Sales Tax Calculator

How it works

Sales tax is added on top of the subtotal at the rate set by your state, county, and sometimes city. To compute the total, multiply the subtotal by (1 + tax rate / 100), or compute the tax amount as subtotal × rate / 100 and add it to the subtotal — this calculator does both.

US state sales tax rates range from 0% (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon — though Alaska localities may add their own) to 7.25% (California state rate). Most states fall in the 4-7% range. Local additions (city, county, transit district) can push combined rates above 10% in some places — Chicago, certain California cities, and parts of Tennessee have combined rates around 9.5-10%.

What's taxed varies. Most states tax tangible goods. Many exempt unprepared groceries, prescription drugs, and clothing under a certain dollar amount. Services (haircuts, accounting, software) are taxed in some states and not others. Some states tax digital downloads, others don't. The patchwork is complex — for business compliance, use a service like TaxJar or Avalara.

Online sales: post-2018 (South Dakota v. Wayfair), states can require remote sellers to collect sales tax based on the buyer's location, even without physical presence. Most large retailers now collect by default. Small sellers may not, but the buyer is technically liable for "use tax" on untaxed purchases — rarely enforced for individuals.

For tipping calculations: tip is conventionally on the pre-tax subtotal. So at a restaurant with a $50 subtotal and 8% tax + 18% tip: tax = $4, tip = $9, total = $63. Though many people tip on the tax-inclusive total for simplicity.

This calculator handles the basic case. For complex situations (mixed taxable/non-taxable items, exemptions, multi-state shipping), use a dedicated tax engine.