US Sales Tax Rates by State

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US Sales Tax Calculator by State

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Free US sales tax calculator with 2026 rates for all 50 states + DC. Add or extract tax, compare states, and see state vs local breakdown with charts.

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US Sales Tax Rates by State — 2026 Complete Guide

Sales tax in the United States is levied by states and thousands of local jurisdictions, with combined rates ranging from 0% to over 10%. This calculator uses the latest 2026 population-weighted rates from the Tax Foundation so you can price purchases, file compliantly, and compare states side by side.

10.11%

Highest combined avg (Louisiana)

6.44%

US average combined rate

5

States with 0% state sales tax

11,000+

Local taxing jurisdictions

The History of Sales Tax in America

Mississippi became the first US state to adopt a general sales tax, converting a gross-receipts levy into a modern retail sales tax in 1930 and formally codifying it under the Mississippi Business and Occupation (Sales) Tax Act, effective March 1, 1934. The trigger was the Great Depression: collapsing property values and incomes gutted the traditional tax base, and states desperately needed a new, harder-to-evade revenue source tied to everyday spending.

The idea spread fast. By the end of the 1930s, 22 states had enacted their own sales taxes. Unlike a European-style VAT, US sales tax stayed a single-stage, retail-only tax — a structural choice made state-by-state that still defines the system nearly a century later.

For most of the 20th century, sales tax only applied to businesses with a physical presence — a store, warehouse, or employee — in a state. Mail-order and later e-commerce exploited this gap for decades. That ended with South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. (2018), in which the Supreme Court overturned the physical-presence rule and allowed states to tax remote sellers based on economic nexus alone. Within two years, every taxing state had adopted an economic-nexus law, reshaping sales tax into the destination-based, e-commerce-inclusive system this calculator models.

Today, five states still collect no statewide sales tax at all — a direct legacy of decisions some made in the 1930s–60s to rely instead on income or property taxes, or in Alaska's and New Hampshire's case, resource and tourism revenue.

How US Sales Tax Works

The combined rate you actually pay is the state base rate plus county, city, and special-district rates: Combined = State + County + City + District. A $100 purchase in Chicago (10.25%) costs $110.25; the same purchase in Portland, Oregon (0%) costs exactly $100.

Adding tax: Total = Price × (1 + rate). Extracting tax from a receipt: Pre-tax = Total ÷ (1 + rate). Our calculator does both and splits the result into the state and local portions.

Sales tax in the US is almost always destination-based — the rate is set by where the buyer takes delivery, not where the seller is. After South Dakota v. Wayfair (2018), remote sellers who cross a state's economic-nexus threshold (commonly $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions) must collect that state's tax even with no physical presence.

Commonly Exempt

→Groceries (most states)

→Prescription drugs

→Medical devices

→Goods bought for resale

→Manufacturing inputs

→Most professional services

Highest & Lowest Combined Rates (2026)

Top 10 (red) and bottom 10 (green) states by average combined state + local sales tax rate.

Sales Tax by State — All 50 States + DC (2026)

Rank	State	State Rate	Avg Local	Combined	Max Local
1	Louisiana	5.00%	5.11%	10.11%	12.00%
2	Tennessee	7.00%	2.61%	9.61%	9.75%
3	Washington	6.50%	3.01%	9.51%	10.60%
4	Alabama	4.00%	5.46%	9.46%	15.00%
5	Arkansas	6.50%	2.96%	9.46%	12.63%
6	Oklahoma	4.50%	4.56%	9.06%	11.50%
7	California	7.25%	1.74%	8.99%	12.50%
8	Illinois	6.25%	2.71%	8.96%	11.00%
9	Kansas	6.50%	2.19%	8.69%	10.75%
10	New York	4.00%	4.54%	8.54%	8.88%
11	Arizona	5.60%	2.92%	8.52%	10.90%
12	Missouri	4.22%	4.22%	8.44%	9.99%
13	Nevada	6.85%	1.39%	8.24%	8.38%
14	Texas	6.25%	1.95%	8.20%	8.25%
15	Minnesota	6.88%	1.26%	8.14%	9.88%
16	Colorado	2.90%	4.99%	7.89%	12.00%
17	New Mexico	4.88%	2.79%	7.67%	9.44%
18	Georgia	4.00%	3.49%	7.49%	9.00%
19	South Carolina	6.00%	1.49%	7.49%	9.00%
20	Utah	6.10%	1.32%	7.42%	10.80%
21	Ohio	5.75%	1.54%	7.29%	8.00%
22	North Dakota	5.00%	2.09%	7.09%	8.75%
23	Mississippi	7.00%	0.06%	7.06%	8.00%
24	Indiana	7.00%	—	7.00%	—
25	North Carolina	4.75%	2.25%	7.00%	7.50%
26	Rhode Island	7.00%	—	7.00%	—
27	Florida	6.00%	0.98%	6.98%	8.00%
28	Nebraska	5.50%	1.48%	6.98%	7.50%
29	Iowa	6.00%	0.94%	6.94%	8.00%
30	New Jersey	6.63%	—	6.60%	9.94%
31	West Virginia	6.00%	0.59%	6.59%	7.00%
32	Vermont	6.00%	0.39%	6.39%	7.00%
33	Connecticut	6.35%	—	6.35%	—
34	Pennsylvania	6.00%	0.34%	6.34%	8.00%
35	Massachusetts	6.25%	—	6.25%	—
36	South Dakota	4.20%	1.91%	6.11%	8.70%
37	Idaho	6.00%	0.03%	6.03%	9.00%
38	District of Columbia	6.00%	—	6.00%	—
39	Kentucky	6.00%	—	6.00%	—
40	Maryland	6.00%	—	6.00%	—
41	Michigan	6.00%	—	6.00%	—
42	Virginia	5.30%	0.47%	5.77%	8.00%
43	Wisconsin	5.00%	0.72%	5.72%	7.90%
44	Wyoming	4.00%	1.56%	5.56%	7.00%
45	Maine	5.50%	—	5.50%	—
46	Hawaii	4.00%	0.50%	4.50%	4.50%
47	Alaska	0.00%	1.82%	1.82%	7.85%
48	Delaware	0.00%	—	0.00%	—
49	Montana	0.00%	—	0.00%	—
50	New Hampshire	0.00%	—	0.00%	—
51	Oregon	0.00%	—	0.00%	—

Source: Tax Foundation, 2026 State & Local Sales Tax Rates (rates as of January 1, 2026). Local rates are population-weighted averages. Alaska has no state rate but permits local sales taxes.

Economic Impact: Who Really Pays Sales Tax?

75%

Share of income low-income households typically spend on sales-taxable goods, versus roughly a sixth for upper-income households — making sales tax the most regressive major state and local tax (ITEP, Who Pays?).

$500B+

Combined state and local sales tax revenue collected annually in the US — typically the largest or second-largest state revenue source after income tax, funding schools, roads, and public safety.

1.6×

The lowest-income 20% of households face a combined state and local tax rate roughly 60% higher than the top 1% in the average state — sales tax is the biggest driver of that gap.

Economists call this regressivity: because lower-income households spend a larger share of their earnings (rather than saving or investing it), a flat sales tax rate consumes a larger fraction of a poor household's budget than a wealthy one's. States try to soften this with exemptions for groceries, prescription drugs, and clothing — but a majority of sales tax revenue still comes disproportionately from lower- and middle-income spending. On the other side, sales tax is comparatively cheap to administer, hard to evade at scale, and — unlike income tax — captures spending by tourists and cash economies, which is why every US state that levies it has kept it in place for nearly a century.

Sales Tax Jargon, Explained

Nexus

The legal connection between a business and a state that triggers a tax-collection obligation — either physical (an office, warehouse, or employee) or economic (crossing a sales/transaction threshold).

Use tax

The mirror image of sales tax: owed by the buyer when they purchase taxable goods without paying sales tax (e.g., from an out-of-state seller) and then use those goods in their home state.

Exemption certificate

A document a buyer presents to avoid paying sales tax on a purchase — most commonly a resale certificate used by businesses buying inventory to resell.

Marketplace facilitator

A platform (Amazon, Etsy, eBay) legally required to collect and remit sales tax on behalf of third-party sellers, removing that burden from individual sellers.

Destination-based tax

A rule under which the applicable sales tax rate is set by the buyer's delivery address, not the seller's location — the norm for most US interstate sales.

Taxable base

The set of goods and services subject to sales tax in a given state — varies enormously; some states tax services broadly, others barely at all.

How Businesses & Accountants Use This Calculator

Bookkeeping & reconciliation: Extract the pre-tax price from a tax-inclusive receipt or POS total to record revenue and tax liability separately in your books — essential for month-end close under GAAP.

Expense reports & reimbursement: Employees and contractors often need to separate the tax portion of a receipt for accurate expense categorization and, in some cases, tax-exempt reimbursement.

E-commerce sellers: After Wayfair, online sellers must track economic nexus state by state. Use the state comparison to estimate the tax burden your customers see at checkout in different states.

Vendor invoice validation: Confirm a vendor charged the correct combined rate for your jurisdiction before paying an invoice — overcharges are common when vendors use outdated rate tables.

Tax return preparation: Sales tax paid on business purchases can sometimes be deducted or credited; separating tax from principal cost keeps your records audit-ready.

Price comparison across states: Retailers evaluating a second location, and shoppers planning a large purchase, use the multi-state comparison to see the real out-the-door cost difference.

Online Sellers & Economic Nexus

If you sell online, you must collect sales tax in any state where you have nexus — either physical (an office, warehouse, or inventory, including Amazon FBA stock) or economic (crossing a sales/transaction threshold).

Most states set economic nexus at $100,000 in annual sales, though some use $250,000 or $500,000, and several have dropped the 200-transaction test. Once you cross the threshold you must register, collect, and remit.

Marketplace facilitator rule

Amazon, Etsy, eBay, and Walmart collect and remit sales tax on your behalf in all states that require it. If you sell only through these marketplaces you generally don't need to register yourself — but selling through your own Shopify/WooCommerce store makes you the seller of record.

The "NOMAD" states — no statewide sales tax

Five states levy no statewide sales tax: Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, plus Alaska (no state rate, but local taxes average 1.82%). New Hampshire and Delaware are popular for big-ticket shopping trips, though technically your home state's use tax may still apply.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which US state has the highest sales tax in 2026?▾

Louisiana has the highest average combined rate at 10.11% (5.00% state + 5.11% average local). Tennessee (9.61%) and Arkansas (9.46%) are close behind. Individual cities can go higher — some Louisiana and Colorado localities exceed 11% combined.

Which states have no sales tax?▾

Five states have no statewide sales tax: Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Alaska. However, Alaska allows local sales taxes that average about 1.82% and reach 7.85% in some boroughs. New Hampshire has a 8.5% meals-and-rooms tax despite no general sales tax.

How do I calculate sales tax on a purchase?▾

Multiply the pre-tax price by the combined rate as a decimal. Example: a $250 item at an 8.25% combined rate = $250 × 0.0825 = $20.63 tax, for a $270.63 total. To find the pre-tax price from a tax-included total, divide by (1 + rate): $270.63 ÷ 1.0825 = $250.00.

What is the difference between the state rate and the combined rate?▾

The state rate is set by the state legislature (e.g., California 7.25%). The combined rate adds county, city, and special-district taxes on top. Because local rates vary by address, the combined figures in the table are population-weighted averages — your exact rate depends on your specific location.

Do I pay sales tax on online purchases?▾

Almost always, yes. Since South Dakota v. Wayfair (2018), retailers must collect sales tax once they exceed a state's economic-nexus threshold. Large marketplaces (Amazon, eBay, Etsy) collect it automatically. The rate charged is based on your shipping/delivery address.

Are groceries and prescriptions taxed?▾

Most states exempt prescription drugs and unprepared groceries, but treatment varies. A handful of states tax groceries at a reduced rate, and a few (like Mississippi) tax them at the full rate. Prepared/restaurant food is taxable almost everywhere, sometimes at a higher prepared-food rate.

What is use tax?▾

Use tax is the counterpart to sales tax. If you buy taxable goods without paying sales tax (e.g., from an out-of-state seller with no nexus) and use them in your home state, you technically owe use tax at your local rate. Businesses are audited for this; individual compliance is very low but legally required.

How is sales tax on a car calculated?▾

Most states tax vehicles at the standard sales tax rate based on the purchase price, often after deducting a trade-in. Some states cap the trade-in credit or use the buyer's home address rather than the dealer's. On a $35,000 car in Texas (6.25% state rate for vehicles) that's about $2,188 before any local add-ons.

Rate Change History

Sales tax rates and rules change with state legislation — this log tracks confirmed changes reflected in the figures above, not every page edit.

August 1, 2026

Kentucky: Removing its 200-transaction economic nexus test (scheduled).

January 1, 2026

Arkansas: Eliminated its remaining state-level grocery tax.

January 1, 2026

Illinois: Eliminated its 1% statewide grocery tax and removed its 200-transaction economic nexus test.

July 1, 2025

Mississippi: Cut its grocery sales tax rate from 7% to 5%.

References & Sources

Tax Foundation — 2026 State & Local Sales Tax Rates ↗Tax Foundation — When Did Your State Adopt Its Sales Tax? ↗Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy — Who Pays? (7th Edition) ↗Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board ↗

Rates last verified January 2026. Sales tax rates change frequently at the state and local level — always confirm the current rate with your state revenue department before filing or invoicing. This tool is for estimation and educational purposes and is not tax, legal, or accounting advice.

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US Sales Tax Rates by State

Free US sales tax calculator with 2026 rates for all 50 states + DC. Add or extract tax, compare states side by side, and see state vs local breakdown with c...

Methodology, sources & limitations

This calculator uses a published formula and the values entered in the calculator to generate the result.

Formula: Tax = Price × (State Rate + Local Rate); Total = Price + Tax
Jurisdiction & units: Intended for US, IN, EU, GB, AU, CA. Supports both units where applicable.
Assumptions & limitations: Results use the inputs you provide and published formulas or rate assumptions. They are estimates, not financial, tax, lending, or investment advice.
Review status: Formula and automated QA completed August 20, 2026; independent professional review is pending. Next scheduled review: November 20, 2026.

Validation sources

Tax Foundation 2026 State & Local Sales Tax Rates
State Revenue Departments

US Sales Tax Rates by State — Answer & Method

Look up and compare 2026 sales tax rates for all 50 US states, add or extract tax, and see state vs local breakdown.

Formula: Combined Sales Tax

Tax = Price × (State Rate + Local Rate); Total = Price + Tax

P = Price (USD)

r = Combined Rate (%)

Example Calculation

A $250 purchase in California at the 8.99% average combined rate adds $22.48 tax for a $272.48 total.

Important limitation

This is an estimate based on your inputs, not financial, lending, tax, or investment advice.

Key Facts

Louisiana has the highest average combined sales tax rate at 10.11% in 2026.
Five states have no statewide sales tax: Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Alaska.
The US average combined state and local sales tax rate is about 6.44%.

Sources & Validation

Tax Foundation 2026 State & Local Sales Tax RatesState Revenue Departments

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Deterministic: YesAI-Generated Numbers: NoVerified: 2026-02-12

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