Sales tax calculator — add or remove tax
Add sales tax to a price or back it out of a total, using a built-in table of US state rates, an editable local rate, or any VAT or GST rate you enter.
- Runs in your browser
- Nothing you enter is sent
- Free, no account
Pre-filled with a typical add-on for California. Replace it with the rate on your receipt for an exact answer.
Most states let cities and counties stack their own sales tax on top of the state rate.
The 7.25% state rate already includes a 1.25% mandatory local component.
Rate in use: 8.85% (7.25% state + 1.6% local)
- Price before tax
- $149.99
- State tax (7.25%)
- $10.87
- Local tax (1.6%)
- $2.40
- Total with tax
- $163.26
tax = $149.99 × 8.85% = $13.27 total = $149.99 + $13.27 = $163.26
| State | State rate | Typical local | Typical combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| AL | 4% | 5.3% | 9.3% |
| AK | 0% | 1.8% | 1.8% |
| AZ | 5.6% | 2.8% | 8.4% |
| AR | 6.5% | 2.9% | 9.4% |
| CA | 7.25% | 1.6% | 8.85% |
| CO | 2.9% | 4.9% | 7.8% |
| CT | 6.35% | 0% | 6.35% |
| DE | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| DC | 6% | 0% | 6% |
| FL | 6% | 1% | 7% |
| GA | 4% | 3.4% | 7.4% |
| HI | 4% | 0.5% | 4.5% |
| ID | 6% | 0.03% | 6.03% |
| IL | 6.25% | 2.6% | 8.85% |
| IN | 7% | 0% | 7% |
| IA | 6% | 0.9% | 6.9% |
| KS | 6.5% | 2.2% | 8.7% |
| KY | 6% | 0% | 6% |
| LA | 5% | 5.1% | 10.1% |
| ME | 5.5% | 0% | 5.5% |
| MD | 6% | 0% | 6% |
| MA | 6.25% | 0% | 6.25% |
| MI | 6% | 0% | 6% |
| MN | 6.875% | 1.2% | 8.08% |
| MS | 7% | 0.06% | 7.06% |
| MO | 4.225% | 4.2% | 8.43% |
| MT | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| NE | 5.5% | 1.4% | 6.9% |
| NV | 6.85% | 1.4% | 8.25% |
| NH | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| NJ | 6.625% | 0% | 6.63% |
| NM | 4.875% | 2.8% | 7.68% |
| NY | 4% | 4.5% | 8.5% |
| NC | 4.75% | 2.2% | 6.95% |
| ND | 5% | 2% | 7% |
| OH | 5.75% | 1.5% | 7.25% |
| OK | 4.5% | 4.5% | 9% |
| OR | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| PA | 6% | 0.34% | 6.34% |
| RI | 7% | 0% | 7% |
| SC | 6% | 1.5% | 7.5% |
| SD | 4.2% | 1.9% | 6.1% |
| TN | 7% | 2.6% | 9.6% |
| TX | 6.25% | 2% | 8.25% |
| UT | 6.1% | 1.1% | 7.2% |
| VT | 6% | 0.4% | 6.4% |
| VA | 5.3% | 0.5% | 5.8% |
| WA | 6.5% | 2.9% | 9.4% |
| WV | 6% | 0.6% | 6.6% |
| WI | 5% | 0.7% | 5.7% |
| WY | 4% | 1.4% | 5.4% |
These are state-level base rates with a rough average of local add-ons. Actual rates depend on the exact delivery address, and some goods (groceries, clothing, prescriptions) are taxed differently or not at all. Check your state revenue department before filing anything.
How to use the sales tax calculator
- Choose whether you are adding tax to a net price or removing it from a gross total.
- Enter the amount.
- Pick your state from the list — or tap a row in the reference table — and the state base rate loads automatically, along with a typical local add-on you can overwrite.
- Outside the US, switch to Enter my own rate and type your VAT or GST percentage.
The result splits the net price, the tax and the gross total, and shows the state and local portions separately when both apply.
The formulas
Adding tax: tax = net × rate ÷ 100, and gross = net + tax.
Removing tax: net = gross ÷ (1 + rate ÷ 100), and tax = gross − net.
Removing tax by subtracting the same percentage is the classic mistake. Take $108.25 at 8.25%:
- Wrong: 108.25 − 8.25% = $99.32
- Right: 108.25 ÷ 1.0825 = $100.00
The percentage was applied to the smaller net price, so it has to be divided back out of the larger gross figure. The gap grows with the rate: at 20% VAT the wrong method is off by 4% of the total.
Reverse VAT at common rates
| Rate | Divide the gross by | Tax as a share of the gross |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | 1.05 | 4.762% |
| 6% | 1.06 | 5.660% |
| 7% | 1.07 | 6.542% |
| 8.25% | 1.0825 | 7.621% |
| 10% | 1.10 | 9.091% |
| 20% | 1.20 | 16.667% |
State rates, local rates and why they differ
Only the state portion of US sales tax is set at state level. Thirty-eight states also allow counties, cities and special-purpose districts to levy their own sales tax, which is collected together with the state rate at the register. That is why two shops twenty minutes apart can charge different totals for the same item, and why an address — not a state — determines the real rate.
A few structural quirks worth knowing:
- California's 7.25% already includes a 1.25% mandatory local component, which is why it is quoted as the highest "state" rate despite the state share being 6%.
- Alaska has no state sales tax at all but many boroughs and cities do, so purchases there are not automatically tax free.
- Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon charge no general sales tax at any level.
- New Mexico levies a gross receipts tax on the seller and Hawaii a general excise tax; both are normally passed to the buyer and behave like a sales tax.
- Groceries, prescription drugs and clothing are exempt or taxed at a reduced rate in many states, so the rate on your receipt may be lower than the general rate.
Sales tax versus VAT
US sales tax is a single-stage tax charged once, at the final retail sale, and is normally quoted separately from the shelf price. VAT and GST are multi-stage: each business in the chain charges it and reclaims what it paid, and consumer prices are usually quoted inclusive. The arithmetic in this tool covers both — "remove tax" is exactly the calculation a VAT-registered business needs to split a gross invoice into net and VAT.
Working out an unknown rate
If your receipt shows the net and the tax but not the rate:
rate = tax ÷ net × 100
A $4.13 tax on a $50.00 subtotal is 8.26%. Enter that figure in the custom rate field to reproduce the receipt exactly.
Accuracy and limits
The embedded table lists state base rates plus a rough average local add-on. It is a reference, not a compliance tool: rates change with legislation, sourcing rules differ between origin and destination states, and specific goods carry their own treatment. For filing or invoicing, check your state revenue department or a certified rate service for the exact rate at the delivery address.
Privacy
All arithmetic runs in your browser. No amount, rate or state selection is transmitted anywhere.
Questions
How do I remove sales tax from a total?
Divide, do not subtract. A $108.25 total at 8.25% has a net price of 108.25 ÷ 1.0825 = $100.00, not $99.32. Subtracting 8.25% from the gross is the classic error and always understates the net price.
Are the state rates in the table exact for my address?
They are the state base rates. Most states let counties, cities and special districts add their own tax on top, so the rate charged at a specific address is usually higher. The local field is pre-filled with a typical add-on you should replace with the rate on your receipt.
Which states have no sales tax?
Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon have no state-level sales tax. Alaska and Montana still allow local sales taxes in some places, so a purchase there is not always tax free.
Can I use this for VAT or GST?
Yes. Switch to a custom rate and enter 20 for UK VAT, 19 for German VAT, 5 for Canadian GST and so on. The add and remove modes are exactly what VAT-inclusive and VAT-exclusive pricing need.
Are the rates guaranteed to be current?
No — rates change by legislation and this table is a reference, not a filing authority. Check your state revenue department before using a figure on a return or an invoice.