- $100.00 × 8.25% = $8.25 tax
- $100.00 + $8.25 = $108.25
Tax is rounded to the nearest cent. State averages come from the Tax Foundation and are a starting point only; look up the exact rate for your address with your state's revenue department.
How to use
- Choose whether to add tax to a price, remove tax from a total, or find the rate from a price and total.
- Enter the amount. To add or remove tax, enter the sales tax rate as a percentage.
- If you do not know the rate, choose a state to fill in its 2026 average combined state and local rate, then adjust it for your city.
- Read the result, the tax amount and the formula used.
Formulas
- Add tax: tax = price × rate, total = price + tax
- Remove tax: price = total ÷ (1 + rate), tax = total − price
- Find the rate: rate = (total − price) ÷ price
All amounts are converted to cents before calculating, so results do not suffer from floating-point errors, and the tax is rounded to the nearest cent, with half a cent rounding up.
State sales tax rates in 2026
According to the Tax Foundation’s data as of January 1, 2026, 45 states and the District of Columbia levy a statewide sales tax. California has the highest state rate at 7.25%, which includes a mandatory statewide local add-on. Once average local taxes are included, the highest combined rates are in Louisiana (10.11%), Tennessee (9.61%), Washington (9.51%), Arkansas (9.46%) and Alabama (9.46%). The population-weighted national average combined rate is about 7.5%.
Choosing a state in the calculator fills in its average combined rate and shows the state-only rate next to it. Because local rates vary widely, even within one county, treat the average as a starting point and replace it with your exact rate when you know it.
Common uses
- Shopping: find the real checkout price of an item before you buy it.
- Budgeting a big purchase: the difference between a 6% and a 9.5% rate on a $2,000 appliance is $70.
- Expense reports and bookkeeping: split a receipt total into the pre-tax amount and the tax.
- Small businesses: check the tax on an invoice, or work out which rate a supplier charged.
Use tax
If you buy something from an out-of-state seller that does not collect your state’s sales tax, many states expect you to pay an equivalent use tax on your income tax return. Most large online retailers now collect sales tax automatically, but the rule still applies to other purchases.
Privacy
Prices and totals are calculated in your browser and never sent to a server.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I calculate sales tax?
- Multiply the pre-tax price by the tax rate as a decimal. At 8.25%, a $100 purchase has $100 × 0.0825 = $8.25 of tax, for a total of $108.25. The calculator rounds the tax to the nearest cent.
- How do I remove sales tax from a total?
- Divide the total by 1 plus the rate. For a $108.25 receipt at 8.25%, the pre-tax price is $108.25 ÷ 1.0825 = $100, and the tax is the difference, $8.25. Simply taking 8.25% off the total would give the wrong answer.
- Which states have no sales tax?
- Five states have no statewide sales tax, Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon. Alaska still allows local sales taxes, so some Alaska towns charge one.
- Why is the rate for my city different from the state average?
- Most states let counties, cities and special districts add their own sales taxes. The state averages in this tool are weighted by population, so your exact rate can be higher or lower. Use your state revenue department's rate lookup for your address.
- Are groceries and clothing taxed?
- It depends on the state. Many states exempt or reduce tax on groceries and prescription drugs, and a few exempt clothing. The calculator applies one rate to the whole amount, so enter only the taxable portion of a purchase.
- Why is my receipt off by a cent?
- Stores may round tax per item instead of on the total, and some states use bracket tables instead of simple rounding. A difference of a cent or two is normal.