Highest combined average of any US state |
| Louisiana | ~9.56% avg combined | Highest combined average alongside Tennessee |
When Do You Have to Collect Sales Tax? (Economic Nexus)
Before 2018, a business only had to collect sales tax in states where it had a physical presence — a store, warehouse, or employee. The 2018 Supreme Court ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair changed everything. Now, any state can require you to collect and remit sales tax based on economic activity alone, regardless of where your business is physically located.
Most states set the economic nexus threshold at $100,000 in sales or 200 separate transactions into that state per calendar year. Cross that line and you must register with the state's department of revenue, collect the correct combined rate (state + applicable local taxes), file returns, and remit what you collected. Failure to comply can result in back taxes, interest, and penalties.
Filing and Remitting US Sales Tax
Once registered in a state, you file sales tax returns on a schedule set by the state — monthly (high-volume sellers), quarterly, or annually. Returns are filed through each state's own online portal. There is no single federal filing; you file separately with each state where you have nexus. This is why many businesses use automated sales tax software (e.g. Avalara, TaxJar, Vertex) once they operate in multiple states.
Unlike VAT, US sales tax offers no input tax credits. Businesses cannot reclaim the sales tax they paid on their own purchases — it is a cost. The only relief is a resale certificate: if you buy goods to resell, you present the certificate to your supplier and buy sales-tax-free, with the tax obligation shifting to the final retail sale.
Frequently Asked Questions — US Sales Tax
- What is the average US sales tax rate?
- There is no single US sales tax rate. The national average combined state and local sales tax rate is approximately 6.6%, but this varies enormously by location. Five states (Oregon, Montana, Delaware, New Hampshire, and Alaska at the state level) charge 0%. Tennessee and Louisiana have the highest combined averages at around 9.5%. Within any state, rates can vary further by county and city.
- How do I calculate sales tax on a purchase?
- To add sales tax: multiply the pre-tax price by (1 + rate/100). Example: $50 × 1.0875 = $54.38 at an 8.75% rate. To find the pre-tax price when you only know the total: divide by (1 + rate/100). Example: $54.38 ÷ 1.0875 = $50.00. This calculator does both automatically.
- Which US states have no sales tax?
- Five states levy no statewide sales tax: Oregon, Montana, Delaware, New Hampshire, and Alaska. However, Alaska allows local jurisdictions to impose their own sales taxes — some Alaskan cities charge up to 7.5%. Delaware does levy a gross receipts tax on businesses, but this is not a consumer-facing sales tax.
- Is sales tax charged on services in the US?
- It depends on the state. Most states exempt services from sales tax and only tax tangible personal property (physical goods). However, states like Hawaii, New Mexico, and South Dakota tax most services. Some states tax specific services — for example, many states now tax digital services, streaming subscriptions, and software-as-a-service (SaaS). Always check the specific rules for your state and the type of service being sold.
- What is use tax and how does it relate to sales tax?
- Use tax is the counterpart to sales tax. If you buy goods from an out-of-state seller who does not charge your state's sales tax, you are legally required to self-assess and remit use tax to your state at the same rate as sales tax. Most individuals do not comply with this requirement, but businesses are expected to track and remit use tax on purchases made from sellers without nexus in their state.
- Do I pay sales tax when buying online?
- Yes, in most cases. Since the Wayfair ruling in 2018, major online retailers (Amazon, Walmart, eBay, etc.) collect and remit sales tax in every state that has a sales tax. Smaller online sellers may not collect if they have not crossed a state's economic nexus threshold — but the buyer technically still owes use tax. Many states now require marketplace facilitators like Amazon and Etsy to collect tax on behalf of all sellers on their platform, regardless of the individual seller's nexus.
- What is the difference between US sales tax and VAT?
- Sales tax is charged once — only at the final retail sale to the consumer. VAT (used in the UK, EU, Australia, Canada, and most of the world) is charged at every stage of the supply chain, but businesses can reclaim the VAT they paid on their own purchases. The end result is the same — the final consumer bears the full tax — but VAT creates a detailed audit trail at every stage. Sales tax is simpler for small businesses but harder to enforce on complex supply chains.