Alaska Sales Tax Calculator

Alaska has no state sales tax, but many towns do

Alaska is one of the few states with no statewide sales tax. That does not mean every purchase is tax-free: individual boroughs and cities can levy their own sales taxes, which is why the average combined rate across the state is 1.82% and the highest local rates reach 7.85%. Anchorage, the largest city, has no general sales tax, so most residents there pay nothing at the register.

Each community decides its own rate, what it covers and what it exempts. Some local taxes apply to most goods and services, while others are narrower. Because there is no state agency running a sales tax, there is no single state rulebook. Rules for a purchase in one town can differ completely from the next town along the road.

Who collects tax on online orders shipped to Alaska

Since 2020, local governments have been able to collect tax on remote online sales through the Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission (ARSSTC), an independent intergovernmental body established in 2019. Because the State of Alaska levies no sales tax, online sellers register with ARSSTC rather than with a state agency.

Each community chooses whether to join the Commission and adopt its Uniform Code. Remote sellers begin collecting the month that starts after 30 days have passed since a community adopts the code. From January 1, 2025, a remote seller must collect once its statewide gross sales delivered into Alaska meet or exceed $100,000 in the current or previous calendar year. The separate transaction-count threshold was repealed on that date.

Delivery address decides the tax: P.O. boxes and barge ports

Remote sales tax in Alaska is based on the point of delivery, the place where goods are delivered or a service is provided. That matters a great deal in a state where many people collect mail or freight in a town other than the one they live in. ARSSTC guidance gives these examples:

• Goods shipped by USPS or another carrier to a post office box inside a taxing community are taxed, even if you live outside it.
• Goods shipped by private carrier straight to a home outside the taxing community are not taxed.
• Goods picked up at a barge port inside a taxing community are taxed. If the shipment is loaded onto another carrier and delivered to a home outside, it is not.
• Electronic services are treated as delivered to the billing address. If that is a P.O. box in a taxing community, tax applies.
• Handing goods to a freight forwarder (often in Washington State) does not count as delivery; delivery happens when the goods reach Alaska.

How to find the right local rate

Start by working out which community the goods are delivered to, not which one you live in. Then check that community's rate. ARSSTC publishes monthly rate sheets for its member jurisdictions, including a version organized by ZIP code. These sheets also list each community's tax cap rules, which set the maximum amount of a single sale that is taxed.

For purchases made in person, the rate is whatever the town where you shop charges. If you are unsure, call the city or borough finance office. In Alaska it is the local government, not the state, that answers sales tax questions.

Worked example: same item, three addresses

Take a $400.00 order of outdoor gear. Delivered to an Anchorage home, no sales tax applies and the total is $400.00. Delivered to a community charging the statewide average of 1.82%, the tax is $7.28. Delivered to a community at the top rate of 7.85%, the tax is $31.40, for a total of $431.40.

If the community has a per-sale cap, tax stops at the cap amount. Always check the cap column on the rate sheet before you assume the full price is taxed. To reverse a total, divide by 1 plus the local rate. At 7.85%, a $100.00 receipt includes $7.28 of tax.

Common mistakes visitors and new residents make

The most common error is assuming "no sales tax state" means every purchase is tax-free. Outside Anchorage, many communities levy their own sales tax, so a hotel bill or a tour booked in one of them can carry local tax. New residents sometimes pick an online delivery address purely for convenience without realising it changes the tax. And businesses based in Alaska that sell to customers in other states still have to follow those states' rules. The Commission's Uniform Code does not apply to goods Alaskan businesses ship out of the state.

How Alaska compares with other states without a state sales tax

Five states have no statewide sales tax: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon. Alaska is the only one where local sales taxes are widespread. That is why its average combined rate of 1.82% is above zero while the others are at or near zero.

What remote sellers need to know

Businesses outside Alaska that sell online to Alaskan customers register with ARSSTC, not the State of Alaska. One registration covers every member community. The Commission applies a single set of rules (the Uniform Code) that borrows many definitions from the national Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, although it is independent of the Streamlined governing board.

Collection is not retroactive. When a community joins, sellers start collecting from the first day of the month after a 30-day waiting period. For example, if a community adopts the code on May 2, the 30-day period ends June 1 and collection starts July 1. Returns and seller information filed with the Commission are confidential.

Businesses with a physical presence in a community, such as a store or office, deal with that community directly rather than through the remote seller rules.