Sales Tax Calculator
Calculate sales tax on any purchase, find total price with tax included, or reverse-calculate the pre-tax price from a grand total amount.
Sales tax is a percentage-based tax added to the price of goods and services at the point of sale. In the United States, it is set at the state and local level — there is no federal sales tax.
Add-on sales tax formula (calculating tax on top of price): Tax Amount = Pre-Tax Price × (Tax Rate ÷ 100) Total Price = Pre-Tax Price × (1 + Tax Rate ÷ 100)
Back-calculating pre-tax price from a total: Pre-Tax Price = Total Price ÷ (1 + Tax Rate ÷ 100) Tax Amount = Total Price − Pre-Tax Price
Worked examples:
Example 1 — Adding tax: Item costs $85.00. State tax rate is 7.5%. Tax = $85.00 × 0.075 = $6.375 → $6.38 (rounded) Total = $85.00 + $6.38 = $91.38
Example 2 — Extracting tax from a receipt total: You paid $107.00 total. Tax rate was 7%. Pre-Tax = $107.00 ÷ 1.07 = $100.00 Tax Paid = $107.00 − $100.00 = $7.00
US state sales tax rates (2024, state-level only):
- No sales tax: Oregon, Montana, New Hampshire, Delaware, Alaska
- Lowest: Colorado (2.9%), Hawaii (4%)
- Highest: California (7.25%), Indiana, Mississippi, Rhode Island (7%)
- Tennessee and Louisiana add high local taxes bringing combined rates to 9–10%
Combined rate: Combined Rate = State Rate + County Rate + City Rate Most Americans pay a combined rate between 6% and 10%.
Taxable vs. non-taxable items: Most states exempt groceries, prescription drugs, and medical equipment from sales tax — though definitions vary by state.