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Sales Tax Calculator

A $49.99 item at a 7.25% rate carries $3.62 of tax, for an out-the-door total of $53.61. Sales tax is a percentage added at the register: total = price × (1 + rate/100), and the tax itself is the price times the rate.

Total
$53.61
Sales tax
$3.62
Pre-tax
$49.99
Inputs
$ + % sales tax
The 7.25% adds $3.62 here
That's one combined rate, but real sales tax stacks state, county, and city — two addresses a mile apart can differ. Confirm the exact rate for your location before relying on the total.
Not everything is taxed the same
Many states exempt or reduce tax on groceries, prescriptions, and sometimes clothing. Working backward, the pre-tax figure recovers the base price hidden inside a total you've already been charged.
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Uses your inputs above
$53.61 total. Want to try a variation?

The math

Reviewed 2026
Formula
total = price · (1 + rate/100)

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Example: how sales tax is calculated

Step-by-step with default inputs

Suppose you put the default values into Sales Tax Calculator:

Pre-tax price
$49.99
Tax rate
7.25%

Plug those into the formula total = price · (1 + rate/100) and the result is:

Total
$53.61

How to calculate sales tax by hand

  1. Convert the rate to a decimal: 7.25% → 0.0725.
  2. Multiply by the price for the tax amount: $49.99 × 0.0725 = $3.62.
  3. Add the tax to the price for the total: $49.99 + $3.62 = $53.61.

How does the sales tax calculator work?

The calculator applies the tax rate as a simple percentage of the pre-tax price, the way US sales tax is quoted and added at purchase: total = price × (1 + rate/100), tax = price × rate/100. The rate you enter should be the combined rate for your location, since state and local components stack into a single percentage at the register. Amounts round to the nearest cent. Nothing jurisdiction-specific is modeled — exemptions, tax holidays, and category rules (groceries, clothing) all change what is actually taxable, and only the rate you supply is applied.

Last reviewed July 2, 2026 · Editorial policy

Frequently asked questions

How much is 7.25% sales tax on $49.99?

$3.62, making the total $53.61. The math is price times rate: $49.99 × 0.0725 = $3.6243, rounded to the cent.

How do I work backwards from a total to the pre-tax price?

Divide the total by (1 + rate/100) instead of multiplying: $53.61 ÷ 1.0725 ≈ $49.99. Subtracting the percentage from the total does not work, because the tax was a percentage of the smaller pre-tax figure.

Why is the register's tax a cent different from this calculator?

Rounding order. Applying the rate to each line item and rounding, versus rounding once on the subtotal, can differ by a cent or two on multi-item purchases. The percentage is the same; only where the rounding happens differs.

How accurate is this sales tax calculator?

The math is deterministic — the same inputs always produce the same output, and the formula is shown above. Accuracy of the answer for your situation depends on how well your inputs match reality and how well the formula models the question.

Why is my bank's number different?

Banks add fees, taxes, insurance, and product-specific terms that this calculator deliberately omits to keep the math transparent. Use this to sanity-check a quote, not to replace it.

How do I share my result?

Hit Share at the top of the page. Every input you change is encoded in the URL, so a permalink reproduces exactly what you see. No account needed.