What Is Sales Tax?
Sales tax is a tax added to the price of things you buy. The store collects it at the register and pays it to the government. In the US, the price on the shelf usually leaves the tax out, so you pay more at the checkout than the price tag says.
- Combined rate: most places add a state rate and a local rate (county, city or special district) together. That combined rate is the one you pay, and it's often printed on the receipt.
- Tax-exclusive price: a price before tax, as on most US price tags.
- Tax-inclusive price: a price with the tax already in it, as with VAT in many other countries. Taking the tax out of it is sometimes called a reverse sales tax calculation.
Rates and what's taxed (food, clothing, services) differ by state and city and change over time, so check your state's tax agency for the current rate.
Which calculator should I use?
- Sales Tax Calculator: to add tax to a price, take it out of a total, or find the rate from a receipt.
- Tip Calculator: to tip on a restaurant bill before tax and split it between people.
- Percentage Calculator: for other percent questions, such as a discount or a price change.
How to Calculate Sales Tax
Multiply the price by the tax rate, then add the tax to the price:
To take the tax out of a total that already includes it, divide instead of subtracting the rate:
To find the rate from a receipt, divide the tax by the price before tax:
- Price: the price before tax.
- Rate: the combined sales tax rate in percent, such as 8.25.
- Tax: the sales tax, rounded to the cent as stores do.
- Total: what you pay, price plus tax.
Example
A $249.99 purchase with an 8.25% sales tax rate:
- Tax: $249.99 × 8.25 ÷ 100 = $20.624175, which rounds to $20.62
- Total: $249.99 + $20.62 = $270.61
- Taking the tax back out: $270.61 ÷ 1.0825 = $249.99
- Rate from the receipt: ($270.61 − $249.99) ÷ $249.99 × 100 = 8.248%
Notice the last line gives 8.248%, not 8.25%. The tax was rounded to the cent, so any rate from 8.246% to 8.25% gives the same receipt. The calculator looks for the roundest rate in that range, which here is 8.25%. Also, subtracting 8.25% from $270.61 would give $248.28, not $249.99, because the rate is a percent of the price, not of the total.
How to Use the Sales Tax Calculator
"Something costs $249.99 and the sales tax is 8.25%. How much will I pay?" This calculator answers that.
Let's enter the numbers for this example in each box. They are already filled in when the calculator opens, so you can follow along and then change any box to match your own purchase.
- Solve For: Choose Total with tax. Choose Price before tax to take the tax out of a total, or Tax rate to find the rate from a receipt. The box you solve for is greyed and filled in for you.
- Sales Tax Rate: Enter 8.25, which is the combined state and local rate. It can be from 0 to 99.99, with decimals such as 8.875.
- Price Before Tax: Enter 249.99, which is the price on the tag. It must be more than 0 and less than $1 billion.
- Total with Tax: This shows 270.61, filled in for you. When you solve for the price or the rate, enter the total you paid instead. It can't be less than the price.
Calculate and Reset
Click Calculate to see your results. If a box has a problem, such as letters, an empty box or a total smaller than the price, a message pops up under that box instead. With the default numbers you get:
- Your Results: the tax ($20.62) and the total ($270.61) in words, and how much of what you pay is tax.
- Total with Tax: the headline number, $270.61. When solving for the price or the rate, the headline is that instead.
- Sales Tax: $20.62, the tax on this purchase.
- Price Before Tax and Tax Rate: $249.99 and 8.25%, the numbers the tax is worked out from.
- Tax as % of Total: 7.62%, the share of what you pay that goes to tax. It's below the rate because the rate is a percent of the price.
- Tip Calculator link: opens the Tip Calculator with this total and its tax filled in.
- Share Results: a link that opens this calculator with your numbers filled in. Copy it, or share it on Facebook or X.
Click Reset to put every box back to its default and show the default results again. Stores round tax to the cent, and a few round per item rather than on the whole receipt, so a receipt can differ by a cent. This is for information only, not tax advice.