keencalculator
  1. Home
  2. Business & Sales
  3. Sales Tax Calculator

Sales Tax Calculator

Add sales tax to a price to see the total, or switch to reverse mode to split a tax-included total into the pre-tax price and the tax. Enter your combined rate — state plus any county, city and district taxes.

Quick examples
$

The price before tax, or the total including tax in reverse mode.

%

State plus county and city rates combined.

Your numbers stay in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
Sales tax$8.25
Total with tax
$108.25
Price before tax
$100.00
What the total is made of
  • Price
  • Tax

Saved setups

Save a set of inputs you reuse — your usual rate, your loan, your room sizes — and load it back in one tap.

    Your recent calculations

    Results you calculate here are kept on this device so you can come back to them.

      Formula

      Sales tax = price before tax × rate ÷ 100
      Total = price before tax × (1 + rate ÷ 100)
      Reverse: price before tax = total ÷ (1 + rate ÷ 100)
      Reverse: sales tax = total − price before tax

      How to use it

      1. Choose whether to add tax to a price or remove it from a total.
      2. Enter the amount.
      3. Enter the combined sales tax rate where the sale takes place.
      4. Read the tax, the pre-tax price and the total.

      Worked examples

      Adding 8.25% sales tax to a $100 purchase

      Sales tax
      $8.25
      Total with tax
      $108.25

      A $53.50 receipt total that includes 7% tax

      Price before tax
      $50.00
      Sales tax
      $3.50
      Total with tax
      $53.50

      A $24.99 item in New York City (8.875%)

      Sales tax
      $2.22
      Total with tax
      $27.21

      US sales tax in brief

      There is no national sales tax in the United States. Five states — Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon — have no statewide sales tax, though some Alaskan localities charge their own.

      Elsewhere, the rate you pay is the state rate plus local add-ons. California’s statewide base is 7.25% and local districts push many cities above 9%. New York City’s combined rate is 8.875%.

      What is taxed also varies: many states exempt groceries or prescription drugs, and some exempt clothing. Check your state’s revenue department for the rate and rules at your address.

      Why you divide to remove tax

      To take 8% tax out of a $108 total you cannot subtract 8% of $108 — that gives $99.36. The total is 108% of the pre-tax price, so divide by 1.08 to get $100.

      This is an estimate for planning. Rounding rules, tax holidays and item-level exemptions can make a real receipt differ by a few cents; it is not tax advice.

      Questions people ask

      How do I calculate sales tax on a $50 purchase at 7%?

      Multiply $50 by 0.07 to get $3.50 of tax, for a total of $53.50.

      How do I work out the price before tax?

      Divide the total by 1 plus the tax rate. A $108.25 total at 8.25% is $108.25 ÷ 1.0825 = $100 before tax, with $8.25 of tax.

      Which states have no sales tax?

      Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon have no statewide sales tax. Local sales taxes still apply in parts of Alaska.

      Related calculators