Sales tax is set at the point of sale, not by the seller
In the US, sales tax is a single-stage tax collected once, at checkout, on the final retail sale to a consumer. The rate is set by the state and, in most states, stacked with county and city rates — so two stores a few miles apart can charge different combined rates even though they sell the same item. This calculator uses state-level base rates as a starting point; check your receipt or local tax authority for the exact combined rate.
Five states charge no state sales tax
Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon have no statewide sales tax. Alaska still allows individual municipalities to charge a local sales tax, so a purchase there can still be taxed depending on where you buy it — the other four are tax-free at checkout everywhere in the state.
Sales tax vs. VAT
Sales tax is collected once, at the final sale to the end consumer. VAT (used across the EU, UK, and most of the world outside the US) is collected at every stage of production, with businesses reclaiming the VAT they paid on inputs — only the end consumer bears the full cost. If you need VAT-style multi-stage or invoice-line calculations, use the VAT Calculator instead.
Reading a receipt total backwards
If you only have the tax-inclusive total from a receipt (and know the tax rate), use Remove Tax mode to back out the pre-tax price — useful for expense reports, bookkeeping, and reconstructing a subtotal when the itemized breakdown is missing.