Sales Tax Calculator

Sales tax is a consumption tax added to the price of most goods and many services at the point of sale. This calculator works in both directions: it can add tax to a pre-tax price to find the total you’ll actually pay, or remove tax from a tax-inclusive total to recover the original price and the tax portion.

What is sales tax?

Sales tax is charged as a percentage of the sale price. In the United States there is no national sales tax — instead, states, counties, and cities each set their own rates, which stack into a single combined rate at checkout. A purchase in one city might be taxed at 6%, while a purchase a few miles away is taxed at 9.5%.

The core formula is simple:

• Total = Amount × (1 + Rate ÷ 100)
• Tax = Amount × (Rate ÷ 100)

To reverse it — to strip tax out of a receipt total — divide instead of multiply:

• Pre-tax = Total ÷ (1 + Rate ÷ 100)

How to use this calculator

1. Choose a mode: Add tax to amount if you have a pre-tax price, or Remove tax from total if you have a tax-inclusive figure.
2. Enter the amount — your pre-tax price or your tax-inclusive total, depending on the mode.
3. Enter the sales tax rate as a percentage (use your combined state + local rate).
4. Read off the total, the sales tax, and the pre-tax amount.

Examples

Adding tax. A laptop is priced at $100 and the local combined rate is 8.25$8.25**, and the total is $108.25.

Removing tax. A receipt shows a $108.25 total at an 8.25$100**, so $8.25 of the total was tax.

Zero-tax states. In states with no sales tax, the rate is 0% and the total equals the price — the calculator simply passes the amount through.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate sales tax? Multiply the price by the rate as a decimal (8.25% → 0.0825) and add it to the price.

How do I remove sales tax from a total? Divide the total by 1 plus the rate as a decimal. Use the Remove tax mode to do this automatically.

Which rate should I use? Use the combined state, county, and city rate for the location where the sale happens.

References

• Sales Tax Definition — Investopedia
• State and Local Sales Tax Rates — Tax Foundation