Sales Tax by State: What Online Shoppers Should Know

Five states have no statewide sales tax: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. Alaska is the asterisk: it has no state-level tax, but many local jurisdictions there charge their own, averaging about 1.76 percent locally. The other four truly charge zero at the state level, though local add-ons are rare but possible. Note that no-sales-tax does not mean no-tax: these states fund themselves through other taxes, and several of them make up for it with high property or income taxes instead. Moving to New Hampshire for the shopping and staying for the property tax bill is a classic rookie mistake.

At the state level, California is highest at 7.25 percent. But the number you actually pay includes local taxes, and on that combined measure the Tax Foundation's midyear 2026 ranking puts Louisiana first at 10.13 percent average combined, followed by Tennessee (9.61 percent), Washington (9.57 percent), Arkansas (9.48 percent), and Alabama (9.46 percent). A $999 laptop costs about $101 in tax in Louisiana versus zero in Oregon, which is real money on big purchases. Always verify the current rate with your state's department of revenue before making plans around these figures, because local rates change frequently.

Because of the 2018 Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair. Before that ruling, states could generally only force retailers with a physical presence, like a store or warehouse, to collect sales tax. Wayfair threw that rule out: now a state can require any seller with enough economic activity there, typically $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions a year, to collect its tax. Every state with a sales tax has since passed marketplace facilitator laws, which make platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy collect tax on behalf of their third-party sellers. The tax-free internet checkout is effectively over, and it has been for years.

Yours. Online sales tax is destination-based: the rate is determined by where the item is delivered, not where the seller sits. If you live in Texas and buy from a seller in Florida, you pay Texas tax at the rate for your delivery address, including any local add-ons for your city and county. That is why two buyers ordering the same item from the same website can see different tax totals. It also means moving changes your online tax bill immediately. The seller's location is irrelevant to the calculation in nearly every state.

Use tax is the backup tax for purchases where no sales tax was collected: you owe it to your home state on taxable items you buy elsewhere and bring home, or buy online from a seller that did not collect. Legally, yes, you owe it, and most state income tax returns include a line where you are supposed to declare untaxed purchases. In practice, states rarely chase individuals for small amounts, but they absolutely do audit businesses. Since marketplace facilitator laws now make the big platforms collect automatically, use tax mostly matters for purchases from small out-of-state sellers that fall below economic nexus thresholds.

No, and the differences are bigger than most shoppers realize. Many states exempt groceries entirely or tax them at a reduced rate: Tennessee, for example, taxes groceries at a lower rate than its 7 percent general rate. Clothing gets special treatment in a few states, most famously Pennsylvania, which exempts most everyday clothing. Then there are the quirks: some states tax candy but not groceries, or tax soft drinks differently from juice. Digital goods are the newest battleground, with a growing number of states taxing downloads, streaming, and software subscriptions. Check your state's specific exemptions before assuming anything.

Sales tax holidays are short windows, usually a weekend, when a state suspends tax on specific categories like school supplies, clothing, or hurricane preparedness gear. About a dozen states run them, mostly in late summer around back-to-school season. They can save real money if you were going to buy the items anyway: skipping a 7 percent tax on $500 of school supplies is $35 back. My take: use them as a calendar reminder to buy what you already need, not as a reason to buy what you do not.

Start with your state's department of revenue website, which publishes current state rates and usually a lookup tool for local add-ons by ZIP code or address. That is the authoritative source, and it matters because local rates change far more often than state rates. For quick estimates, our Sales Tax Calculator applies state and typical local rates to any purchase amount. One warning: ZIP codes can span multiple tax jurisdictions, so a ZIP-based lookup is an estimate. For a business calculating tax on customers, or a large purchase where every fraction of a percent matters, use an address-level lookup from the state itself.

Not legally, if the item is delivered to your home state. Remember the destination rule: the tax follows the delivery address, so ordering from an Oregon seller to a California address means California tax, collected by the seller under marketplace facilitator or economic nexus rules. Driving across the border and bringing goods home yourself triggers use tax in your home state, which you legally owe. The only clean way to pay zero is to both buy and take delivery in a no-tax state, which is why the classic advice is about shopping while traveling, not about gaming online checkout.

State-level rates change rarely: most states have held the same statewide rate for years. Local rates change constantly, as cities and counties add fractions of a percent for transit, schools, stadiums, and other projects, often through ballot measures. That is why combined rates drift upward over time even when the state rate never moves. For shoppers, the practical effect is small on any single purchase. For anyone doing tax planning or running a business, it means the rate you used last year deserves a fresh check. Treat any published rate table, including this article, as a snapshot: confirm the live number with your state's revenue department.