Alaska Sales Tax Calculator (2026) — Add or Reverse Tax
Alaska's combined sales tax rate is 1.82% (0.00% state + 1.82% average local). Use the calculator below to add Alaska sales tax to a price, or reverse a tax-included total to find the pre-tax price and exact tax amount.
How to use this calculator:
- Adding tax — enter a pre-tax price, pick "Add tax to price," and the calculator applies the Alaska rate to show the tax amount and final total.
- Reversing (extracting) tax — enter a total that already includes tax, pick "Extract tax from total," and the calculator divides by 1 + the rate to isolate the pre-tax price and the exact tax paid.
- Pick the rate that matches your situation: the average combined rate is a good statewide estimate, but the state-only or maximum-local rate is more precise if you know the exact city or county.
Understanding Alaska Sales Tax
Alaska's state sales tax rate is 0.00%, and local jurisdictions add an average of 1.82% on top, bringing the typical combined rate to 1.82%. Rates vary by city and county — the highest combined rate in Alaska can reach 7.85%.
Alaska has no state sales tax or state income tax, but permits local governments to levy their own sales tax — rates vary widely by borough and city.
Alaska has no state income tax, which shapes how much the state relies on sales tax revenue relative to other funding sources.
Groceries
Exempt from Alaska state sales tax.
Largest city
Anchorage
State income tax
No
Why Reverse Sales Tax Calculation Matters
Receipts, invoices, and marketplace payouts usually show only the tax-included total — not the pre-tax price. Reversing the calculation matters for bookkeeping (separating revenue from tax collected), expense reports (reimbursing only the pre-tax cost), and price comparisons (checking what an item actually costs before Alaska's tax is applied). Because dividing by (1 + rate) is not the same as simply subtracting the rate from the total, doing this by hand is a common source of errors — the calculator above handles it exactly.
History & Rate Breakdown
Alaska has never enacted a statewide sales tax since achieving statehood in 1959, relying instead on oil and gas production taxes, federal transfers, and Alaska Permanent Fund earnings. Local sales tax has always been a patchwork of individual borough and city ordinances authorized under Article X of the state constitution.
Alaska has no state-level sales tax component at all — the entire tax burden, where one exists, comes from over 100 independent local jurisdictions (boroughs and cities) that each set their own rate, from 0% up to roughly 7.5%. Alaska's two largest cities, Anchorage and Fairbanks, charge no local sales tax at all, while smaller communities like Juneau (5%) do.
Where the Money Goes
With neither a state sales tax nor a state income tax, Alaska funds most state government operations through oil and gas production taxes, federal transfers, and Alaska Permanent Fund investment income. Local sales tax revenue, where a municipality levies it, funds that municipality's own services directly.
Business Use Case: Registering & Collecting Alaska Sales Tax
A remote seller shipping to a customer in Juneau must collect Juneau's 5% local sales tax, but the same seller shipping to Anchorage collects no sales tax at all — because there's no statewide framework, sellers must track exposure jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction. The Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission offers a single registration point covering its member municipalities to simplify this.
Sales Tax Terms Glossary
Combined rate
The state sales tax rate plus any applicable local (city, county, or special district) rates — the actual rate charged at checkout in a given location.
Reverse sales tax
The process of working backward from a tax-included total to find the pre-tax price and the exact tax amount, using total ÷ (1 + rate) = pre-tax price.
Economic nexus
A sales threshold (in dollars, transaction count, or both) that obligates an out-of-state seller to collect and remit sales tax even without a physical presence in the state.
Marketplace facilitator
A platform (e.g. Amazon, Etsy, eBay) that collects and remits sales tax on behalf of third-party sellers under most states’ marketplace facilitator laws.
Real-World Example
A $500.00 purchase in Alaska at the average combined rate of 1.82%:
- Tax amount: $500.00 × 1.82% = $9.10
- Total price: $500.00 + $9.10 = $509.10
Alaska Sales Tax Compliance for Sellers
Remote and online sellers establish economic nexus in Alaska once they exceed $100,000.00 in annual sales (no separate transaction-count test). Once nexus is established, a seller must register with the state, collect Alaska sales tax at checkout, and file returns on the state's required schedule. Marketplace facilitators (Amazon, Etsy, eBay, Walmart) generally collect and remit on behalf of third-party sellers automatically.
Frequently Asked Questions — Alaska Sales Tax
What is the sales tax rate in Alaska?▾
Does Alaska tax groceries?▾
Does Alaska have a state income tax?▾
When do online sellers need to collect Alaska sales tax?▾
How do I calculate Alaska sales tax on a purchase?▾
How do I reverse Alaska sales tax to find the price before tax?▾
What is the formula to back out sales tax from a receipt in Alaska?▾
References & Sources
Rates last verified January 2026. Alaska sales tax rates and thresholds can change — always confirm current figures with the Alaska Department of Revenue before filing or invoicing. This tool is for estimation and educational purposes only and is not tax, legal, or accounting advice.
Jordan Hayes
Verified AuthorLead Content Editor & Personal Finance Specialist
Jordan Hayes is a personal finance content strategist with 9+ years building educational finance and health resources. He has written and fact-checked over 200 personal finance guides covering mortgage amortization, retirement planning, tax strategy, and budgeting. His work applies IRS publications, Federal Reserve data, and peer-reviewed research to make complex calculations accessible.