Free Sales Tax Calculator

Sales tax is the tax you pay on purchases — it's added at the register and calculated by multiplying the purchase price by the combined tax rate for your area. The combined rate includes both the state base rate and any local taxes (county, city, special district). On a $1,000 purchase in California at 8.82% combined rate, you pay $88.20 in sales tax for a total of $1,088.20.

Four states charge 0% state sales tax: Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. Alaska has no state sales tax but allows local taxes, resulting in a low average combined rate of about 1.82%. On the other end, Louisiana and Tennessee tie for the highest average combined rate at 9.56%.

Local taxes make a real difference. The state base rate might be 6%, but your county and city can add another 2-3% on top. That's why the same purchase can cost different amounts depending on exactly where you are within a state. Our calculator uses average combined rates for each state to give you the most realistic estimate.

Need to figure out the original price before tax from a receipt? That's the reverse sales tax calculation. Divide the total by (1 + tax rate). A $108.82 total in California = $108.82 ÷ 1.0882 = $100.00 original price. This comes in handy for expense reports and accounting.

Since the 2018 Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, states can require online retailers to collect sales tax even without a physical presence. So most online purchases now include sales tax based on your location. Some states also have sales tax holidays — temporary periods where certain items (like back-to-school supplies) are exempt from sales tax.