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State tax policy
Personal income tax
Sales tax
Corporate income tax
Excise tax

Sales tax is one of the primary taxes levied by state governments. Sales tax is applied to goods and services at the point of purchase. It is most often collected by the seller of the good or service and then transferred to the taxing authority.^[1]

Historically, general sales or use tax has been a chief element of state revenue systems. As of 2017, sales tax revenue comprised roughly one third of the total tax revenue collected by the states. The lucrativeness of the sale tax for states had, however, diminished somewhat before this. In 1998, for the first time since the Great Depression, sales tax accounted for a smaller share of the states' tax collections than personal income tax.^[2]

Sales tax rates

2017

Combined tax rates

Almost all states employed a statewide sales tax, which ranged from 2.9 percent inColorado to 7.25 percent inCalifornia. Only five states did not have a statewide sales tax. Additionally, many states allowed the levying of additional local sales taxes, which were then added to the state's tax. The table below displays the state tax rates, average local tax rates, and combined tax rates for all 50 states in 2017.

Sales tax rates

The table below summarizes sales tax rates for the 50 states in 2017 as well as their policies with respect to types of items commonly exempted from sales tax (i.e., food, prescription drugs and nonprescription drugs).^[3]

2015

Combined tax rates

The table below displays the state tax rates, average local tax rates, and combined tax rates for all 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2015.

State tax rates

The table below lists the state sales tax rates for all 50 states, as well as the status of items commonly exempted from sales tax. Of the 50 states (and Washington, D.C.), only five did not collect a general sales tax. For the remaining states that did collect sales tax, rates ranged from 2.9 percent inColorado to 7.5 percent inCalifornia. The numerical rankings listed have been tallied by excluding the states that did not collect sales tax and assigning the same numerical ranking to states with the same rate. Because several states share common rates, the rankings range from 1, indicating the lowest sales tax rate, to 22, which indicates the highest.^[4]

2014

The table below lists the sales tax rates for all 50 states as of 2014, as well as the status of items commonly exempted from sales tax. Of the 50 states (and Washington, D.C.), only five did not collect a general sales tax. For the remaining states that did collect sales tax, rates ranged from 2.9 percent inColorado to 7.5 percent inCalifornia. The numerical rankings listed were tallied by excluding the states that did not collect sales tax and assigning the same numerical ranking to states with the same rate. Because several states shared common rates, the rankings range from 1, indicating the lowest sales tax rate, to 22, which indicates the highest.^[5]

See also

• Taxes on the ballot

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Tax Policy Center
• Federation of Tax Administrators
• Tax Foundation

Footnotes

v • e Budget policy Budget background Government budgets •Cost of state transparency websites •State budget issues •Public employee salaries •Public pensions •States with spending online •Glossary of state budget terms •Total state expenditures •State spending by function as a percent of total expenditures State budget and finance pages Alabama •Alaska •Arizona •Arkansas •California •Colorado •Connecticut •Delaware •Florida •Georgia •Hawaii •Idaho •Illinois •Indiana •Iowa •Kansas •Kentucky •Louisiana •Maine •Maryland •Massachusetts •Michigan •Minnesota •Mississippi •Missouri •Montana •Nebraska •Nevada •New Hampshire •New Jersey •New Mexico •New York •North Carolina •North Dakota •Ohio •Oklahoma •Oregon •Pennsylvania •Rhode Island •South Carolina •South Dakota •Tennessee •Texas •Utah •Vermont •Virginia •Washington •West Virginia •Wisconsin •Wyoming Tax policy background Personal income tax •Sales tax •Corporate income tax •Property tax •Excise taxes •Estate and inheritance taxes •Capital gains tax State tax policy pages Alabama •Alaska •Arizona •Arkansas •California •Colorado •Connecticut •Delaware •Florida •Georgia •Hawaii •Idaho •Illinois •Indiana •Iowa •Kansas •Kentucky •Louisiana •Maine •Maryland •Massachusetts •Michigan •Minnesota •Mississippi •Missouri •Montana •Nebraska •Nevada •New Hampshire •New Jersey •New Mexico •New York •North Carolina •North Dakota •Ohio •Oklahoma •Oregon •Pennsylvania •Rhode Island •South Carolina •South Dakota •Tennessee •Texas •Utah •Vermont •Virginia •Washington •West Virginia •Wisconsin •Wyoming Comparative analysis of state debt Federal outlays to state government (2014-2017) •State tax revenue projections and shortfalls (2020-2021) •Proportion of state government general revenues from the federal government (2014-2018) •State debt per capita (2014-2018) •State unfunded public pension liabilities, 2003-2018