Texas Sales Tax Calculator (2026) — Add or Reverse Tax
Texas's combined sales tax rate is 8.20% (6.25% state + 1.95% average local). Use the calculator below to add Texas 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 Texas 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 Texas Sales Tax
Texas's state sales tax rate is 6.25%, and local jurisdictions add an average of 1.95% on top, bringing the typical combined rate to 8.20%. Rates vary by city and county — the highest combined rate in Texas can reach 8.25%.
Texas has no state income tax and one of the highest economic nexus thresholds in the country at $500,000 in sales.
Texas has no state income tax, which shapes how much the state relies on sales tax revenue relative to other funding sources.
Groceries
Exempt from Texas state sales tax.
Largest city
Houston
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 Texas'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.
Texas Taxability at a Glance
🛒 Groceries
Exempt
👕 Clothing
Taxable
💊 Prescription drugs
Exempt
History & Rate Breakdown
Texas enacted its Limited Sales and Use Tax in 1961 at a 2% rate. Cities gained local option authority in 1967, when the legislature let them add up to 1% by voter approval — since expanded to a total local cap of 2%.
Texas's 8.2% average combined rate stacks the 6.25% state rate with city, county, transit, and special-purpose district taxes capped at a combined 2% locally, averaging 1.95% statewide.
Where the Money Goes
With no state income tax, Texas leans on sales tax — helped by its high $500,000 economic nexus threshold, one of the highest in the country — plus franchise (margin) tax on businesses and property tax to fund state and local government.
Business Use Case: Registering & Collecting Texas Sales Tax
An online retailer whose Texas sales exceed $500,000 in a year — a notably high bar compared to the $100,000 standard most states use — must register with the Texas Comptroller and apply the correct combined rate (up to 8.25%) for each delivery address, accounting for whichever mix of city, county, transit, and special-district taxes applies there.
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 Texas at the average combined rate of 8.20%:
- Tax amount: $500.00 × 8.20% = $41.00
- Total price: $500.00 + $41.00 = $541.00
Texas Sales Tax Compliance for Sellers
Remote and online sellers establish economic nexus in Texas once they exceed $500,000.00 in annual sales (no separate transaction-count test). Once nexus is established, a seller must register with the state, collect Texas 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 — Texas Sales Tax
What is the sales tax rate in Texas?▾
Does Texas tax groceries?▾
Does Texas have a state income tax?▾
When do online sellers need to collect Texas sales tax?▾
How do I calculate Texas sales tax on a purchase?▾
How do I reverse Texas sales tax to find the price before tax?▾
What is the formula to back out sales tax from a receipt in Texas?▾
References & Sources
Rates last verified January 2026. Texas sales tax rates and thresholds can change — always confirm current figures with the Texas 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.