What is the difference between sales tax and VAT?

The clearest difference is the price tag. US sales tax is charged once, at the final retail sale, and the tag usually shows the pre-tax price — the 8.25% is added at the register, so a $100 item rings up at $108.25. VAT is collected at every stage on the value added, and European prices are normally tax-inclusive, so €120 on the shelf means you pay €120. Mathematically, sales tax adds onto a net price, while VAT is more often backed out of a gross price — which is exactly why this tool has a separate 'Extract from total' mode.

Which US states have no sales tax?

Five states levy no statewide sales tax: Delaware, Oregon, Montana, New Hampshire, and Alaska. The first four have essentially no local sales tax either, so the price on the tag is what you pay. Alaska is the asterisk: it has no statewide rate, but it lets individual boroughs and cities charge their own local sales tax, which can reach roughly 7% in some places. So a purchase in Alaska is not automatically tax-free — it depends on the specific city.

How do I work out the pre-tax price from a tax-inclusive total?

Use net = total ÷ (1 + rate). If a receipt shows $108.25 at an 8.25% rate, that is 108.25 ÷ 1.0825 = $100.00 pre-tax, with $8.25 of tax. The common mistake is multiplying the total by (1 − rate): 108.25 × (1 − 0.0825) = $99.32, which is 68 cents too low. The reason is that the tax was applied to the $100 net price, not to the $108.25 gross, so reversing it means dividing back out. The Extract mode does this for you.

I sell into multiple US states online — which rate applies?

It depends on where you have 'nexus'. Since the 2018 South Dakota v. Wayfair decision, once your sales or order count in a state crosses a threshold (often $100,000 a year or 200 transactions), you must collect tax at the buyer's address rate — destination-based sourcing. So the same product shipped to California versus Oregon carries completely different tax. In practice you enter the state rate and the local rate separately and calculate per buyer address, which is what the two split fields in this tool are for.

Is a restaurant tip part of the sales tax base?

Usually not. A voluntary tip is excluded from the sales tax base in most states because it is not part of the seller's charge for the meal. Two cases need care, though: a 'mandatory service charge' printed on the bill (common for large parties or banquets) is treated as taxable sales by many states; and some states tax prepared restaurant food at a different rate than retail goods. When figuring it out, add tax to the food charge first, then calculate the tip separately on the pre-tax or post-tax subtotal as you prefer.

Pricing one order to LA and the next to Portland

You sell on Shopify and ship nationwide. For the Los Angeles order, fill state 7.25 and local 2.25 so the combined field reads 9.5 percent; the next order to Portland gets Oregon 0 in both fields and rings up tax-free. The two split rates keep each address straight.

Backing the item price out of a 53.49 receipt

You only have the receipt total and need the pre-tax amount and tax for an expense report. Switch to Extract, enter 53.49 and the rate that applied, and the tool divides by one plus the rate to split out the net price and tax, instead of the total times one minus the rate shortcut that comes out low.

Sales Tax Calculator — Add or Remove US Sales Tax

Add or remove US sales tax — split state + local rates, real 2024 state base rates on tap, browser-only

Runs locally
Category Calculator
Best for Getting a realistic range before a purchase, plan, workout, or schedule decision.

US sales tax is added on top of the price at checkout. "Add tax" turns a pre-tax price into the total you pay. "Extract from total" backs the pre-tax price and tax out of a receipt amount — it divides by (1 + rate), not subtract. The combined rate is your state base plus local (county/city) tax; the chips fill the state part only.

Mode

CurrencyPre-tax price

Tax rate (state + local)

State rate %Local rate %

Combined

7.25%

State base rate (2024)

Tap to fill the state rate. Add local tax on top for a real address.

Result

$107.25

Sales tax

$7.25

Effective rate

7.25%

What this tool does

A US sales tax calculator that works both directions. Have a pre-tax price and want to know the checkout total? Use "Add tax". Holding a receipt and need to back out the original price and the tax? Use "Extract from total" — it divides by (1 + rate) the right way, not the common total × (1 − rate) shortcut that comes out wrong. The rate splits into a state field and a local field and sums automatically, because US sales tax is layered: California's 7.25% state base lands above 9.5% in Los Angeles once county and city tax stack on. Tap a chip to drop in any state's real 2024 base rate; Delaware, Oregon, Montana and New Hampshire collect no statewide sales tax at all. Built for US shoppers, accountants, and anyone selling into the US — ecommerce sellers and remote vendors pricing orders per buyer address. Everything runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded, results copy in one click, and the URL carries your numbers so a shared link reopens the same math.

Tool details

Input: Numbers; The page exposes text boxes, numeric controls, file pickers, or structured inputs depending on the tool.
Output: Live result + Copy; The result area focuses on usable output, with copy, download, or preview actions when supported.
Privacy: Browser-side processing; The main tool logic does not call an external API, so inputs normally stay in the current tab.
Save / share: Shareable URL state; Key settings are encoded in the URL so another person can reopen the same setup.
Performance budget: Initial JS <= 9 KB; No WASM budget is declared, keeping the tool quick to open on mobile.
Best fit: Calculator · Finance; Category and role tags drive related tools, internal links, and quick fit checks.

How to use

1. Input

Paste or drop your content into the tool panel.
2. Process

Click the button. All processing is local in your browser.
3. Copy / Download

Copy the result or download to disk in one click.

How Sales Tax Calculator fits into your work

Use it for fast estimates, comparisons, and planning numbers before you make the final call.

Calculation jobs

Getting a realistic range before a purchase, plan, workout, or schedule decision.
Comparing scenarios by changing one input at a time.
Turning rough assumptions into a number you can discuss.

Calculation checks

Double-check units, dates, rates, and rounding assumptions.
Treat health, finance, tax, and legal outputs as planning aids, not professional advice.
Save the inputs that produced an important result so you can reproduce it later.

Good next steps

These links move the current task into a more complete workflow.

Real-world use cases

Pricing one order to LA and the next to Portland
You sell on Shopify and ship nationwide. For the Los Angeles order, fill state 7.25 and local 2.25 so the combined field reads 9.5 percent; the next order to Portland gets Oregon 0 in both fields and rings up tax-free. The two split rates keep each address straight.
Backing the item price out of a 53.49 receipt
You only have the receipt total and need the pre-tax amount and tax for an expense report. Switch to Extract, enter 53.49 and the rate that applied, and the tool divides by one plus the rate to split out the net price and tax, instead of the total times one minus the rate shortcut that comes out low.

Common pitfalls

Reversing tax with total times one minus rate instead of total divided by one plus rate. 108.25 divided by 1.0825 is 100, but times the other way gives 99.32, 68 cents low.
Filling only the state field. US tax stacks state plus local, so California's 7.25 percent climbs past 9.5 percent in Los Angeles once county and city are added.
Assuming Alaska is tax-free. It has no statewide rate but lets cities charge local tax up to about 7 percent, so it depends on the city.

Privacy

Adding tax, extracting from a total, and summing the state and local rates all run as plain JavaScript on your own device. The amount, the rate, and any receipt figure never leave the page and nothing is logged. Note that a shared link encodes your numbers in the URL, so for a client quote use the copy button instead.

FAQ

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Sales Tax Calculator — Add or Remove US Sales Tax

What this tool does

Tool details

How to use

1. Input

2. Process

3. Copy / Download

How Sales Tax Calculator fits into your work

Calculation jobs

Calculation checks

Good next steps

Real-world use cases

Pricing one order to LA and the next to Portland

Backing the item price out of a 53.49 receipt

Common pitfalls

Privacy

FAQ

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