Can I deduct sales tax on my federal return?

If you itemize, you can deduct either state income tax or state and local sales tax — not both — under the SALT deduction. Choosing sales tax can pay off in no-income-tax states or after a big purchase. The IRS provides tables and an estimator; confirm with a tax professional.

Sales Tax Calculator

Add tax to a price, remove tax from a total, or compare the same purchase across states — with 2026 rates for all 50 states and D.C. Free, no signup.

Made by RH FardinAI Marketer & System Builder

Fact-checked by Anatolii UlitovskyiSEO Expert & UNmiss Founder

Pre-tax amount (price before tax)

Estimate by state (optional)

Sales tax rate (combined %)

Pick a state to drop in its 2026 average combined rate, or type your exact local rate from your receipt.

Order details

Quantity

Discount

Tax-exempt amount ($ not taxable)

Shipping ($)

Tax the shipping charge

Rounding

States differ on whether tax is rounded per line item or per invoice; the two can differ by a cent on multi-item orders.

Enter state / county / city / district rates separately

Pre-tax amount (the same cart in every state)

Pick states to compare

Currency

Changes formatting only; it does not convert your figures at live exchange rates.

Estimate only — not tax advice. Bundled state and average-local rates are from the Tax Foundation's 2026 edition and won't match every rooftop address; exemptions and rules vary by state and change over time. For an exact figure, enter your own combined rate and confirm with your state's department of revenue. sem.chat does not provide tax advice.

Sales Tax Calculator — sem.chat

Sales tax estimate

🧾 Your result

—

Sales tax

at your combined rate

—

Total with tax

what you pay

—

Effective rate

tax ÷ total

🧾 Receipt breakdown

Subtotal—

Taxable amount—

Sales tax—

Total—

What makes up your rate

The combined rate is the state rate plus every local rate that applies.

How much of the total is tax

—

Pre-tax price

before tax

—

Sales tax included

backed out of the total

—

Rate used

combined

Backing tax out of the total

Total with tax

—

1 + rate

—

Pre-tax price

—

Pre-tax = total ÷ (1 + rate). The tax is whatever is left over.

Total cost by state

State	Combined rate	Sales tax	Total	vs. cheapest

Combined averages from the Tax Foundation, 2026. Your exact local rate may differ.

How it works

Add tax multiplies your taxable amount by the combined rate: tax = taxable × rate, then total = taxable + tax + shipping.
Remove tax reverses a tax-included total: pre-tax = total ÷ (1 + rate), and the tax is the remainder.
The taxable amount is your price × quantity, minus any discount and tax-exempt amount; shipping is taxed only if you switch it on.
Compare applies each state's 2026 average combined rate to the same amount and ranks the totals.

Step	Value

This free sales tax calculator does three jobs in one. Add tax turns a pre-tax price into the tax and the total. Remove tax works backward from a tax-included total to the pre-tax price. Compare states shows what the same purchase costs across the country — using combined state-and-local rates from the Tax Foundation's 2026 edition.

Add or remove taxGet the tax and total from a price, or back the tax out of an all-in total. Pick your state for an instant estimate, or type your exact combined rate.
Real receipts, not just a numberAdvanced mode handles quantity, discounts, tax-exempt amounts, taxable shipping and a state/county/city/district rate stack — and prints a full receipt breakdown.
Compare the cost by stateSee the same cart taxed in up to a dozen states side by side, ranked from cheapest to priciest, so you know where a purchase costs less.

How It Works

Sales Tax in Three Steps

No account, no email, no limits — just the tax, the total and a clear breakdown.

Pick What You Need

Choose Add tax, Remove tax, or Compare states. Each mode reveals only the fields it needs, so it stays simple.

Enter Amount & Rate

Type the price, then pick a state for its 2026 average combined rate or enter your exact local rate. Advanced adds quantity, discounts, shipping and exemptions.

Read the Result

Get the sales tax, the total, the effective rate and a receipt breakdown — plus a rate-composition chart and a shareable link.

US Sales Tax by the Numbers

What Rates Look Like in 2026

Every figure here is from the Tax Foundation's "State and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2026" — the standard reference for combined rates.

states with no statewide sales tax — Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon (the NOMAD states)

Tax Foundation 2026

7.25%

the highest statewide rate, in California; Colorado has the lowest non-zero state rate at 2.9%

Tax Foundation 2026

10.11%

the highest average combined state-and-local rate, in Louisiana, followed by Tennessee at 9.61%

Tax Foundation 2026

7.53%

the population-weighted average combined sales tax rate Americans actually pay

Tax Foundation 2026

Why It Matters

A Few Percent Adds Up Fast

Sales tax quietly changes budgets, prices and margins — and the rules differ in every state.

Budget Before You Buy

On a big purchase, a 7–10% combined rate is real money. Know the all-in total before you get to the register.

Price & Invoice Right

Sellers can show a clean pre-tax price, add the correct tax, and back tax out of a round all-in price with the reverse mode.

Sell Across State Lines

Online sellers face economic nexus once they cross a state's threshold. Knowing where you owe tax keeps you compliant.

Reconcile Cleanly

Bookkeepers can split a gross total into its pre-tax and tax parts in seconds, and check a receipt's rate against the state's.

The Math

How Sales Tax Is Calculated

Four short formulas cover everything this calculator does.

It all starts with one line — multiply the taxable price by the combined rate:

Taxable price

$100.00

Combined rate

8.85%

Sales tax

$8.85

Add it back for the total ($108.85), or divide it out to go the other way.

Add tax

tax = price × rate, then total = price + tax. A $100 item at 8.85% → $8.85 tax, $108.85 total. Quantity, discounts and exemptions just change the taxable price first.

Remove tax

pre-tax = total ÷ (1 + rate), and the tax is the remainder. $108.85 ÷ 1.0885 = $100.00 pre-tax, so $8.85 was tax. This is how you back tax out of an all-in price.

Combined rate

rate = state + county + city + district. A 6% state, 1% county, 1.5% city and 0.35% district stack to an 8.85% combined rate — and that sum is all that touches your price.

Effective rate

effective = tax ÷ total. Because tax is added on top, the tax as a share of the final total is always a little lower than the headline rate — 8.85% becomes about 8.13% of the total.

Know the Difference

Two Distinctions Worth Getting Right

They trip people up constantly — here they are side by side.

Exclusive Tax-exclusive price

The U.S. standard: the shelf price is before tax, and tax is added at checkout. A $100 tag becomes $108.85 at the register. Use Add tax for this.

Inclusive Tax-inclusive price

Common with VAT abroad and for all-in pricing: the displayed price already contains the tax. To find the pre-tax amount, use Remove tax — $108.85 ÷ 1.0885 = $100.00.

US Sales tax

Charged once, at the final retail sale, and only the end buyer pays it. Sellers collect it and remit it to the state. Rates stack by state, county, city and district.

Global VAT / GST

Used in 170+ countries and charged at every stage of the supply chain, with businesses reclaiming the tax on their inputs — so it doesn't pile up. The consumer still bears the final tax.

Reference

2026 Sales Tax Rates by State

State rate, average local rate and the combined average — all 50 states and D.C., from the Tax Foundation. Your exact local rate can differ; these are state-wide averages.

State	State rate	Avg. local	Combined
Alabama	4.00%	5.46%	9.46%
Alaska	0.00%	1.82%	1.82%
Arizona	5.60%	2.92%	8.52%
Arkansas	6.50%	2.96%	9.46%
California	7.25%	1.74%	8.99%
Colorado	2.90%	4.99%	7.89%
Connecticut	6.35%	0.00%	6.35%
Delaware	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Florida	6.00%	0.98%	6.98%
Georgia	4.00%	3.49%	7.49%
Hawaii	4.00%	0.50%	4.50%
Idaho	6.00%	0.03%	6.03%
Illinois	6.25%	2.71%	8.96%
Indiana	7.00%	0.00%	7.00%
Iowa	6.00%	0.94%	6.94%
Kansas	6.50%	2.19%	8.69%
Kentucky	6.00%	0.00%	6.00%
Louisiana	5.00%	5.11%	10.11%
Maine	5.50%	0.00%	5.50%
Maryland	6.00%	0.00%	6.00%
Massachusetts	6.25%	0.00%	6.25%
Michigan	6.00%	0.00%	6.00%
Minnesota	6.875%	1.26%	8.14%
Mississippi	7.00%	0.06%	7.06%
Missouri	4.225%	4.22%	8.44%
Montana	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Nebraska	5.50%	1.48%	6.98%
Nevada	6.85%	1.39%	8.24%
New Hampshire	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
New Jersey	6.625%	−0.02%	6.60%
New Mexico	4.875%	2.79%	7.67%
New York	4.00%	4.54%	8.54%
North Carolina	4.75%	2.25%	7.00%
North Dakota	5.00%	2.09%	7.09%
Ohio	5.75%	1.54%	7.29%
Oklahoma	4.50%	4.56%	9.06%
Oregon	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Pennsylvania	6.00%	0.34%	6.34%
Rhode Island	7.00%	0.00%	7.00%
South Carolina	6.00%	1.49%	7.49%
South Dakota	4.20%	1.91%	6.11%
Tennessee	7.00%	2.61%	9.61%
Texas	6.25%	1.95%	8.20%
Utah	6.10%	1.32%	7.42%
Vermont	6.00%	0.39%	6.39%
Virginia	5.30%	0.47%	5.77%
Washington	6.50%	3.01%	9.51%
West Virginia	6.00%	0.59%	6.59%
Wisconsin	5.00%	0.72%	5.72%
Wyoming	4.00%	1.56%	5.56%
District of Columbia	6.00%	0.00%	6.00%

Source: Tax Foundation, "State and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2026." Alaska has no state tax but allows local taxes, so its combined average is above zero.

For Online Sellers

Nexus & the Wayfair Rule

Whether you must collect a state's tax comes down to nexus — your connection to that state.

Physical presence or $100k in sales or 200 transactions Nexus You collect that state's tax

Physical nexus comes from an office, warehouse, inventory, employees or other physical footprint in a state — the traditional trigger to collect that state's sales tax.

Economic nexus was created by South Dakota v. Wayfair (2018): cross a state's sales or transaction threshold — commonly $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions a year — and you must collect, even with no physical presence (Sales Tax Institute; Congress.gov).

Avoid These

Common Sales Tax Mistakes

The errors that put the wrong number on a receipt — or the wrong amount in a return.

Trusting a 5-digit ZIP code. One ZIP can cover several cities, counties and special districts with different rates. For an exact figure, use the full address or your known combined rate — not just the ZIP.

Forgetting local and district tax. The state rate is only part of the story; counties, cities and special districts stack on top. The combined rate is what you actually pay.

Taxing exempt items. Most states exempt unprepared groceries and prescription medicine, and some exempt clothing. Charging tax on exempt goods over-collects — use the tax-exempt amount field.

Using the wrong rounding rule. States differ on rounding per item versus per invoice; on multi-item orders the two can differ by a cent. Match your state's rule.

Mishandling shipping. Whether shipping is taxable depends on the state and on whether it's separately stated. Don't assume — check before you bundle it into the taxable base.

Ignoring economic nexus. Sellers crossing $100k in sales or 200 transactions in a state generally must register and collect there — even with no office or warehouse in that state.

Methodology

How This Calculator Works

What the math does — and, just as important, what it can't do.

Rates

The state picker and the Compare tab use the average combined state-and-local rates from the Tax Foundation's "State and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2026." You can always override with your exact local rate, which is the most accurate input.

Taxable base

Your taxable amount is price × quantity − discount − tax-exempt amount, clamped at zero, plus shipping only when you mark shipping taxable. Tax is then the taxable amount × the combined rate.

Honest scope

This is not a rooftop rate service. It estimates from published state-wide averages and your inputs; it can't see the exact district mix at a street address. For filing or invoicing, confirm the rate with your state's department of revenue.

A note on accuracy. Sales tax rules are set by thousands of overlapping jurisdictions and change often. Exemptions, sourcing rules, shipping treatment and holidays all vary by state. This tool gives a fast, transparent estimate from cited 2026 averages — use it to plan and sanity-check, not as a substitute for your state's official rates or professional tax advice. sem.chat does not provide tax advice.

References

Sources & Further Reading

The authoritative sources behind the rates and rules on this page.

State & local rates, ranges and averages — Tax Foundation, "State and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2026."

Calculation, use tax & resale certificates — Sales Tax Institute.

Sourcing & shipping taxability — Avalara, shipping & origin-vs-destination guides.

Economic nexus & the Wayfair ruling — Sales Tax Institute and the Congressional Research Service (IF11832).

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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Rates, reverse calculations, nexus and exemptions — answered in plain English.

Sales tax is a consumption tax that U.S. states and many local governments add to the price of taxable goods and services at the point of sale. The seller collects it and remits it to the state. Rates are set by each state plus its counties, cities and special districts, so the rate you pay depends on where the sale is sourced.

Multiply the taxable price by the tax rate as a decimal: tax = price × (rate ÷ 100). A $100 item at an 8.85% combined rate is $100 × 0.0885 = $8.85 tax, for a $108.85 total. To get the combined rate, add the state rate and every local rate that applies to the address.

Five states levy no statewide sales tax: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon (the NOMAD states). Alaska is a special case — it has no state tax but lets local governments charge their own, so Alaskan shoppers can still pay local sales tax (Tax Foundation, 2026).

The state rate is set by the state; local rates are added by counties, cities and special districts; the combined rate is their sum, and that is what you actually pay. California has the highest state rate at 7.25%, while Louisiana has the highest average combined rate at about 10.11% (Tax Foundation, 2026).

Divide the tax-included total by 1 plus the rate: pre-tax = total ÷ (1 + rate). At 8.85%, a $108.85 total ÷ 1.0885 = $100.00 pre-tax, so the tax was $8.85. This is how sellers back tax out of an all-in price. Use the Remove-tax mode for this.

Tax-exclusive pricing, standard in the U.S., shows the price before tax and adds tax at checkout. Tax-inclusive pricing, common with VAT abroad, shows a single price that already contains the tax. The Remove-tax mode converts an inclusive price back to its pre-tax amount.

A single 5-digit ZIP code can span several cities, counties and special districts with different rates, so ZIP-based lookups can be wrong. Tax software uses the full street address (rooftop accuracy). For an exact figure, enter your known combined rate or check your state's department of revenue.

It depends on the state and how you invoice. As a rule of thumb, shipping is taxable when the goods are taxable, and separately stated shipping is more often exempt than shipping bundled into the item price — but states such as California and New York treat it differently. Turn on shipping taxable in Advanced mode to include it (Avalara).

It varies widely by state. Most states (37 plus D.C.) exempt unprepared groceries, prescription medicine is exempt in most states, and clothing is exempt or capped in a handful of states. Because each state sets its own list, use the tax-exempt amount field for the part of your order that is not taxable.

Use tax is the companion to sales tax: if you buy a taxable item without paying sales tax — often from an out-of-state seller — you generally owe your own state an equal use tax on it. It exists so tax-free out-of-state buying cannot undercut in-state sellers (Sales Tax Institute).

Nexus is the connection between a seller and a state that requires the seller to collect that state's sales tax. It can be physical (an office, warehouse, inventory or employees) or economic (enough sales into the state). Without nexus, a seller generally is not required to collect that state's tax.

In South Dakota v. Wayfair (2018), the Supreme Court let states require out-of-state sellers to collect tax once they pass a sales threshold. South Dakota's upheld law uses $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions per year, and most states adopted similar thresholds (Sales Tax Institute; Congress.gov).

As a buyer, tax is usually charged based on your shipping address (destination sourcing). As a seller, you must collect a state's tax once you have nexus there — physical presence or crossing its economic-nexus threshold. Below those thresholds you generally do not have to collect that state's tax.

U.S. sales tax is charged once, at the final retail sale, and only the end consumer bears it. VAT and GST, used in 170+ countries, are charged at every stage of the supply chain, with businesses reclaiming the tax they paid on inputs, so the tax does not stack. The end result is similar but the mechanics differ.

Tax is calculated on the full price and then rounded to the nearest cent. Some states let you round per item, others per invoice or order, which can differ by a cent on multi-item sales. This calculator lets you pick per-order or per-item rounding in Advanced mode (TaxJar; Avalara).

No. It is a free educational estimator. The bundled state and average-local rates come from the Tax Foundation's 2026 edition and will not match every rooftop address, and exemptions and rules change. Enter your exact combined rate for precision and confirm with your state's department of revenue before filing.

Glossary

Sales Tax Terms, in Plain English

The concepts behind the calculator — what they mean and why they matter.

Sales tax: A tax added to the price of taxable goods and services at the point of sale, collected by the seller and remitted to the state.
Use tax: A companion tax the buyer owes on taxable goods bought without sales tax, usually from out-of-state sellers, at the same rate.
Combined rate: The total of the state rate plus all applicable county, city and special-district rates; the rate you actually pay.
Special district: A local taxing jurisdiction such as transit, stadium, fire or library that adds its own rate on top of state, county and city tax.
Nexus: The connection between a seller and a state that obligates the seller to collect that state's sales tax.
Economic nexus: Nexus triggered by sales volume rather than physical presence — typically $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions a year.
South Dakota v. Wayfair (2018): The Supreme Court ruling that let states require out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax based on economic nexus.
Destination sourcing: Charging tax based on where the buyer receives the goods; the rule in most U.S. states.
Origin sourcing: Charging tax based on the seller's location; used by a few states for in-state sales.
Tax-inclusive price: A price that already contains the tax, common with VAT abroad.
Tax-exclusive price: A price shown before tax, with tax added at checkout; standard U.S. retail practice.
Reverse sales tax: Working backward from a tax-included total to find the pre-tax price and the tax amount.
Resale certificate: A document that lets a business buy goods tax-free when they will be resold, avoiding double taxation.
NOMAD states: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon — the five states with no statewide sales tax.
VAT / GST: Value-added or goods-and-services tax used in 170+ countries; charged at each supply-chain stage with input-tax credits, unlike single-stage U.S. sales tax.

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