Calculate sales tax on any purchase with this free sales tax calculator. Enter your purchase price and the applicable tax rate to see the exact sales tax amount and total cost instantly. Sales tax rates vary dramatically across the United States, ranging from 0% in five states to over 10% in some local jurisdictions. Whether you're planning a major purchase, preparing business invoices, or comparing prices across state lines, this calculator helps you make informed financial decisions.
Enter your details and click Calculate to see results.
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Input the pre-tax price of the item or service you are buying.
Input the applicable sales tax rate as a percentage. This varies by state and locality. For example, California is 7.25%, Texas is 6.25%, and New York City is 8.875%.
See the calculated tax amount and the total price you will pay at checkout.
Sales tax is a consumption tax imposed by state and local governments on the sale of goods and services. This calculator uses forward calculation - you enter the price before tax and the applicable tax rate, and it calculates the tax amount and total including tax. The formula is: Sales Tax = Price x (Tax Rate / 100) and Total = Price + Sales Tax. For example, if you're buying a $1,000 laptop in Texas (6.25% state rate), the sales tax is $62.50 for a total of $1,062.50.
If you need to work backwards from a total that includes tax to find the pre-tax amount, the formula is: Pre-Tax Price = Total / (1 + Tax Rate as a decimal). For example, if a receipt shows $1,062.50 total in Texas (6.25% rate), the pre-tax price is $1,062.50 / 1.0625 = $1,000.00, with $62.50 in sales tax. This is useful when receipts don't itemize tax separately or when you need to separate business expenses from sales tax for accounting.
Five states have no statewide sales tax: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. However, Alaska allows local jurisdictions to impose sales taxes, so some areas of Alaska do charge sales tax. The remaining 45 states plus Washington D.C. Impose sales tax ranging from 2.9% (Colorado) to 7.25% (California).
Jennifer's receipt shows $324.60 total for office supplies in Texas but doesn't show the pre-tax amount separately. She needs to determine the deductible business expense. Using the reverse formula: $324.60 / 1.0625 = $305.55 pre-tax, $19.05 sales tax. Jennifer can record $305.55 as business expense and $19.05 as sales tax paid.
No, five states have no statewide sales tax: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. However, Alaska allows local jurisdictions to impose sales taxes up to 7.5%, so some areas of Alaska do charge sales tax. The remaining 45 states plus Washington D.C. Impose sales tax ranging from 2.9% (Colorado) to 7.25% (California). When combined with local taxes, rates can exceed 10% in some jurisdictions - Louisiana has the highest combined average rate at 10.11%, followed by Tennessee at 9.55%.
