Current 2026 state rates, local add-ons, and the thresholds that decide when you must register.
CA · highest state rate in the US
7.25% base with 1.78% average local. Largest local add-ons in the state reach 5.25 points.
Typical 9.03% · Highest 12.5% · Nexus $500,000
TX · simple statewide pricing
6.25% base with 1.95% average local, and local add-ons are capped near 2%.
Typical 8.2% · Highest 8.25% · Nexus $500,000
NY · highest local add-ons in the US
Low 4% base, but New York City adds nearly 4.88 points on its own.
Typical 8.54% · Highest 8.88% · Nexus $500,000
FL · single statewide rate
6% base with modest county surcharges, so pricing is consistent across the state.
Typical 6.98% · Highest 8% · Nexus $100,000
IL · Chicago at the top of the range
6.25% base with 2.73% average local. Groceries are taxed at 1%.
Typical 8.98% · Highest 11% · Nexus $100,000
WA · no state tax, local drives everything
6.5% base is misleading on its own. Combined rates run up to nearly 10%.
Typical 9.57% · Highest 10.7% · Nexus $100,000
PA · easy national pricing
Flat 6% base with very small local add-ons averaging 0.34%.
Typical 6.34% · Highest 8% · Nexus $100,000
OH · wide range of exemptions
5.75% base with 1.54% average local. Many groceries and services are exempt.
Typical 7.29% · Highest 8% · Nexus $100,000
| State | State rate | Avg local | Typical | Highest | Nexus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 7.25% | 1.78% | 9.03% | 12.5% | $500,000 |
| Texas | 6.25% | 1.95% | 8.2% | 8.25% | $500,000 |
| New York | 4% | 4.54% | 8.54% | 8.88% | $500,000 |
| Florida | 6% | 0.98% | 6.98% | 8% | $100,000 |
| Illinois | 6.25% | 2.73% | 8.98% | 11% | $100,000 |
| Washington | 6.5% | 3.07% | 9.57% | 10.7% | $100,000 |
| Pennsylvania | 6% | 0.34% | 6.34% | 8% | $100,000 |
| Ohio | 5.75% | 1.54% | 7.29% | 8% | $100,000 |
Rates as of July 1, 2026, from Tax Foundation midyear state and local sales tax data. Nexus thresholds sourced from individual state revenue departments.
The state rate is the base. What a buyer actually pays adds county, city and special district rates on top, and those add-ons vary by several points within a single state. California's average combined rate is 9.03 percent, but the range runs from 7.25 to 12.5 percent depending on the address. Washington's range is similar: 6.5 to 10.7 percent.
This matters most when you quote prices before tax and add it at checkout. Using the statewide average is reasonable for planning, but it is systematically wrong in high-rate areas, and those are often the areas where your customers are concentrated.
Every state with a sales tax uses destination-based sourcing, which means the customer's address sets the rate, not yours. For a remote seller this has a direct consequence: you may need to charge a different rate to two customers in the same state, and you may be required to register in states where you have no physical presence once you pass their sales thresholds.
Nexus is the point at which a state can require you to collect its tax even without a physical location. Most thresholds sit at $100,000 in annual sales, with larger states using $500,000. Some states also count the number of transactions rather than dollars.
Once you cross a threshold you generally must register with that state's revenue department, collect the tax, file periodic returns, and in some cases pay a penalty for periods you were unregistered. This is the part that surprises sellers most, because the sales that trigger the obligation can be spread across many small orders.
Five states have no state-level sales tax: Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon and Alaska. Alaska has local sales tax applying in some jurisdictions, so it is not uniformly tax-free. The other four impose no sales tax at any level. Separately, many states tax groceries at a reduced rate or exempt them entirely, so a complete exemption list is much longer than the no-tax state list.
Louisiana has the highest combined state and local rate at about 10.13 percent, followed by Tennessee at about 9.61 percent and Washington at about 9.57 percent. At the state level alone, California has the highest base rate at 7.25 percent, followed by Indiana, Rhode Island and Tennessee at 7 percent each. Local additions are what push several states above 10 percent in practice.
Economic nexus is a sales threshold, commonly between $100,000 and $500,000 in annual sales, above which a business without physical presence in a state must still collect that state's sales tax. Thresholds differ by state and some also count transaction volume rather than dollars. Once you cross it you are generally required to register with the state revenue department and file periodic returns.
All states with a sales tax use destination-based sourcing, so the customer's address sets the rate rather than your business address. The practical consequence for a remote seller is that you may need to charge different rates to customers in the same state, and you may need to register in multiple states once you exceed their thresholds.
Generally yes. Nexus thresholds are usually measured on gross sales, including exempt items, which surprises many sellers. The rules vary by state, and some offer an occasional-market or occasional-sale exemption that applies only if you stayed below the threshold for a limited period. That exemption is narrow and is not a general solution for ongoing remote sales.