Sales Tax Calculator
Enter a price and sales tax rate below to instantly get the total price.
How to Calculate Sales Tax
Total price = price + (price × tax rate).
Because rates vary so much by state and even by city or county, there's no single national sales tax rate to memorize — the rate you owe depends entirely on where the purchase happens, which is why this calculator lets you plug in any rate directly.
Worked example
An $80 purchase at a 7.25% sales tax rate.
Tax: 80 × 0.0725 = $5.80
Total: 80 + 5.80 = $85.80
A second example: a $150 purchase at a 6% sales tax rate.
Tax: 150 × 0.06 = $9.00
Total: 150 + 9.00 = $159.00
Keep going
- Sales tax is a percentage of a number, applied specifically to a price; the percentage of a number calculator handles that same core operation for any percentage and value. Percentage of a Number Calculator
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate sales tax?
Multiply the price by the tax rate (as a decimal) to get the tax amount, then add that to the price to get the total.
Does sales tax rate vary by location?
Yes. In the US, sales tax is set at the state and often the city/county level, so the rate varies widely — this calculator lets you enter whatever rate applies where you are.
How do you back out the pre-tax price from a total?
Divide the total by (1 + tax rate as a decimal). For example, an $85.80 total at 7.25% tax means the pre-tax price was 85.80 ÷ 1.0725 = $80.
What's the difference between tax-inclusive and tax-exclusive pricing?
In the US, the price on the shelf is almost always tax-exclusive — sales tax gets added at checkout, so the tag price isn't what you pay. Many other countries display tax-inclusive prices, where the listed price already has the tax baked in and nothing gets added at the register.
Do all US states charge sales tax?
No — Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon don't levy a statewide sales tax, though Alaska allows individual municipalities to charge their own local tax. Every other state sets its own rate, and many also allow county or city taxes on top of it.
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