Texas Sales Tax Calculator
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Calculate Texas’s 6.25% base state sales tax on any amount, add or remove it instantly.
This calculates Texas’s base statewide rate of 6.25%. Cities, counties, and transit authorities can add local sales tax on top, up to a combined cap of 8.25% total. Verify your specific local rate with the Texas Comptroller’s office for anything official.
Why Texas leans so heavily on sales tax
I have a client in Austin who once explained, almost proudly, that Texas doesn’t have a state income tax. What he didn’t mention — and what I learned the hard way after underquoting an invoice — is that Texas makes up for it with one of the more actively enforced sales tax systems in the country. No income tax doesn’t mean low tax overall, it just means the tax shows up somewhere else.
How Texas sales tax actually works
Texas charges a base state rate of 6.25% on most goods and services. On top of that, local jurisdictions — cities, counties, and special transit authorities — can each add their own local sales tax, but Texas caps the total combined rate at 8.25%. That cap is actually higher than in most states, and a lot of Texas cities sit right at or very close to that ceiling.
- State rate — 6.25%. Applies everywhere in Texas, no exceptions.
- Local add-ons — up to 2% combined. Cities, counties, and transit districts can each add a portion, but the total local add-on can’t push the combined rate past 8.25%.
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is the agency that administers this and publishes exact local rates by jurisdiction.
Real example: A $1,000 sale at the base 6.25% rate comes to $1,062.50. That same sale in a city sitting at the full 8.25% combined cap comes to $1,082.50 — a $20 difference on a $1,000 transaction.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your amount.
- Choose “Add tax” or “Remove tax” depending on which direction you’re calculating.
- Read your result — this reflects the 6.25% base state rate specifically.
Since most Texas cities add local tax close to the maximum, treat this as your floor estimate — your actual local total is very likely somewhat higher.