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Sales Tax Calculator

Enter a price and your local sales tax rate to see the tax amount and the total you'll pay at checkout.

Sales Tax Calculator

Enter a price and your local sales tax rate to see the tax amount and the total you'll pay at checkout.

A quick everyday sales tax calculator: type the shelf price and your combined state + local tax rate, and it shows the tax in dollars and the final checkout total, rounded to the cent. Useful for budgeting big purchases and checking receipts.

How to use this calculator

  1. Step 1: Enter the price before tax, e.g. 49.99.
  2. Step 2: Enter your sales tax rate as a percent, e.g. 7.25.
  3. Step 3: Click Calculate.
  4. Step 4: Read the tax amount and your checkout total.

The formula

tax = price × rate / 100 (rounded to cents); total = price + tax

Worked example

A $49.99 item with a 7.25% sales tax adds $3.62 in tax, for a checkout total of $53.61.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the sales tax computed?

Tax equals price times the rate divided by 100, rounded to the nearest cent, and the total is price plus tax. For example, a $100 item at 8.875% adds $8.88 in tax for a $108.88 total. The rounding follows standard half-up rules, matching what registers compute.

Which tax rate should I enter?

Enter your combined rate: state rate plus any county and city add-ons. Many states publish a base rate (e.g. 4-7%) but the rate you actually pay at the register is often higher once local taxes stack on top. Your receipt from a recent purchase in the same area shows the exact combined rate.

Does this handle tax-exempt items?

No — this is the simple everyday version for fully taxable purchases. Groceries, clothing, and medicine are exempt or reduced-rate in many states, and some states cap the taxable portion of big-ticket items like cars. For mixed carts, compute the taxable subtotal first and enter that as the price.

Why does the total sometimes differ by a cent from the store's?

Registers may round tax per line item before summing, while this calculator rounds once on the subtotal. On multi-item receipts the two methods can differ by a penny. Both are legitimate; states generally accept either as long as it's consistent.