Which states have no sales tax?

Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon have no statewide sales tax, though Alaska allows local municipalities to charge their own sales tax.

How do I calculate the pre-tax price from a total that already includes tax?

Divide the total by 1 plus the tax rate as a decimal. For an 8% tax rate, divide the total by 1.08 to get the original pre-tax price.

Why is sales tax different in nearby cities in the same state?

Most states allow counties and cities to add their own local sales tax on top of the state rate, so the combined rate can vary significantly even within the same state.

Sales Tax Calculator

Calculate tax, find the pre-tax price, or determine the tax rate — updates live as you type.

Common US State Rates

Pre-Tax Price ($)

Tax Rate (%)

Rates shown are base state rates. Local/county taxes may apply and vary by location.

How to Use

Calculate Tax: Enter a pre-tax price and rate to see the tax amount and final total.
Remove Tax: Enter a tax-inclusive total and rate to back-calculate the original pre-tax price.
Find Rate: Enter both the pre-tax and after-tax prices to discover the effective tax rate.
Click any state chip to instantly fill in that state's base sales tax rate.
Use the Split Among People field to divide the total among a group.
All results update live — no button press needed.

About this Sales Tax Calculator

Sales tax in the US is not a single national rate — it's set by states, and often stacked with additional county and city taxes on top. Five states (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon) charge no statewide sales tax at all, while combined state-plus-local rates elsewhere can exceed 10%.

The formula

Sales tax = Price × (Tax rate ÷ 100)
Total = Price + Sales tax

Worked example

A $45 purchase in a location with an 8.25% combined sales tax rate: $45 × 0.0825 = $3.71 in tax, for a total of $48.71 at checkout. If you only know the final total and need to back out the pre-tax price, divide by (1 + tax rate) instead: $48.71 ÷ 1.0825 = $45.00.

Why rates vary so much by location

A single state can have dozens of different effective sales tax rates depending on the city and county, because local governments are often allowed to add their own tax on top of the state rate. Two addresses a few miles apart, in different counties, can have noticeably different totals on an identical purchase.