Free Sales Tax Calculator (+ Guide)

What is a sales tax calculator?

A sales tax calculator works out the tax on a purchase and the total, or the price before tax from a total you paid.

This one adds the state and local parts together and shows each one.

How it works

Pick what you have, the price or the total, and your state.

How to add sales tax

Multiply the price by the combined rate as a decimal. At 8.25%, $100 × 0.0825 = $8.25 of tax, so the total is $108.25.

The combined rate is the state's rate plus the local rates where the sale happens.

How to take sales tax out of a total

Divide the total by 1 plus the rate. At 8.25%, $108.25 ÷ 1.0825 = $100, and the tax is the $8.25 left over.

Taking 8.25% off the total instead gives $99.32, which is wrong, since the tax was figured on the price, not on the total.

Sales tax rates by state

Here's each state's rate before local taxes, with the official page it comes from. I checked every one on October 3, 2026.

A few rates need a note. California's 7.25% includes a uniform local part, and Virginia's 5.3% is its 4.3% plus a statewide 1% local tax.

Minnesota's 6.875% is 6.5% by statute and 0.375% by its constitution, through June 30, 2034.

Hawaii's 4% is a general excise tax and New Mexico's 4.875% a gross receipts tax, both charged to the seller, who often passes them on.

State and local rates

Each state sets its own rate, and cities, counties and special districts can add their own on top.

• California: a statewide rate of 7.25%, plus district taxes from 0.10% to 2.00%, and some areas have more than one, says the CDTFA
• Texas: 6.25% state tax, and local jurisdictions can add up to 2%, for a combined rate of at most 8.25%, says the Texas Comptroller
• New York: the state rate of 4% plus any city, county or school district rate, with 0.375% more in the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District, says the Tax Department

Most state revenue departments have a lookup for the rate at an exact address, which is the local rate to type.

A worked example

Here's the example the calculator loads: a $200 purchase in California, where the local district taxes add 2.25%.

The combined rate is 7.25% + 2.25% = 9.5%. $200 × 0.095 = $19 of tax, so the total is $219.

The state's part is $14.50 and the local part $4.50, and together they come to the $19.

Mistakes to avoid

These are the slips that come up most.

• Taking the rate off a total to remove tax, instead of dividing by 1 plus the rate
• Using only the state rate, when the local rate can add 2% or more
• Using the rate of your home, when the rate where the sale happens applies

Who is the sales tax calculator for?

It's for shoppers checking a receipt, sellers pricing a sale and anyone budgeting a big purchase, and these tools help around it.

• Paycheck calculator – for take-home pay
• Discount calculator – for a sale price before tax
• VAT calculator – for VAT in the UK and Europe

Look up the rate at the address once, and every total after that adds up.