how to figure out sales tax

Let’s be honest – sometimes the best sales tax calculator is the one that is easy to use and doesn’t require us to even know what the sales tax formula is in the first place! But if you want to know the exact formula for calculating sales tax then please check out the “Formula” box above. Determining which laws apply to your business is hard, but it’s a crucial step toward compliance. For more information, please refer to our seller’s guide to nexus laws and sales tax collection requirements. In order to receive updates on the correct sales tax percentages, file to do business with the various governments in whose jurisdictions the company has nexus. It may be sufficient to file to do business at the level of the applicable state government.

how to figure out sales tax

Otherwise, it will be very difficult to calculate payments to each jurisdiction. If you want to also record the eventual remittance of sales taxes to the applicable government authorities, record a debit to the liability account for sales taxes payable and credit the cash account. To get the sales tax how to calculate sales tax rate you need you must add together all applicable taxes in your location. Sales tax is a simple calculation based on the percentage of a retail price of a good or service. To calculate it, convert the sales tax percentage to a decimal, then multiply it by the retail price of the product or service.

Factors that Influence Sales Tax Rates

In this post you will learn how to calculate sales tax on your purchases. Postal Service with the delivery of mail and are independent of any state revenue systems. The boundaries can change and often don’t line up with tax rate jurisdictions. This makes them the wrong tool to use for determining sales tax rates in the United States. Use our free sales tax calculator above to return a sales tax rate specific to any US street address.

If you’re selling tangible goods that are not exempt from sales tax (such as groceries), you more than likely have to collect sales tax. If you’re selling a service, such as house cleaning or legal work, that will depend on your state’s specific laws. This taxation without representation, among other things, resulted in the Boston Tea Party. This, together with other events, led to the American Revolution.