Ohio Sales Tax Calculator
The Ohio state sales tax rate is 5.750%. Local taxes bring the average combined rate to 7.290% (highest 8.250%). Use the calculator to add tax to a price or work backwards from a receipt total.
Updated 2026-10-03
| State rate | 5.750% |
| Average local rate | 1.540% |
| Average combined rate | 7.290% |
| Highest combined rate | 8.250% |
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Sales tax on common purchases in Ohio
| Price | Tax at 7.29% | Total |
|---|---|---|
| $10.00 | $0.73 | $10.73 |
| $50.00 | $3.65 | $53.64 |
| $100.00 | $7.29 | $107.29 |
| $500.00 | $36.45 | $536.45 |
| $1,000.00 | $72.90 | $1,072.90 |
| $25,000.00 | $1,822.50 | $26,822.50 |
Combined sales tax in Ohio cities
- Columbus: 8.000%
- Cleveland: 8.000%
- Cincinnati: 7.800%
Ohio’s 5.75% state rate and county add-ons
Ohio’s state sales tax is 5.75%. Counties and regional transit authorities can add their own taxes, and the combined state, county and transit rate cannot exceed 8.75%. Rates are set by county, plus transit areas in parts of some counties, so the rate depends on the county you are in, not the city.
In the Department of Taxation’s table for October 1 to December 31, 2026, the lowest rate is 6.5%, in counties including Butler, Lorain, Stark and Wayne. The highest is 8.25%, in the part of Licking County inside the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) area. Warren County’s rate rose from 6.75% to 7.25% on October 1, 2026.
| County (major city) | Rate, Q4 2026 |
|---|---|
| Licking County, COTA area | 8.25% |
| Franklin (Columbus) | 8% |
| Cuyahoga (Cleveland) | 8% |
| Delaware County, COTA area | 8% |
| Hamilton (Cincinnati) | 7.8% |
| Warren (from October 1, 2026) | 7.25% |
| Butler, Lorain, Stark (Canton), Wayne | 6.5% |
The 2026 Ohio sales tax holiday
Ohio’s 2026 sales tax holiday ran from 12:00 a.m. Friday, August 7 through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, August 9. It covered clothing priced at $75 or less per item, school supplies at $20 or less per item and school instructional materials at $20 or less per item.
The 2026 holiday was much narrower than in recent years. In 2025, Ohio’s holiday ran August 1–14 and covered most items priced at $500 or less. In 2026 it returned to the standard three-day back-to-school version. A $499 laptop that was tax-free in 2025 was taxed in 2026.
Exempt purchases
Food sold for consumption off the premises, meaning groceries and takeout, is exempt in Ohio. Food eaten on the premises at a restaurant is taxable. Prescription medicine and related supplies are exempt, including insulin, test strips, syringes, hospital beds and oxygen machines prescribed for home use.
Clothing is taxable outside the August holiday. The Department’s taxability pages list how specific goods and services are treated.
Buying a car: you pay your home county’s rate
Sales tax on titled motor vehicles in Ohio is paid to the county Clerk of Courts title office at the rate of the county where the buyer lives, not where the dealer is. The same rule applies to off-highway motorcycles, all-purpose vehicles, personal watercraft, titled watercraft and titled outboard motors.
Worked example: a Canton resident (Stark County, 6.5%) buys a $30,000 SUV from a Columbus dealer (Franklin County, 8%). The tax is $1,950.00 at the Stark rate, not $2,400.00 at the Franklin rate. Shopping at a dealer in a lower-tax county does not lower your tax.
Holiday shopping math: what qualified in August 2026
Ohio’s holiday limits apply per item, and an item over the limit is taxed on its full price. In Franklin County (8%), a back-to-school trip on August 8, 2026 would have looked like this:
- Three $25 shirts: each at or under $75, so exempt, $0.00.
- An $80 pair of shoes: over $75, taxed in full, $6.40.
- A $15 pack of notebooks: under the $20 school supply limit, exempt.
- A $350 tablet: not covered in 2026 (it would have been in 2025’s expanded holiday), $28.00.
Ohio compared with neighboring states
Ohio’s state rate is higher than Indiana’s or Michigan’s, but neither of those states has local sales taxes, so the gap is smaller in rural Ohio than in Columbus or Cleveland. Pennsylvania exempts clothing; Ohio taxes it except during the August holiday.
| State | State rate | Average combined | Tax on $1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 5.75% | 7.29% | $72.90 |
| Pennsylvania | 6% | 6.34% | $63.40 |
| Michigan | 6% | 6% | $60.00 |
| Indiana | 7% | 7% | $70.00 |
| Kentucky | 6% | 6% | $60.00 |
| West Virginia | 6% | 6.6% | $66.00 |
Use tax and finding your county rate
If you bought something taxable online or out of state without paying sales tax, you owe Ohio use tax at your county’s rate. The IT 1040 has a line for use tax on internet, mail order and other out-of-state purchases, with a worksheet: total the purchases, multiply by your county’s rate and enter the result.
For a single address, the Department of Taxation’s “The Finder” tool returns the county and any transit rate. The quarterly county table lists each county’s rate and the codes vendors use on returns.
- Example: $650 of untaxed online purchases in Franklin County means $52.00 of use tax.
- Vendors charge the rate where the sale takes place; for deliveries, that is usually where you receive the item.
Frequently asked questions
What is the sales tax rate in Ohio?
5.750% statewide; the population-weighted average combined state and local rate is 7.290%.
How do I calculate sales tax backwards from a total?
Divide the total by 1 plus the tax rate. At 7.29%, a $100 receipt includes $6.79 of tax on a $93.21 price.
How much is the tax on $100 in Ohio?
About $7.29 at the average combined rate, for a total of $107.29.
When is Ohio’s sales tax holiday?
In 2026 it ran August 7–9 and covered clothing up to $75 per item and school supplies and instructional materials up to $20 per item. There was no expanded $500 holiday in 2026.
Which Ohio county has the highest sales tax?
In the fourth quarter of 2026, the Licking County portion of the COTA transit area is highest at 8.25%. Franklin and Cuyahoga counties are at 8%.
Do I pay sales tax where I buy a car or where I live in Ohio?
Where you live. Ohio vehicle sales tax is paid at the title office at the rate of your county of residence.
Is takeout food taxed in Ohio?
No. Food for consumption off the premises is exempt; food eaten on the premises is taxable.
Why do some Ohio counties appear twice on the rate table?
Parts of some counties lie inside a regional transit authority area, such as the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA), and pay its transit tax on top of the county rate. Licking County’s COTA area is at 8.25% and Delaware County’s COTA area at 8%.
How do I report Ohio use tax?
On the use tax line of the Ohio IT 1040. The worksheet has you total untaxed out-of-state and online purchases and multiply by your county’s use tax rate.
Are prescription drugs taxed in Ohio?
No. Prescription medicine and related supplies such as insulin, test strips and syringes are exempt.
Sources
Figures are taken from official government publications and were last reviewed on 2026-10-03.
- Ohio Department of Taxation – IT 1040 instructions (use tax worksheet)
- Ohio Department of Taxation – Tax Rates and Brackets
- Tax Foundation – 2026 State Tax Changes
- Tax Foundation – State and Local Sales Tax Rates, Midyear 2026 (as of July 1, 2026)
- Ohio Department of Taxation – Sales and Use Tax Rates by County, October 1–December 31, 2026
- Ohio Department of Taxation – Sales Tax Holiday Announced: August 7–9, 2026
- Ohio Department of Taxation – Tax Alert: 2025 Expanded Sales Tax Holiday
- Ohio Department of Taxation – Sales and Use Taxability
- Ohio Department of Taxation – Sales and Use: Applying the Tax (FAQ)
- Ohio Department of Taxation – Sales Tax for Motor Vehicles, Watercraft, and Aircraft