Sales tax, generally government issued, is a percentage rate tax charged on the sale of goods and services, at the time of purchase. The amount of tax charged is usually based on a sales tax table and varies depending upon the location of the transaction, the governing tax authority, and the type of goods or services being purchased or rendered.

The most common type of sales tax, which is encountered on a day to day basis in almost all retail transactions, is retail sales tax. Retail sales tax is the tax applied to the final sale of a good or service. Other types of common sales taxes include: excise taxes, use taxes, value added taxes, and turnover taxes. Sales taxes can vary from as low as 0.5% to as high as 25%, with the average falling in the range of 6%-9%.

With our sales tax calculator, you can calculate both the sales tax and the final item price for any item or amount of money. To use this calculator and figure out your sales tax calculation, you’ll need to know both the amount of the transaction in question and the applicable tax percentage rate. If you don’t know the exact sales tax percentage for your transaction, a rough estimate will still provide you with a close estimation.

This calculator can be beneficial in situations where you need to ensure you can truly afford a purchase, before you show up to make the transaction. In many parts of the world, including the United States, sales tax is not added in with the sticker price of retail items. Rather, it is calculated and added in at the cash register, on top of the published price of the item. However, in other regions, the United Kingdom for example, the published item price includes all taxes (a value added tax, VAT) and is the exact amount that you will pay at the cashier for the transaction.