Texas Calculator
Texas charges a 6.25% statewide sales tax, then lets local jurisdictions add up to 2.00% more, which is why the same purchase rings up differently in different Texas towns. This calculator applies the state base plus the full local rate for seven major Texas cities, or any custom rate you type in, and shows the state tax, local tax, total tax and final total separately. Two honest notes up front: every preset below was checked against the Texas Comptroller’s current rate file (October 1, 2026), and each preset is the city’s total local rate, city plus transit, county and special-district taxes, so it matches the register total for the main area of each city. A few addresses inside a city fall in overlapping districts or a different county portion and can differ; that edge case is explained below.
Local rates: every preset city levies 2.00% local, for an 8.25% combined total with the 6.25% state base. Houston: city 1.00% + METRO transit 1.00%. Dallas: city 1.00% + DART transit 1.00%. Austin: city 1.00% + Capital Metro transit 1.00%. San Antonio: city 1.125% + ATD 0.375% + VIA/MTA transit 0.50%. Fort Worth: city 1.00% + Crime Control 0.50% + Trinity Metro transit 0.50%. El Paso: city 1.00% + county 0.50% + El Paso CTD 0.50%. Arlington: city 2.00% on its own (general fund 1.00%, venue debt 0.50%, street maintenance 0.25%, economic development 0.25%, per the city’s own finance documents). Checked against the Texas Comptroller’s current rate file, October 1, 2026. A few addresses inside a city can differ where districts overlap: use the Comptroller’s lookup for an exact address.
Quick Answer
A $250 purchase in Houston comes to $270.63: $15.63 of state tax at 6.25% plus $5.00 of local tax at 2.00%, for $20.63 in total tax. The calculator above reproduces these numbers exactly. Pick your city or a custom rate to get your own total, and read on for how each preset breaks down, and the one case where a receipt can still differ.
Key takeaways
- Texas sales tax is always a 6.25% state base, plus a local slice of up to 2.00%. All seven presets on this page now carry the full 2.00% local rate, for an 8.25% combined total.
- This tool now totals state plus the full local rate, so its number matches the register total for the main area of each preset city. A few addresses inside a city fall in overlapping districts and can differ: use the Comptroller lookup for an exact address.
- City rates change: all seven presets were re-verified against the Texas Comptroller's current rate file (October 1, 2026). Six presets gained their transit, county or special-district pieces; Arlington's 2.00% was confirmed unchanged. Use the custom-rate option for a guaranteed-exact local rate.
- Unprocessed groceries and prescription drugs are exempt statewide, and Texas runs annual sales tax holidays (back-to-school each August, among others).
- Quick Answer
- How to use this Texas sales tax calculator
- The formula: Texas sales tax in one line
- Worked example: $250 in Houston, verified in the tool
- When a receipt can still differ from this calculator
- Local rates, checked October 2026
- What competing calculators get wrong
- Frequently asked questions
- Add This Calculator to Your Website
- References
How to use this Texas sales tax calculator
Three inputs, one button. Type the pre-tax purchase amount, pick your city from the dropdown, and click Calculate. The results box breaks the answer into state tax, local tax, total tax and the final total, with Copy my results and Share results beside it.
If your city is not one of the seven presets, choose Custom Rate and type your area's total local sales tax rate. The Texas Comptroller's local-tax rate lookup gives the exact figure for any address; a recent receipt from the same store works too. Texas famously has no state income tax, which is one reason its sales tax carries more of the load, so if you are comparing a Texas paycheck offer against another state, our Texas paycheck calculator shows the income side of the same picture.
The formula: Texas sales tax in one line
Every result on this page comes from one calculation applied twice, once for the state and once for the local rate.
State tax = purchase amount × 6.25 ÷ 100
Local tax = purchase amount × local rate ÷ 100
Total tax = state tax + local tax
Total amount = purchase amount + total tax
Each line is rounded to the cent before it is shown. The state rate is set by Texas law and is the same everywhere in the state; the local rate is the variable, which is why the dropdown exists. Working backward from a receipt total to the pre-tax price is the reverse operation: pre-tax price = total ÷ (1 + combined rate ÷ 100). A $108.25 Arlington receipt at 8.25% combined means $108.25 ÷ 1.0825 = $100.00 before tax.
Worked example: $250 in Houston, verified in the tool
The calculator's defaults are this example. $250 pre-tax, Houston selected at 2.00%:
| Line | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| State tax (6.25%) | $250 × 0.0625 | $15.63 |
| Local tax (2.00%) | $250 × 0.02 | $5.00 |
| Total tax | $15.63 + $5.00 | $20.63 |
| Total amount | $250 + $20.63 | $270.63 |
Click Calculate with the defaults and the tool prints exactly these four lines. Change the city to any other preset and the local-tax line stays $5.00 (all seven presets carry the same 2.00% local rate), for the same $270.63 total. If a store discount applies, apply it first: a 15% markdown on that $250 item is a $212.50 pre-tax price (our 15% discount calculator does that step), and the tax is computed on the discounted price.
When a receipt can still differ from this calculator
This is the section most sales tax calculators skip, and it is the honest core of this page. The tool now totals state plus the full local rate for these seven cities, so its number matches the register total for the main area of each city. Texas law allows local jurisdictions, cities, counties, transit authorities and special-purpose districts, to stack taxes up to a combined 8.25% cap, and the table below shows every piece inside each preset.
| City | Local rate (this tool) | Combined total | The pieces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houston | 2.00% | 8.25% | City 1.00% + METRO transit 1.00% |
| Dallas | 2.00% | 8.25% | City 1.00% + DART transit 1.00% |
| Austin | 2.00% | 8.25% | City 1.00% + Capital Metro transit 1.00% |
| San Antonio | 2.00% | 8.25% | City 1.125% + ATD 0.375% + VIA/MTA transit 0.50% |
| Fort Worth | 2.00% | 8.25% | City 1.00% + Crime Control 0.50% + Trinity Metro transit 0.50% |
| El Paso | 2.00% | 8.25% | City 1.00% + County 0.50% + El Paso CTD 0.50% |
| Arlington | 2.00% | 8.25% | City itself takes the full 2.00% (general fund 1.00% + venue debt 0.50% + street maintenance 0.25% + economic development 0.25%) |
So a $250 Houston purchase now shows $270.63 here and rings up $270.63 at most registers (8.25% combined). The tool is now scoped to state plus the full local rate for these seven cities, because that is what a city dropdown can answer honestly. For an exact address, especially near a city boundary or in an overlapping district, look up your full local rate with the Comptroller and use the custom-rate option. If you are comparing tax rates across different states or purchase types, our tax rate calculator walks through rate math in general. The transit and special-district pieces are now inside the presets, not a future upgrade; the remaining edge case (overlapping districts) is stated, not hidden.
Local rates, checked October 2026
Local sales tax rates change. An earlier rewrite had already corrected three city portions against Comptroller figures: San Antonio from 1.00% to 1.125%, Fort Worth from 0.75% to 1.00%, and Arlington from 0.50% to 2.00%. This update completes that job: all seven presets were re-verified against the Texas Comptroller's current rate file (October 1, 2026), and six gained their transit, county or special-district pieces. Current full local figures: Houston 2.00%, Dallas 2.00%, Austin 2.00%, San Antonio 2.00%, Fort Worth 2.00%, El Paso 2.00%, Arlington 2.00% (confirmed unchanged). If a rate changes again after October 2026, the custom-rate field keeps the tool exact.
What competing calculators get wrong
The zip-code lookup tools, led by SalesTaxHandbook, are the strongest in this space: 958 Texas jurisdictions, per-ZIP breakdowns, rates updated for 2026. Their gap is explanation: they hand you a rate and leave you to do the arithmetic. Stripe's Texas guide is the best-written reference (clean rate-range table, city minimums, county floors) but ships no calculator at all. Quaderno pairs a solid guide (sales tax holidays, the SaaS 80% data-processing rule, destination-based sourcing) with a generic calculator that knows nothing about Texas cities.
On the thin end, weinvestsmart's Texas tool offers forward and reverse modes and 8.25% metro presets, but its prose reads machine-generated and its "city presets" hide the city-versus-transit split this page shows openly. The salestaxstates.com city pages are template content with thin explanations. None of the rivals print a per-city breakdown of the local rate with an as-of date. The winning moves here: Comptroller-checked full local rates with the check date printed, the per-city breakdown table above so the tool's number and your receipt match, and a custom rate that never goes stale.
Frequently asked questions
The state base is 6.25% everywhere in Texas. Cities, transit authorities, counties and special districts can add up to 2 more percentage points, so the combined rate you actually pay runs from 6.25% in areas with no local tax up to the legal cap of 8.25% in most large cities.
Because the local slice is the part that varies. The 6.25% state base is identical statewide, but local taxes, city, transit, county and special-district pieces combined, can run from 0% to 2.00%, so combined rates run from 6.25% to the 8.25% cap. All seven presets on this page total 2.00% local, but picking your city applies the right breakdown, and the custom-rate option covers every other Texas address.
It generally should not be, for these seven cities. The calculator now totals state plus the full local rate, so a Houston purchase shows 8.25% here and rings up 8.25% at most registers. If your receipt is higher, you are likely in an overlapping special district or a different part of the city than the preset covers: look up your exact address with the Comptroller and use the custom-rate option. If your receipt is lower, the same applies: part of San Antonio in Medina County, for example, totals 7.875%, because it sits outside the transit authority area. The table above lists every piece inside each preset.
Unprocessed groceries are exempt from Texas sales tax, as are prescription drugs. Prepared food, restaurant meals and most other retail goods are taxable. Leave exempt items out of the purchase amount you enter above.
Yes, four of them. Texas runs an emergency-preparation supplies holiday each April, an Energy Star and water-efficient products holiday each May, and the big back-to-school holiday each August covering clothing, footwear and school supplies under $100 per item. The Comptroller publishes the exact dates yearly.
Choose Custom Rate and type your area's total local sales tax rate. The Texas Comptroller's local-tax rate lookup gives the exact figure for any Texas address, and any recent receipt from a store in your city shows the combined local rate (the total minus 6.25%). The rate must be more than zero.
Divide the receipt total by one plus the combined rate: pre-tax price = total ÷ (1 + rate ÷ 100). A $108.25 Arlington receipt at the 8.25% combined rate means $108.25 ÷ 1.0825 = $100.00 before tax.
Yes. The 6.25% state portion has been uniform statewide since 1961. Only the local add-ons vary, which is why two cities a few miles apart can have different register totals while the state line on both receipts reads 6.25%.
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References
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales Tax Rate Files (current sales tax rates file, as of October 1, 2026: Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth, El Paso and Arlington city, county, special-purpose-district and transit rates). Accessed October 24, 2026.
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. New and Additional Tax Rate Changes (January 2026 quarterly update: San Antonio city sales and use tax at 1.125%, San Antonio ATD increase). Accessed October 24, 2026.
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Tax Policy News (2026 sales tax holidays: emergency preparation April 25–27, Energy Star and water-efficient products May 23–25, back-to-school August 7–9). Accessed October 24, 2026.
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Sales Tax Holiday Announcement, Aug. 7–9 (back-to-school holiday: clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks under $100). Accessed October 24, 2026.
- City of Arlington, Texas, Finance Department. FY 2022 Disclosure Documents (the city's portion of the 8.25% sales tax rate is 2.00 cents: general fund, sports venues, street maintenance, economic development). Accessed October 24, 2026.
- City of Fort Worth, Texas. Peer Tax Rate Comparison (Fort Worth city sales tax 1.00%, sourced to the Comptroller's city rate data). Accessed October 24, 2026.
- Stripe. 2026 Texas Sales Tax Rates and Calculator (6.25% state base, 2% maximum local add-on, 8.25% combined cap, city and county rate tables). Accessed October 24, 2026.
- SalesTaxHandbook. Texas Sales Tax Info Sheet (city-by-city state/county/city/special breakdowns, taxable vs exempt categories). Accessed October 24, 2026.
- Avalara. ZIP Code 78210 Sales Tax Rate (San Antonio: 6.25% state, 1.125% city, 0.375% ATD, 0.50% MTA transit = 8.25% combined). Accessed October 24, 2026.
- Quaderno. Texas Sales Tax Guide and Calculator 2026 (destination-based sourcing, annual sales tax holidays, data-processing services taxed at 80%). Accessed October 24, 2026.
- SalesTaxHandbook. Fort Worth Sales Tax Rate (Fort Worth: 6.25% state, 1.00% city, 1.00% special = 8.25% combined). Accessed October 24, 2026.