Free calculator to find the sales tax amount/rate, before tax price, and after-tax price. Also, check the sales tax rates in different states of the U.S.
A sales tax is a consumption tax paid to a government on the sale of certain goods and services. Usually, the vendor collects the sales tax from the consumer as the consumer makes a purchase. In most countries, the sales tax is called value-added tax (VAT) or goods and services tax (GST), which is a different form of consumption tax. In some countries, the listed prices for goods and services are the before-tax value, and a sales tax is only applied during the purchase. In other countries, the listed prices are the final after-tax values, which include the sales tax.
In the United States, sales tax at the federal level does not exist. At the state level, all (including District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam) but five states do not have statewide sales tax. These are Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. States that impose a sales tax have different rates, and even within states, local or city sales taxes can come into play. Unlike VAT (which is not imposed in the U.S.), sales tax is only enforced on retail purchases; most transactions of goods or services between businesses are not subject to sales tax.
The sales tax rate ranges from 0% to 16% depending on the state and the type of good or service, and all states differ in their enforcement of sales tax. In Texas, prescription medicine and food seeds are exempt from taxation. Vermont has a 6% general sales tax, but an additional 10% tax is added to purchases of alcoholic drinks that are immediately consumed. These are only several examples of differences in taxation in different jurisdictions. Rules and regulations regarding sales tax vary widely from state to state.
On average, the impact of sales tax on Americans is about 2 percent of their personal income. Sales tax provides nearly one-third of state government revenue and is second only to the income tax in terms of importance as a source of revenue. Reliance on the sales tax varies widely by state. Sales taxes are much more important in the south and west than they are in New England and the industrial Midwest. Florida, Washington, Tennessee, and Texas all generate more than 50 percent of their tax revenue from the sales tax, and several of these states raise nearly 60 percent of their tax revenue from the sales tax. New York, on the other hand, only raises about 20 percent of its revenues from the sales tax.
StateGeneral State Sales TaxMax Tax Rate with Local/City Sale Tax
Alabama4%13.50%
Alaska0%7%
Arizona5.60%10.73%
Arkansas6.50%11.63%
California7.25%10.50%
Colorado2.90%10%
Connecticut6.35%6.35%
Delaware0%0%
District of Columbia6%6%
Florida6%7.50%
Georgia4%8%
Guam4%4%
Hawaii4.17%4.71%
Idaho6%8.50%
Illinois6.25%10.25%
Indiana7%7%
Iowa6%7%
Kansas6.50%11.50%
Kentucky6%6%
Louisiana4.45%11.45%
Maine5.50%5.50%
Maryland6%6%
Massachusetts6.25%6.25%
Michigan6%6%
Minnesota6.88%7.88%
Mississippi7%7.25%
Missouri4.23%10.85%
Montana0%0%
Nebraska5.50%7.50%
Nevada6.85%8.25%
New Hampshire0%0%
New Jersey6.63%12.63%
New Mexico5.13%8.69%
New York4%8.88%
North Carolina4.75%7.50%
North Dakota5%8%
Ohio5.75%8%
Oklahoma4.50%11%
Oregon0%0%
Pennsylvania6%8%
Puerto Rico10.50%11.50%
Rhode Island7%7%
South Carolina6%9%
South Dakota4%6%
Tennessee7%9.75%
Texas6.25%8.25%
Utah5.95%8.35%
Vermont6%7%
Virginia5.30%6%
Washington6.50%10.40%
West Virginia6%7%
Wisconsin5%6.75%
Wyoming4%6%
Before President-elect Donald Trump proposed it at the federal level, Alabama passed a law exempting overtime wages from taxes back in November 2023. Act 2023-421 (H.B. 217) excluded any amounts received by a full-time, hourly wage employee as compensation for work performed above 40 hours a week from state income taxes, starting January 1, 2024.
