Sales Tax by State: 2026 Rates Compared

2026 Sales Tax Rates by State: Full Comparison Table

The table below ranks every state by average combined state and local rate, from the highest combined burden to the lowest. Click any column header to re-sort. Combined and local figures are shown only where verified against the Tax Foundation midyear table dated July 1, 2026; every other cell links to our rate tool instead of showing an estimate, because local add-ons differ by ZIP code and county.

How to read this table: the "State rate" column is the flat statewide levy every buyer in that state faces. "Avg local" is the population-weighted average of county and city add-ons. "Combined avg" is what a typical resident effectively pays. "Max local" shows how high local add-ons can go in the most expensive jurisdictions. A 10%+ combined figure always means state plus local taxes stacked together — no state levies 10% or more at the state level alone.

Table footnotes: California, Utah and Virginia state figures include a mandatory statewide local add-on (California 1.25%, Utah 1.25%, Virginia 1.00%) following Tax Foundation methodology. Local rates are population-weighted averages; city and county add-ons vary widely, so always verify the ZIP-level combined rate before a large purchase. *State level; local grocery tax may still apply (e.g., AR, IL). Arizona average local is 2.94% on the midyear table (2.92% on the base table). Data as of July 1, 2026, Tax Foundation. Unverified cells intentionally link to the rate tool rather than showing estimates.

Highest Combined Sales Tax Rates: Top 5, Ranked

A high state rate does not automatically mean the most expensive checkout. Local add-ons flip the leaderboard: Louisiana ranks only in the middle on state rate alone, yet it leads the nation once parish and city taxes are averaged in. These are the five highest average combined state and local rates in 2026, and every figure below comes straight from the verified midyear table.

Louisiana (10.11%, rank 1) pairs a modest 5.00% state rate with the second-highest average local burden in the country at 5.13%, and local add-ons reach 7.00% in the most expensive parishes. The figure used throughout this page is the midyear value as of July 1, 2026.

Tennessee (9.61%, rank 2) starts from a 7.00% state rate — tied for second-highest nationally — and adds 2.61% in average local taxes, capped by a 2.75% maximum local rate. Because Tennessee levies no broad-based wage income tax, sales tax carries an unusually large share of state and local revenue, which is exactly why its combined burden sits near the top even with restrained local add-ons.

Washington (9.57%, rank 3) combines a 6.50% state rate with 3.07% in average local taxes and a 4.20% maximum local rate. Like Tennessee, Washington collects no personal income tax, so shoppers should expect consumption taxes to do heavy lifting whenever they compare the true cost of living between states.

Arkansas (9.48%, rank 4) matches Washington's 6.50% state rate and adds 2.98% locally, with maximum local rates hitting 6.13% in some jurisdictions. Arkansas is also one of the two states that repealed its state-level grocery tax on January 1, 2026 — groceries remain subject to local sales taxes there, so the grocery line in a city like Little Rock can look very different from the statewide average.

Alabama (9.46%, rank 5) is the mirror image of Tennessee: a low 4.00% state rate buried under the nation's highest average local rate at 5.46%, with maximum local add-ons reaching 8.00%. Alabama is the single best example of why low-state-rate headlines mislead — a 4% state slab produces a near-top combined burden.

Highest state-level rates tell a different story

Ranked on the statewide levy alone, the order changes completely. California has the highest state-level sales tax rate at 7.25 percent. Four states tie for the second highest at 7 percent: Indiana, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Tennessee. Below that tier sit Arkansas, Kansas and Washington at 6.50%, Connecticut at 6.35%, Illinois at 6.25%, a standard 6.00% slab covering Texas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky and Maryland, then Arizona at 5.60% and Maine and Nebraska at 5.50%. Remember that the California figure includes a 1.25% mandatory statewide local add-on under Tax Foundation methodology — the same accounting applies to Utah at 1.25% and Virginia at 1.00%.

Just outside the top five on the combined ranking, the verified rows continue with Oklahoma at 9.06% (rank 6, from 4.50% state plus 4.56% average local with a 7.00% maximum), California at 9.03% (rank 7, from 7.25% state plus 1.78% average local with a 5.25% maximum), Illinois at 8.98% (rank 8), New York at 8.54% (rank 10, from 4.00% state plus 4.54% average local with a 4.88% maximum), Arizona at 8.54% (rank 11, from 5.60% state plus 2.94% average local with a 5.30% maximum), Missouri at 8.44% (rank 12, from 4.23% state plus 4.22% average local with a 6.25% maximum), New Mexico at 7.68% (rank 17, from 4.88% — that is, 4.875% — state plus 2.80% average local with a 4.56% maximum) and Georgia at 7.56% (rank 18, from 4.00% state plus 3.56% average local with a 5.00% maximum).

Why local taxes matter more than most shoppers expect

The five states with the highest average local sales tax rates are Alabama (5.46 percent), Louisiana (5.13 percent), Colorado (4.99 percent), Oklahoma (4.56 percent), and New York (4.54 percent). Notice Colorado on that list: it holds the lowest nonzero state rate in the country, yet its local add-ons rank third-highest nationally. Whenever you move, shop across a county line, or order from a retailer that sources against your delivery ZIP code, the local layer — not the headline state rate — decides what you actually pay.

States With No Statewide Sales Tax in 2026

Five states have no statewide sales tax: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. Of these, only Alaska allows localities to impose local sales taxes. Each card below carries that same verified structure, plus one practical warning: states without a sales tax still fund public services, often through higher income, property, or excise taxes, so a 0% checkout rate never means a 0% overall tax burden.

Lowest State-Level Sales Tax Rates in 2026

The lowest non-zero state-level rate is Colorado at 2.9 percent, followed by five states at 4 percent: Alabama, Georgia, Hawaii, New York, and Wyoming. That sentence is worth reading twice, because three of those six names also appear near the top of the combined leaderboard. Colorado pairs its 2.90% state rate with the third-highest average local burden in the nation at 4.99%. Alabama pairs 4.00% with 5.46% locally to reach 9.46% combined. New York pairs 4.00% with 4.54% locally to reach 8.54% combined, and Georgia pairs 4.00% with 3.56% locally to reach 7.56% combined. The lesson repeats in every direction you sort the data: a low state rate never guarantees a low checkout total, and shoppers who only memorize the state slab will systematically underestimate what they pay in high-local states.

Grocery Sales Tax Rules by State in 2026

Food policy is where state sales tax schedules differ most from the headline rate. As of 2026, 37 states plus the District of Columbia no longer tax most grocery food at the state level. About ten states still impose a statewide tax on groceries, including Idaho at 6%, Mississippi at 7%, Alabama at 2%, Hawaii (general excise on food + credit), and Utah (4.85% reduced food rate). Two states joined the exempt group this year: Arkansas repealed its state sales tax on groceries effective January 1, 2026, although groceries remain subject to local sales taxes there. Effective January 1, 2026, Illinois eliminated its 1% state sales tax on food items; however, many local jurisdictions chose to impose their own local taxes on food (roughly 600 of 1,300+ communities opted in). That is why the grocery column in the table above reads "Exempt*" with an asterisk rather than a flat zero: *State level; local grocery tax may still apply (e.g., AR, IL). Anyone budgeting weekly food spending in Arkansas or Illinois should verify the city or county grocery rate, not just the statewide repeal headline.

The remaining grocery-tax states use very different designs. Idaho and Mississippi apply the full general rate to food at 6% and 7% respectively, making them the heaviest grocery-tax states on the verified list. Alabama applies a reduced 2% statewide grocery rate — low on paper, but layered over the country's highest average local taxes. Hawaii taxes food through its general excise tax and offsets part of the burden with a credit, while Utah applies a reduced 4.85% food rate instead of the full general levy. If grocery spending dominates your household budget, these distinctions can outweigh a full percentage point of difference in the general rate.

Sales Tax Changes New in 2026

Two verified statewide developments took effect this year. First, Illinois — 1% state grocery tax eliminated Jan 1, 2026 (P.A. 103-0781); locals may levy own 1% grocery tax. Roughly 600 of more than 1,300 Illinois communities chose to opt in, so the repeal simplified the state return without fully removing grocery tax from most receipts. (Tax Foundation midyear: "Notably, effective January 1, 2026, Illinois eliminated its one percent sales tax on food items.") Second, Georgia — sales tax rate in many counties increased by up to one percentage point due to the Floating Local Option Sales Tax (FLOST), an optional countywide tax up to five years for property-tax relief. Georgia's verified combined average of 7.56% (rank 18) already reflects the counties that adopted the levy, and shoppers near county borders may see different totals a few miles apart.

For historical context, Louisiana is the most recent state to raise its (general) sales tax rate — from 4.45 to 5 percent in January 2025, reversing a July 2018 reduction, as part of a package with 3% flat individual income tax. That date matters: the increase belongs to 2025, not 2026, and it is the foundation of Louisiana's current 10.11% combined lead. Beyond those landmarks. Since January 2026, most changes have been minor local adjustments. North Carolina's combined rate increased slightly (rank down four places); Wyoming is the only state with a slight decrease (rank up one). In other words, the 2026 story is stability at the state level with churn at the county and city level — one more reason to check the ZIP-level combined figure rather than memorizing last year's ranking.

How Combined Rates Are Ranked (Read This Before Comparing)

Every combined figure on this page is a population-weighted average: populous counties pull the statewide average toward their own local rates, while sparsely populated counties barely move it. That method keeps large-state averages honest, but it also means your personal rate can sit well above or below the published average if you live in a high-add-on city or a no-add-on rural county. Maximum-local columns exist precisely for that reason — Louisiana max local 7.00%, Arkansas max local 6.13%, and Alabama max local 8.00% show how far a single jurisdiction can stretch past the average. For a vehicle purchase, an appliance, or any other large ticket, look up the exact city-plus-county stack rather than relying on the statewide mean.

Shoppers comparing states for a move should also keep the broader revenue mix in view. Zero-sales-tax states and low-rate states recover the money somewhere: Tennessee and Washington pair high combined sales taxes with no wage income tax, Texas pairs a 6.00% state rate with no income tax, and New Hampshire pairs 0.00% sales tax with some of the highest effective property taxes in the country. Our state tax rates hub puts income-tax structures beside these sales-tax rankings so you can compare total burdens, and our tax refund calculator shows how income-tax withholding translates into dollars back — or owed — at filing time.