🏷️Sales Tax Calculator

About this tool

Choose to add tax, remove tax from a total or find the rate. Enter the price, plus the state rate and any local (county, city or district) rate, which are combined. The calculator shows the price before tax, the tax amount and the total. In Find the rate mode, enter the price before tax and the total paid.

How sales tax works in the US

In the United States, sales tax is added at the checkout rather than included in the shelf price, and the rate usually combines a state rate with county, city or special district rates. A $100 purchase at a 6% state rate plus 2.25% local tax, 8.25% combined, comes to $108.25. To find the pre-tax price from a tax-inclusive total, divide by 1 plus the rate as a decimal rather than subtracting the percentage: $108.25 ÷ 1.0825 = $100. Subtracting 8.25% from $108.25 would give $99.32, which is wrong because the tax was calculated on the smaller pre-tax figure. The rate finder works backwards from the before and after prices, useful for checking a receipt. A handful of states have no statewide sales tax, while combined rates elsewhere can exceed 9%. Many states exempt or reduce tax on groceries, prescription drugs or clothing, and some hold sales-tax holidays. Honest limits: rates change and depend on the exact delivery address, so check your state's department of revenue. Online purchases and services follow their own rules. For VAT in the UK and EU, where prices include tax, use the VAT calculator. The discount calculator and the tip calculator are related.

Frequently asked questions