Georgia Sales Tax Calculator

Georgia's 4% state rate and the local option taxes

Georgia's state sales tax is 4.00%. Counties add a series of voter-approved local option sales taxes, each identified by an acronym: LOST (local option), SPLOST (special purpose, usually for capital projects), ESPLOST (for schools), TSPLOST (transportation), HOST/EHOST (homestead relief) and MARTA (metro Atlanta transit). Together they add an average of 3.56%, bringing the typical combined rate to 7.56% and the highest to 9.00%.

In Atlanta the combined rate is 8.90%, which includes the city's 1% Municipal Option Sales Tax (MOST). Many SPLOST and ESPLOST levies are approved for a fixed period and must go back to voters to continue, so county rates change more often than in many states.

Finding the current rate: Georgia's quarterly rate charts

The Georgia Department of Revenue publishes a new rate chart every quarter. The current chart covers October 1 through December 31, 2026. Rates are listed by county, with separate lines for cities that levy their own taxes, such as Atlanta. When a local tax starts or ends, the change takes effect at the start of a quarter, so check the chart for the quarter of your purchase.

DOR also publishes a separate chart for food, TSPLOST-exempt items and motor vehicles, because those categories carry different combinations of local taxes than general merchandise.

Groceries: no state tax, but local taxes apply

Food and food ingredients bought for home consumption are exempt from Georgia's 4.00% state tax. DOR's rate chart for exempt items says that, outside a short list of jurisdictions, exempt food is subject to all applicable local taxes. The exceptions get a special food rate: in DeKalb County outside Atlanta, for example, food is exempt from the 4.00% state tax and from SPLOST, leaving a 3% food rate. DOR's food chart lists the correct rate for each county.

Example: a $180.00 grocery bill in a county where all local taxes add up to 3.56% carries $6.41 of tax, versus $13.61 if the 4.00% state tax applied too. Restaurant meals and other prepared food do not get the grocery exemption and are taxed at the full combined rate.

Cars: Title Ad Valorem Tax instead of sales tax

Georgia generally does not charge sales tax on vehicles that are subject to TAVT. Since March 1, 2013, buyers pay a one-time Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) of 7.0% of the vehicle's fair market value when it is titled. TAVT replaced both sales tax and the annual ad valorem (property) tax on vehicles, so there is no yearly car tax bill afterwards.

New residents registering a vehicle in Georgia for the first time pay TAVT at a reduced 3% rate (since July 1, 2019). Some family transfers of vehicles already in the TAVT system qualify for a 0.5% rate.

Worked example: a car with a fair market value of $28,000.00 costs $1,960.00 in TAVT. A new resident bringing the same car into Georgia pays $840.00. Because the tax is based on fair market value, the amount can differ from the price on your contract.

Worked example: a retail purchase in Atlanta

A $650.00 washing machine bought in Atlanta is taxed at 8.90%: $57.85 in tax, $707.85 in total. The state's share is $26.00; local taxes make up the other $31.85. To reverse an Atlanta receipt, divide by 1.089: a $100.00 total includes $8.17 of tax.

Use tax on out-of-state purchases

Georgia applies use tax, at the same state and local rates, to taxable goods bought for use in Georgia when sales tax was not collected. That mainly affects purchases from small out-of-state sellers and items bought while travelling and shipped home. Keep receipts for large out-of-state purchases so you can show whether any tax was charged.

Georgia compared with neighbouring states

Georgia's 4.00% state rate is among the lowest in the Southeast, tied with Alabama's 4.00%. Its average combined rate of 7.56% sits below Tennessee's 9.61% and Alabama's 9.46%, and close to South Carolina's 7.49% and North Carolina's 7.10%.

Common Georgia sales tax mistakes

• Expecting a sales tax line on a car purchase. Georgia vehicles are taxed through TAVT at the tag office, based on fair market value.
• Assuming groceries are tax-free. Only the state 4.00% is exempt in most counties; local taxes still apply.
• Using last quarter's rate. Local option taxes start and end on quarter dates, so check the chart for the purchase date.
• Applying the Atlanta rate to the whole metro area. Each county has its own mix of local taxes, and the 1% MOST applies only in the City of Atlanta.

TAVT and the annual vehicle tax over time

Under TAVT you pay once, when the vehicle is titled in your name. Afterwards, vehicles in the TAVT system do not pay the annual ad valorem tax that older vehicles still pay each year with their registration. That older tax is due by the end of the owner's registration period (their birthday), with a 10% penalty if it is late.

For buyers, the practical effect is a bigger bill at purchase and no yearly vehicle tax afterwards. On a car with a $40,000.00 fair market value, the one-time TAVT is $2,800.00. Budget for it alongside the down payment, because it is due at the tag office before the car can be registered.