— Tax, VAT & Sales
Sales Tax Calculator
Calculate sales tax on a price, or back it out of a tax-inclusive total. Enter a rate directly or pick a US state to use its combined state and local rate, with the tax and total shown.
Total (incl. tax)
$108.25
- Sales tax
- $8.25
- Pre-tax price
- $100
- Tax rate
- 8.25%
— How it works
Tax = pre-tax price × rate ÷ 100; total = price + tax. To reverse it: pre-tax price = total ÷ (1 + rate ÷ 100) — you divide, you don’t subtract the rate.
Sales tax is added on top
In the United States, sales tax is not included in the price on the shelf — it is added at the register. So the total you pay is the pre-tax price plus the tax: a $100 item at an 8.25% rate costs $8.25 in tax, for $108.25. That is different from the European convention, where VAT is already baked into the displayed price. The calculator follows the US convention by default: enter the pre-tax price and the rate, and it adds the tax. The same maths works for any flat consumption tax, so a VAT or GST rate works just as well — only the “included vs added” convention differs.
Worked example — a $100 item at 8.25%: Tax = $100 × 8.25% = $8.25, so the total is $108.25. Reverse it: a $108.25 total ÷ 1.0825 = $100 pre-tax — note you divide, not subtract 8.25%.
State, county and city all stack
Sales tax in the US is rarely a single rate. A state sets a base rate, then counties, cities and special districts add their own on top, so the combined rate you actually pay depends on exactly where the sale happens — and can differ from one side of a street to the other. Pick a state and the calculator uses its average combined rate, splitting out the state base rate from the average local add-on so you can see how it stacks up. Five states — Oregon, Montana, New Hampshire, Delaware and Alaska (no statewide tax) — charge little or no sales tax at all. Because local rates vary so much, treat the state figure as a good estimate and confirm the exact rate for your address.
Backing the tax out of a total
Sometimes you have the tax-inclusive total and need the pre-tax price — to record the net on an expense, say, or to check a receipt. The key is that you cannot just subtract the rate: an 8.25% tax sits on the smaller pre-tax price, not the total, so removing it means dividing by 1.0825, not taking 8.25% off the total. Turn on “amount already includes tax” and the calculator divides the total by one plus the rate to recover the pre-tax price and the tax inside it. Forgetting this asymmetry — subtracting instead of dividing — is the most common sales-tax mistake.
— Reader questions
How do I calculate sales tax?
Multiply the pre-tax price by the tax rate as a decimal, then add it to the price. A $100 purchase at 8.25% has $8.25 of tax and a $108.25 total. Enter the price and rate (or pick a state) and the calculator does it.
How do I find the pre-tax price from a total?
Divide the total by one plus the rate — not subtract the rate. A $108.25 total at 8.25% is $108.25 ÷ 1.0825 = $100 pre-tax. Turn on “amount already includes tax” to do this.
Why can’t I just subtract the tax rate to remove it?
Because the tax was charged on the smaller pre-tax price, not the total. Subtracting 8.25% of the total removes too much. Dividing by 1.0825 correctly backs out the tax that was added to the net amount.
What is the combined sales tax rate?
It is the state base rate plus any county, city and special-district taxes that apply at the point of sale. The calculator’s state figures are average combined rates; your exact local rate may be higher or lower, so verify it for your address.
Which US states have no sales tax?
Five have no statewide sales tax: Oregon, Montana, New Hampshire, Delaware and Alaska — though some Alaskan localities levy their own. The calculator lists these and shows a 0% (or local-only) rate.
Does this work for VAT or GST?
Yes — the arithmetic is identical. Enter your VAT or GST rate as a custom rate. The only real difference is convention: VAT is usually shown included in the price, while US sales tax is added on top.