Sales tax by state — fourteen pillars, side by side.

Texas runs a 6.25% statewide base rate administered by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. On top of that base, the buyer's ship-to jurisdiction stacks a city, county, Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), and (in a small set of places) special-purpose district rate — typically up to about 2% on top of the base, bringing the combined ceiling to roughly 8.25%. The full Texas pillar — including the monthly-on-the-20th cadence, the ~$1,500-of-quarterly-liability reclassification, the optional 1.75% single-rate use-tax election, and the single-prong $500K Wayfair-aligned economic-nexus trigger via form AP-228 — is on /guides/texas.

Most Florida sellers file monthly through the FL DOR on the 20th of the month following the reporting period. The FL DOR sets a single statewide rate of 6%, then layers a per-county discretionary surtax of 0.5% to ~2% on top — combined rates run 6.5% to about 8% depending on the exact county. The cadences shift once a year: low-liability accounts that cross the ~$20K annual swing point get reclassified to quarterly (and, below that, semi-annual or annual), but new accounts almost always start monthly and stay monthly until the FL DOR reclassifies the assignment. The full Florida pillar — including the $100K economic-nexus threshold and the DR-1 registration pathway through the FL DOR Sales Tax portal — is on /guides/florida.

New York's economic-nexus threshold is a two-prong test — more than $500,000 of taxable sales into New York AND more than 100 separate transactions in the prior twelve-month period, BOTH prongs exceeded. Unlike states with a single dollar trigger, NY requires both arms simultaneously — a single high-ticket sale will not trip the threshold on its own. The cadence is quarterly ST-100 by default on the 20th of April / July / October / January, with monthly ST-810 promotion over the prior-year liability threshold, the 20th-due-date weekend-shift rule, and a ~36-month refund window the DTF administers. The full New York pillar — including the MCTD 0.375% surcharge and the NYC 4.5% city overlay that stack the 4% state base to ~8.875% combined in the five boroughs — is on /guides/new-york.

California runs a 7.25% statewide floor administered by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) — the 6% state rate plus the 1.25% mandatory uniform local tax the CDTFA administers on top of the state base. On top of that floor, the buyer's ship-to jurisdiction stacks a city, county, and (in a small set of places) special-purpose district rate — typically up to about 3% on top of the floor — so most California sales-tax filings run 7.25% to about 10.75% combined depending on the buyer's ship-to. Cadence is monthly on the LAST DAY of the month following the period (not the 20th), and the CDTFA enforces the always-file-a-no-activity-return rule on every permit holder once the §6051 seller's permit has been issued. The full California pillar — including the §6203 $500K single-prong economic-nexus threshold with no transaction-count alternative and the §6051 marketplace-facilitator coverage — is on /guides/california.

Pennsylvania runs a 6% statewide base administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (PA DOR). On top of that base, the PA DOR layers two local Sales & Use Tax (SUT) add-ons: a 1% Allegheny County SUT add-on (covering Pittsburgh and the rest of the county, ~7% combined) and a 2% Philadelphia SUT add-on (covering the entire city, ~8% combined). The rest of Pennsylvania runs the 6% statewide base alone (~6% combined at the ship-to). There is no county-by-county discretionary surtax to track and no per-municipality overlay layered on top of the Allegheny / Philadelphia SUT — the ship-to ZIP either is in Allegheny County, is in Philadelphia, or is somewhere else in Pennsylvania. The full Pennsylvania pillar — including the monthly-on-the-20th cadence via the myPATH portal, the single-prong $100K economic-nexus threshold, and the REV-1220 / REV-413 exemption-certificate series — is on /guides/pennsylvania.

Illinois runs a 6.25% statewide base administered by the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR). On top of that base, the buyer's ship-to jurisdiction stacks a home-rule city, county, Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), and (in a small set of places) special-purpose district rate through the IDOR home-rule framework — pushing Chicago-ship-to combined to roughly 11.50% and downstate Illinois ship-tos to roughly 7.25%–9.00%. Cadence is monthly ST-1 on the 20th of the month following the period via MyTax Illinois, with a reclassification to quarterly / annual once prior-12-month liability drops below the IDOR threshold, and the always-file-an-ST-1 rule once the STLDR-1 has been issued. The economic-nexus threshold is a two-prong test — more than $100,000 AND more than 200 separate transactions, both prongs required — plus the ST-587 exemption-certificate series on legitimate exempt sales. The full Illinois pillar — including the STLDR-1 registration pathway, the home-rule overlay mechanics, and the marketplace-facilitator coverage the IDOR has enforced since 2020 — is on /guides/illinois.

Ohio runs a 7.25% statewide base administered by the Ohio Department of Taxation (ODT). County/local add-ons typically produce combined consumer-facing rates of 7%–8% depending on the buyer's ship-to, and the ODT publishes the exact combined rate per ZIP code. Cadence is monthly on the 23rd of the month following the period (the ODT carve-out from the standard 20th-of-the-month pattern the rest of the cluster pegs to) via Form ST-1 through the ODT portal — a 3-day shift that catches first-time OH filers still on the 20th-of-the-month mental model. The economic-nexus threshold is a dual-prong Wayfair-aligned test — more than $100,000 OR more than 200 separate transactions, EITHER prong satisfying — registered via the Ohio Business Gateway, and the ODT enforces a heavier seven-year lookback once nexus has been established (the heaviest peer across the fourteen-state cluster, since NJ and GA both carry no multi-year lookback). A separate Form CAT-11 obligation kicks in at $500,000 in Ohio gross receipts. The full Ohio pillar — including the ODT Certificate of Registration pathway, the always-file-a-no-activity-month rule once registration has been issued, and the quarterly / semi-annual carve-outs based on prior-12-month liability — is on /guides/ohio.

New Jersey runs a single 6.625% statewide Sales and Use Tax base administered by the New Jersey Division of Taxation (NJ DTO) — there is no county or municipal overlay stacked on top of the NJ DTO base, which makes New Jersey the cleanest state in the nine-pillar cluster for rate-stacking purposes. A reduced 3.3125% Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) rate is available to qualified UEZ businesses on UEZ-eligible sales, administered through the post-Marketplace Facilitator Act posture the NJ DTO has used since 2019. Cadence is monthly ST-50 on the 20th of the month following the period via the NJ DTO portal — pegging into the cluster-standard monthly-on-the-20th pattern the operator already knows from Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Illinois — reclassified to quarterly / annual once prior-12-month liability drops below the NJ DTO carve-out, with the always-file-a-no-activity ST-50 rule applying once the NJ DTO Certificate of Registration has been issued. The economic-nexus threshold is a dual-prong Wayfair-aligned test — more than $100,000 OR more than 200 separate transactions, EITHER prong satisfying — with no multi-year lookback (the NJ DTO focuses on forward-going returns once registration has been completed). The full New Jersey pillar — including the UEZ reduced-rate filing pathway, the post-Marketplace Facilitator Act posture, and the quarterly / annual carve-out gates — is on /guides/new-jersey.

Georgia runs a 4% statewide base rate administered by the Georgia Department of Revenue (GA DOR), layered with a county 1%–3% sales tax + a 1% Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for the local-host jurisdiction + a 1% Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) per-county overlay + a 1% Education SPLOST (ESPLOST) school-district overlay + the 4% Atlanta Rapid Campus (ARC) tax + a 1% Local Option Sales Tax (LOOP, pronounced "loop") + the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA) overlay in MARTA-served counties — producing a combined consumer-facing rate of roughly 6%–8.9%. Cadence is monthly on the 20th of the month following the period filed via the GA DOR online portal, reclassified to quarterly / annually once prior-12-month liability drops below the GA DOR carve-out (the GA DOR reclassifies and re-promotes accounts automatically as volume shifts), with the always-file-a-no-activity-month rule applying once the GA DOR Sales Tax Certificate of Registration has been issued, and the SSUTA Central Registration process available to multi-state registrants so a GA-only seller who is also registered in a SSUTA member state can register through the compact rather than filing state-by-state. The economic-nexus threshold is a dual-prong Wayfair-aligned test — more than $100,000 OR more than 200 separate transactions, EITHER prong satisfying — with NO multi-year look-back (the GA DOR focuses on forward-going returns from the registration date forward — Georgia differs from Ohio which carries a heavier ODT lookback), and the marketplace-facilitator carve-out covers in-state facilitator-collected channel sales (the GA DOR collects marketplace-channel tax on behalf of in-state facilitators for remote-seller sales into Georgia, but the direct-channel owner is always required to register and file for own-channel sales). The full Georgia pillar — including the GA DOR Certificate of Registration pathway, the LOST / ESPLOST school-district overlay mechanics, and the Chatham SPLOST stack-on — is on /guides/georgia.

North Carolina runs a 4.75% statewide base rate administered by the North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR), layered with a county 2.00%–2.75% sales-and-use tax overlay depending on ship-to — producing a combined consumer-facing rate of roughly 6.75%–7.50%. The 2.75% top-end stacks onto the 4.75% base in Mecklenburg (Charlotte), Durham, and Wake (Raleigh) counties (~7.50% combined at the ship-to); the 2.50% band covers Forsyth (Winston-Salem), Guilford (Greensboro), Buncombe (Asheville), and a wide swath of other urban counties (~7.25% combined); and the 2.00% floor covers the remaining rural counties (~6.75% combined). Unlike Georgia — which layers a 4% Atlanta Rapid Campus (ARC) + 1% Local Option Sales Tax (LOOP, pronounced "loop") + 1% Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) + 1% Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) + 1% Education SPLOST (ESPLOST) on top of its 4% base in MARTA-served counties — North Carolina is a state + county composite with no transit authority, rapid-campus, or school-district overlay on top, so the combined rate per ship-to sits in a much tighter 6.75%–7.50% band. Cadence is monthly on the 20th of the month following the period filed via the NCDOR online portal (aligned with Florida's and Georgia's monthly-on-the-20th rhythm for a multi-state operator), reclassified to quarterly / semi-annual once prior-12-month liability drops below the NCDOR carve-out, with the always-file-a-no-activity-month rule applying once the NCDOR Certificate of Registration has been issued, and the SSUTA Central Registration process available to multi-state registrants so a NC-only seller who is also registered in a SSUTA member state can register through the compact rather than filing state-by-state. The economic-nexus threshold is a single-prong Wayfair-aligned test — more than $100,000 in the prior twelve-month period alone triggers nexus, no transaction-count alternative (North Carolina is single-prong only — the NCDOR does NOT offer a 200-transaction alternative the way Ohio, Georgia, and Washington carry) — with NO multi-year look-back (the NCDOR focuses on forward-going returns from the registration date forward — NC differs from Ohio which carries a heavier ODT lookback, but matches Pennsylvania / New Jersey / Illinois / Georgia / Washington), and the marketplace-facilitator carve-out covers in-state facilitator-collected channel sales (the NCDOR enforces facilitator collection on marketplace-channel sales into North Carolina for a remote seller, but the direct-channel owner is always required to register and file for own-channel sales). The full North Carolina pillar — including the NCDOR Certificate of Registration pathway, the Mecklenburg / Durham / Wake 2.75% county top-end stack-on, and the SSUTA-aligned standard NC exemption categories (most unprepared groceries + prescription drugs + most medical equipment + manufacturing machinery — each requiring an exemption certificate at the point of sale) — is on /guides/north-carolina.