Sales tax calculator

This calculator does two jobs. It adds sales tax to a price so you know what to put on the invoice, and it backs the tax out of a tax-inclusive total so you can see how much of a figure is tax. It builds the rate the way the US actually builds it: a state base rate, plus whatever your county, city or special district adds on top.

Why there are two numbers, not one

There is no national sales tax in the US. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia charge a statewide rate, and five charge nothing at state level. On top of the state rate, thousands of counties, cities and special districts add their own. The combined rate is what your customer pays, and it can change when you cross a county line halfway through a street.

That is why the calculator splits the rate. Pick your state and it fills in the base rate, the floor charged everywhere in that state. Then type your own local add-on over the prefilled state average. The combined figure is the one you charge, and the results panel shows how much of the tax belongs to the state and how much to the locals, which is how you will have to report it.

Three states blur the line. California, Utah and Virginia have a local tax that every jurisdiction in the state must levy, so their floor already includes it. That is why California shows 7.25% rather than the 6% in its statute, Utah shows 6.10% rather than 4.85%, and Virginia shows 5.30% rather than 4.30%. Only add local rates charged on top of those floors.

How to add sales tax to a price

Multiply the pre-tax price by the combined rate and add it on. At a combined 8.20%:

• Price before tax: $500
• Sales tax at 8.20%: $500 × 0.082 = $41
• Total to charge: $500 + $41 = $541

How to back sales tax out of a total

This is the sum people get wrong. If a figure already includes tax, you cannot just take the rate off the top, because the tax was added to the smaller pre-tax number. Divide the total by 1 plus the rate instead.

• Total including tax: $541
• Price before tax: $541 ÷ 1.082 = $500
• Sales tax: $541 − $500 = $41

Taking 8.20% off $541 would have given you $496.64, which is $3.36 short. Switch the calculator to "Remove sales tax" and it does it properly.

Is labor taxable on a trade job?

In most states, no, and this is the single most useful thing to understand before you charge anyone. Sales tax was built to tax goods, not services, so plain labor usually falls outside it. But the moment you install materials into real property, the rules stop being simple, and they differ state by state.

The common pattern is that a contractor who permanently attaches materials to real property is treated as the final consumer of those materials. You pay sales tax at the supply house, you do not charge the homeowner tax on the finished job, and the tax you paid is just part of your material cost. If you price off ex-tax supplier quotes, you will be short every time.

A few states tax the contractor's receipts instead of the materials. Hawaii's general excise tax, New Mexico's gross receipts tax and Arizona's transaction privilege tax on prime contracting all work that way: you are taxed on what you bill, not on what you buy.

Others split on the type of work. In Texas, labor to repair or remodel nonresidential real property is taxable, the same work on residential property is not, and new construction labor is not taxable either. Texas also distinguishes a lump-sum contract, where you pay tax on materials and quote the customer one price with no tax added, from a separated contract, where you buy materials on a resale certificate and charge tax on the separated material and labor lines. In New York, a capital improvement is exempt if the customer gives you a completed Form ST-124, while repair and maintenance work is taxable.

So there is no shortcut. Before you quote, call your state's revenue department and ask how they treat your trade, your contract type and the property you are working on. Get it wrong in your favor and you owe the tax anyway, out of your own margin.

The five states with no sales tax

Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon have no statewide sales tax. That is not an error in the calculator, it is the law. Two of them come with a catch. Alaska has no state rate but its boroughs and cities set their own, so the whole rate is local and it varies a lot. Montana lets a small number of resort towns levy a local resort tax. Delaware, New Hampshire and Oregon charge nothing at either level on a general sale.

State sales tax rates

Base rates are the floor charged everywhere in the state, as of 1 July 2026. Local figures are the population-weighted average across the state, useful for a ballpark but no substitute for the rate at your actual job address.

Which rate applies, yours or the customer's?

Usually the customer's. Most states use destination sourcing, which means the rate is the one in force at the address where the work is done or the goods are delivered, not the one at your shop. Two jobs in the same week can carry different rates. If you work across a state line, check whether you have crossed a registration threshold there, and register before you collect anything: charging tax you are not registered to collect is a problem of its own.

Putting sales tax on your quotes and invoices

Once you know your rate and what it applies to, the last thing you want is to be running this sum by hand on every line. Tax is part of pricing the job properly in the first place, so start with how to price a job so you actually make a profit, and make sure you are not confusing markup with margin while you are at it.

Snapquo handles the tax on the document. Set your rate once and every quote and invoice applies it per line, shows a clear pre-tax, tax and total, and sends with a pay link so you get paid faster. If you are still working out what to charge before tax, the day rate calculator is the place to start.

This tool and guide are for general information and are not tax advice. State and local sales tax rates change often, and whether your work is taxable depends on your state, your contract and the property. Check the current rate with your state revenue department or speak to a qualified accountant before you rely on a figure.