Sales Tax Calculator
Add sales tax to a price, or extract the tax already inside a total, with a clear price-tax-total breakdown.
Learn how it works: How to Calculate Sales TaxSales tax rates differ by state, county, and city in the US, so use the combined rate for the place where the sale happens.
Enter a price and tax rate to see the breakdown.
How to use the sales tax calculator
Pick a mode first. Use add tax when you have a pre-tax price and want the total a customer pays. Use extract tax when you have a receipt total that already includes tax and want to know the original price.
Enter the dollar amount and the sales tax rate as a percentage. The result shows the price before tax, the tax amount, and the total, so you can read whichever figure you came for.
How sales tax works
Sales tax is a percentage added to the price of goods and many services at the point of sale. To add it, multiply the price by the rate and add the result to the price. A $100 item at an 8% rate carries $8 of tax, for a $108 total.
The seller collects the tax and passes it to the state or local government. Because the tax is a share of the price, a bigger purchase carries proportionally more tax at the same rate.
Extracting tax from a total
Working backward is not as simple as taking the same percentage off the total, because the tax was charged on the smaller pre-tax price. Instead you divide the total by one plus the rate. A $108 total at 8% divides by 1.08 to give a $100 original price, leaving $8 of tax.
This reverse view is handy for expense reports and bookkeeping, where a receipt shows only the final amount and you need to separate the tax for your records.
Sales tax rates vary by location
The United States has no single national sales tax. Each state sets its own rate, and counties and cities often add their own on top, so two towns in the same state can charge different totals on the same item.
A few states charge no statewide sales tax at all. Always use the combined rate for the exact place where the sale happens, since that is the figure that lands on the receipt.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I add sales tax to a price?
- Multiply the price by the tax rate written as a decimal, then add that to the price. At 8%, a $100 item gains $8 of tax for a $108 total. The add tax mode does this for you.
- How do I find the tax already included in a total?
- Divide the total by one plus the rate. A $108 total at 8% divided by 1.08 gives a $100 pre-tax price, so the tax was $8. The extract tax mode handles this reverse calculation.
- Why can't I just subtract the percentage from the total?
- Because the tax was charged on the smaller pre-tax price, not the total. Taking 8% off a $108 total gives the wrong answer. You have to divide by 1.08 instead to undo the tax correctly.
- What sales tax rate should I enter?
- Use the combined rate for the location of the sale, which adds any state, county, and city sales tax together. Rates differ across the US, so check the rate for the specific place.
- Does every state charge sales tax?
- No. A handful of states have no statewide sales tax, and rates vary widely among the states that do. Local taxes can also raise the combined rate above the state figure.