A Free US Sales Tax Calculator That Shows Every Layer of the Rate
Our free US sales tax calculator breaks the rate at any ZIP code into state, county, city and district taxes, and applies the rules for clothing, groceries and shipping.
Ask “what’s the sales tax in Texas?” and you’ll usually hear 6.25%. Ship a $100 order to Austin and you owe $8.25, not $6.25. The other 2% comes from the city and the transit authority.
That gap is the whole problem with US sales tax. The state rate is only the first layer. Counties, cities and special districts stack their own rates on top, and the total depends on exactly where the order is delivered.
So we built a free sales tax calculator that shows every layer.
Try it
Enter a ZIP code and an order amount:
US sales tax calculator
Every rate that applies at a US ZIP code, worked out on your order.
Sales tax · Texas 78701
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Collecting sales tax in Texas and beyond?
GoodVat tracks your economic nexus in every state, registers you, charges the right rate on every order and files your returns.
Calculation only, not legal or tax advice. Verify with the state Department of Revenue before you file. State averages: Tax Foundation, July 1, 2026.
What the calculator does
- Breaks the rate into layers. For each ZIP code you get the state, county, city and special district rates that apply, plus the tax each one adds to your order. It doesn’t just give you one blended number.
- Applies product rules. Pick general goods, clothing, groceries, digital goods, prepared food or prescription drugs. Many states exempt or reduce the rate on some of these. Clothing is exempt in Minnesota, for example, and grocery food is exempt in most states.
- Handles shipping. Add a shipping charge and the calculator applies the delivery state’s rule. Some states tax shipping whenever the items are taxable. Others exempt it as long as it’s listed as a separate line on the invoice.
- Shows the total to charge. The bottom line is the amount your customer should pay, including shipping and tax.
It’s free, and you don’t need an account.
Why a ZIP code isn’t always enough
There are more than 13,000 sales tax jurisdictions in the US, and their boundaries don’t follow ZIP codes. One ZIP code can cross a city line or a special district boundary, so two addresses in the same ZIP occasionally have different rates.
A few states make this harder. In Colorado, Louisiana and Alabama, many cities or parishes collect their own sales tax separately from the state, with their own rules. When you look up a ZIP code in one of those states, the calculator warns you that the local rate may be incomplete.
For checkout, calculate on the full delivery address, not just the ZIP code. For quotes, invoices and checking a rate, the ZIP code is usually all you need.
The rate is the easy part
Knowing the right rate is one piece of sales tax compliance. The harder questions come before and after it:
- Where do you have nexus? You only collect tax in states where you have nexus. That means a physical presence there, or sales above the state’s economic nexus threshold, which in most states is $100,000 a year. Our nexus calculator checks every state at once.
- Are you registered? You must register with each state before you start collecting its tax.
- Are you filing? Every state where you’re registered expects returns on its own schedule, monthly, quarterly or annually, even when you owe nothing.
Each state guide covers its threshold, what’s taxable and how to file. Start with the big ones: California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois and Washington. The state sales tax index lists every state’s rate and thresholds on one page.
If you’re selling into more than a couple of states, this becomes a job. That’s what we do. GoodVat tracks your nexus, registers you, charges the right rate on every order and files your returns. Talk to us about US sales tax.
The calculator is a calculation tool, not tax advice. Confirm rates with the state’s Department of Revenue before you file.