Arizona Sales Tax Calculator

Arizona's "sales tax" is legally a tax on the seller

Arizona does not technically have a sales tax. It has a transaction privilege tax (TPT), which the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) describes as a tax on the vendor for the privilege of doing business in the state. The state TPT rate for retail is 5.60%. Counties and cities add their own rates, bringing the average combined rate to 8.54% and the highest to 10.90%. In Phoenix the combined rate is 9.10%.

For shoppers the practical effect is the same as a sales tax: most retailers pass the TPT on as a line on the receipt. The legal difference matters in disputes. The seller, not the buyer, is responsible for paying TPT to the state, whether or not it was shown separately.

Business classifications change the rate

Arizona taxes by business classification rather than applying one rate to everything. ADOR's TPT rate tables list separate state, county and city rates for each classification, such as retail, restaurants and bars, hotels, commercial lease and contracting. ADOR administers TPT for the state, the counties and the cities and towns listed in its rate tables, so one return can cover several jurisdictions.

This is why a hotel bill or restaurant tab in the same city can show a different percentage from a retail receipt. Cities often set higher rates for hotels and restaurants than for general retail.

Groceries: exempt from state tax, not always from city tax

Food for home consumption sold by a qualifying retailer is exempt from TPT for state and county purposes. "Home consumption" means anything other than food eaten on the premises, so restaurant meals are fully taxable. For city tax there is no such exemption, and some cities and towns do tax groceries. ADOR's rate tables carry a separate city classification, "Retail Sales Food for Home Consumption" (business code 062), for exactly this reason. Rates under code 062 change from time to time; South Tucson, for example, cut its code 062 rate to 0% from July 1, 2026.

In practice, a grocery bill in Arizona can carry a small city tax even though the 5.60% state rate does not apply. If you are checking a grocery receipt, look up the city's food rate in ADOR's table rather than applying the full combined rate.

Use tax on online and out-of-state purchases

Arizona's state use tax rate is the same as its TPT rate, 5.60%. It applies when you buy taxable goods for use in Arizona from a seller who did not charge Arizona tax. For example, if you buy furniture from a small out-of-state retailer that ships it to your Phoenix home without charging tax, you owe use tax on the purchase. ADOR's use tax guidance for individuals explains how to report it.

Most large online retailers and marketplaces now collect Arizona tax automatically, so this mainly matters for big one-off purchases from smaller sellers. Keep the receipt so you can show what you paid and when.

Worked example: retail purchase in Phoenix

A $1,200.00 laptop bought at a Phoenix store is taxed at 9.10%: $109.20 in tax, $1,309.20 in total. Of that, the state's 5.60% accounts for $67.20 and the county and city portions make up the remaining $42.00.

To work backwards from a receipt, divide by 1 plus the rate. A $250.00 total at 9.10% means a pre-tax price of $229.15 and tax of $20.85.

How to look up an exact Arizona rate

• Use ADOR's current TPT rate table, which lists every business classification by county and city.
• Pick the right classification. Retail, restaurants and bars, hotels and food for home consumption can all have different rates.
• Check for unincorporated areas. Outside city limits, only the state and county portions apply, so the rate is lower.
• Watch for rate changes. Cities can change their TPT rates during the year, and ADOR posts each change on its Rate and Code Updates page.

Arizona compared with neighbouring states

Arizona's average combined rate of 8.54% is below California's 9.03% but above Nevada's 8.24% and Utah's 7.42%. New Mexico, like Arizona, taxes the seller rather than the buyer, through its gross receipts tax.

Common mistakes when estimating Arizona tax

Most errors come from applying one rate to everything. Watch out for these:

• Applying the full 9.10% Phoenix rate to groceries. The state portion does not apply to food for home consumption; only a city food tax may.
• Using a city rate outside city limits. Homes and stores in unincorporated parts of a county pay only the state and county portions.
• Treating a hotel or restaurant bill like a retail receipt. Those classifications often carry higher city rates.
• Assuming no tax is owed because the seller did not show it. TPT is the seller's liability either way, and for out-of-state purchases where nothing was charged, the buyer owes use tax.

Step by step: checking an Arizona receipt

Start with the classification of the purchase, then add up the state, county and city rates for that classification from ADOR's table. For a retail purchase in Phoenix, that adds up to 9.10%. Multiply the pre-tax price by that rate and compare it with the tax line on the receipt.

If the receipt has no tax line, the seller may have built TPT into the price, which is allowed because the tax is legally the seller's. In that case, divide the total by 1 plus the rate to see how much of the price is tax: on an $80.00 retail purchase at 9.10%, about $6.67 is TPT. Small differences of a cent or two usually come from rounding on each line.