Sales Tax Calculator
Add tax to a price, or back the tax out of a tax-inclusive total
Updated 2026-09-09
- Pre-tax subtotal
- $100.00
- Sales tax
- $8.25
- Total charged
- $108.25
Rates vary by state, county, and city. Check your own combined rate before filing — this is arithmetic, not tax advice.
Your numbers stay on this device. The page link keeps your inputs, so a bookmark or shared link reopens these results.
Next step
$8.25 of the $108.25 is tax you hold for the state. If your sticker prices already include tax, split a total back into state and local tax with the reverse sales tax calculator.
People also use
Two questions come up constantly at the counter and again at filing time: what do I charge on top of this price, and how much tax is buried inside the money I already took? This calculator answers both. Tick the tax-inclusive box to run it in reverse.
Adding tax to a price
Multiply the pre-tax price by the combined rate and add it on. At an 8.25% rate, a $100 item collects $8.25 in tax and the customer pays $108.25. The $8.25 was never your money — it is held on behalf of the tax authority until you remit it.
Backing tax out of a total (reverse sales tax)
If your prices are advertised tax-inclusive, divide the total by one plus the rate to recover the subtotal. A $108.25 total at 8.25% divides to $100.00, leaving $8.25 of tax. Subtracting 8.25% from the total instead gives $99.32 and quietly understates your liability every single day.
This matters most for food trucks, market stalls, and salons, where round tax-inclusive prices keep queues moving.
Combined rates are rarely a single number
In most US states the rate a customer pays is a stack: state, county, city, and sometimes a special transit or stadium district. Two shops a mile apart can legitimately charge different rates.
- Confirm the combined rate for your exact address, not just your state
- Delivery and shipped orders may follow the destination rate, not your own
- Some categories — groceries, prescriptions, certain clothing — are exempt or reduced
- Rates change on fixed dates each year; recheck yours before each filing period
Setting money aside as you collect it
The most common cash-flow disaster in small retail is spending collected tax. The habit that prevents it: move the tax portion of each day's takings into a separate account the same week you bank it. If your sales system reports tax collected per day, that transfer takes under a minute.
ExpressBizTools totals tax collected per invoice and per period on the tax summary page, so the figure you set aside matches the figure you file.
What this tool does not do
It performs the arithmetic; it does not determine nexus, taxability of a specific product, marketplace facilitator rules, or filing frequency. Those depend on where you sell and what you sell, and they are worth twenty minutes with a local accountant once a year.
Keep the numbers in a spreadsheet
Ready-made Excel and Google Sheets templates that pick up where this calculator stops. One-off purchase, instant download.
Invoice Template + Invoice Log Spreadsheet
Auto-totalling invoice with tax, discount and balance due, plus an overdue-flagging log.
Receipt Template + Receipt Log Spreadsheet
Printable receipt with totals and payment method, plus a numbered log.
Frequently asked questions
How do I remove sales tax from a total?
Divide the total by one plus the tax rate. At 8.25%, divide by 1.0825. Do not subtract the percentage from the total — that produces a number that is slightly too low.
What sales tax rate should I enter?
Your combined rate: state plus county plus city plus any special district. Your state revenue department publishes a lookup by address.
Do I charge tax on shipping?
It varies by state. Some tax shipping when the goods are taxable, others exempt separately stated delivery charges. Check your state's rule once and apply it consistently.
Is the tax I collect income?
No. It is money held on behalf of the tax authority. Keeping it in a separate account is the simplest way to avoid spending it by accident.
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Start freeAs an Amazon Associate, ExpressBizTools earns from qualifying purchases. Product links are affiliate links. Calculations are for general planning and are not tax, legal, or financial advice.