Sales Tax by State in 2026, Including Local Rates

Sales tax in the United States is not one tax. It is a state tax with a county tax and a city tax layered on top, and sometimes a special district tax for a transit authority or a stadium. The rate on your receipt is the sum, and it can change when you drive twenty minutes.

That structure explains most of what looks strange in the numbers. Colorado's state rate is one of the lowest in the country at 2.90%, yet Coloradans pay more sales tax than residents of many states with a much higher headline rate, because Colorado's local layer averages 4.99%. Alabama's state rate is 4.00% and its combined rate is 9.46%.

For a household, the question is not which state has the highest rate. It is how much of your spending is taxable, and at what combined rate where you actually shop.

Which states have no sales tax?

Five states levy no statewide sales tax: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon. Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon have no local sales taxes either, so the combined rate in those four is 0.00%. Alaska has no state rate but permits local ones, which average 1.82% across the state.

That makes Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon the only four places in the country where a retail purchase carries no sales tax anywhere in the state. New Hampshire funds itself instead through the second-highest property tax rate in the country at 2.11%, which is the trade discussed on states with no income tax.

What is the sales tax rate in each state?

Combined rates range from 0.00% in four states to 10.11% in Louisiana. The table below shows 25 of the 51 jurisdictions, selected to cover the highest and lowest rates, the most populous states, and the states where the local layer does something unexpected. States not listed fall within the range shown.

New Jersey's negative average local rate is not an error. The state allows designated urban enterprise zones to charge half the state rate, which pulls the statewide average below the state figure.

How much does the difference cost a household?

On $25,000 of taxable spending a year, the gap between the highest and lowest taxing states with a sales tax is close to a thousand dollars. Tennessee at 9.61% takes $2,402.50. Wisconsin at 5.72% takes $1,430.00. The difference is $972.50 for the same shopping basket.

The annual row is the one that matters, and it is also the one people underestimate, because sales tax is collected in fragments too small to notice. $2,527.50 in Louisiana is more than the state income tax a middle earner pays there at the 3.00% flat rate on a moderate salary.

Not all spending is taxable. Groceries, prescription drugs, rent and most services are exempt in many states, and the exemptions vary enormously. A household that spends heavily on rent and food faces a lower effective sales tax rate than the table implies. One that buys a car, furniture and electronics in the same year faces a higher one. The sales tax calculator applies the right combined rate to a specific purchase.

Why is the local rate sometimes bigger than the state rate?

Because some states fund local government through sales tax rather than property tax, and some deliberately keep the state rate low and let counties and cities set their own. Alabama, Louisiana, Colorado, Oklahoma, New York and Missouri all have average local rates above 4%.

The pattern often mirrors property tax. Alabama has the joint lowest effective property tax rate in the country at 0.28% and one of the highest local sales tax averages at 5.46%. Colorado pairs a 0.41% property tax rate with a 4.99% local sales average. The money is raised either way; only the mechanism differs. Compare the two layers on property tax by state.

Which rate applies to an online order?

In most states, the rate where the buyer takes delivery. That is destination sourcing, and it is why an order shipped to a suburb can carry a different rate from the same order shipped to the city center a few miles away. A handful of states use origin sourcing for in-state sales, applying the seller's rate instead.

Since states gained the power to require out-of-state sellers to collect, most online retailers charge tax based on the shipping address. Where the seller does not collect, the buyer technically owes use tax at the same rate to their own state. Use tax on consumer purchases is widely ignored and rarely enforced against individuals, but it is enforced against businesses.

Common mistakes

Comparing state rates instead of combined rates. California's 7.25% is the highest state rate in the country, yet six states have higher combined rates. Colorado's 2.90% is among the lowest state rates and its combined rate is 7.89%. The state figure alone predicts almost nothing about your receipt.

Assuming the state average applies where you live. The average local rate is a statewide weighted average. Individual jurisdictions sit well above and below it, particularly in Alaska, Colorado, Louisiana and Alabama. For a large purchase, look up the rate for the specific address rather than using the state average.

Buying a car in a low-tax state to avoid the tax. Vehicles are taxed on registration in your home state in almost every case, at your home state's rate, with credit for tax already paid. Driving to Delaware for a car does not avoid your own state's tax. Boats, aircraft and expensive equipment work the same way.

Ignoring use tax on a business. A business that buys equipment from an out-of-state seller who does not collect sales tax owes use tax at its own combined rate. State auditors check this routinely, and unpaid use tax carries interest and penalties.

Treating exemptions as national. Whether groceries, clothing, prescription drugs, digital goods or prepared food are taxable varies by state, and sometimes the state exempts an item while localities still tax it. An exemption you relied on in one state may not exist in the next.

Where this comparison breaks down

A combined rate is a weighted average, not the rate you pay. Your effective sales tax burden depends entirely on how much of your spending falls into taxable categories, and that varies more between households than the rates vary between states. A renter who eats at home in a state that exempts groceries can pay a very low effective rate in a high-rate state.

The comparison also excludes excise taxes on fuel, alcohol, tobacco and hotel stays, which are substantial and vary independently. And it is silent about what the revenue buys. A state with a 9.61% sales tax and no income tax is not more expensive overall than one with a 5.72% sales tax and a 7.65% top income rate; it is differently expensive, and the answer depends on whether you earn a lot or spend a lot.

Before your next big purchase

• Look up the combined rate for the exact delivery address, not the state average.
• Check whether the item is exempt in your state; the categories vary widely.
• For vehicles, confirm the rate is charged on registration in your home state.
• For an out-of-state seller who does not collect, check your state's use tax rules.
• If you run a business, register in every state where you have economic nexus.
• Check for a sales tax holiday if the purchase can wait; many states run them.
• Keep receipts for large purchases in case you itemize state sales tax instead of income tax.

What to watch next

Local rates change far more often than state rates, usually on quarterly boundaries, so the combined figures above drift through the year. Several states have been broadening the base to cover digital goods and services rather than raising rates, which increases what you pay without changing the number on the receipt. Economic nexus thresholds for remote sellers have also been shifting, mostly downward, which matters for anyone selling across state lines. Check the specific address rate at the point of purchase rather than relying on a state average.