Vermont Sales Tax Calculator

Vermont’s 6% sales tax and the 1% local option

Vermont charges a 6% sales tax on goods, and towns that vote for it add a 1% local option sales tax, making 7%. The average combined rate is 6.43%. That is lower than the 7% you pay in Burlington because most of Vermont’s small towns have not adopted the local tax.

The local tax follows the buyer’s location (it is “destination-based”). It is charged where you take possession of the item or where it is delivered, not where the seller is based. The Department of Taxes collects the tax for the towns, and its online Local Option Tax Finder shows whether an address is covered. Hartford’s local option tax covers Quechee, White River Junction, West Hartford and Wilder.

• Towns with the 1% local option sales tax include Burlington, South Burlington, Williston, Colchester, Winooski, Essex Junction, Middlebury, Montpelier, Barre City, Brattleboro, Rutland City and Town, St. Albans City and Town, Stowe, Manchester, Woodstock, Dover, Stratton and Winhall.
• Bristol, Fair Haven, Mendon, Morristown, Pomfret, Swanton, Vergennes and Waitsfield added it from July 1, 2026, and Peru from October 1, 2026.
• Montgomery rescinded its local option sales tax as of October 1, 2025.

Clothing, groceries and medicine are exempt

Vermont exempts clothing, groceries and most medicine all year, so a large share of a household’s spending carries no sales tax at all. Clothing is exempt at any price, unlike Rhode Island’s $250 limit or holiday-only breaks elsewhere. A $600 winter parka costs $600.

Food, food products and beverages are exempt under 32 V.S.A. § 9741(13), with one exception. Soft drinks have been taxable since July 1, 2015. Over-the-counter drugs such as pain relievers, cough and cold remedies, eye drops and acne treatments are exempt. So are menstrual care products, durable medical equipment, medical supplies and prescription eyeglasses and contact lenses.

• Taxable clothing accessories: jewelry, handbags, non-prescription sunglasses, hair accessories and similar items.
• Taxable sports gear: baseball, bowling, boxing, hockey and golf gloves and similar equipment.
• Taxable sewing supplies: both tools such as scissors and sewing machines and materials such as fabric, thread, buttons, yarn and zippers, even though the finished garment would be exempt.

Meals, rooms and alcohol have their own rates

Restaurant meals and hotel rooms are not taxed under the sales tax. They pay Vermont’s meals and rooms tax: 9% on meals and lodging and 10% on alcoholic drinks served in bars and restaurants. Towns with the local option add 1% to each, making 10% on meals and rooms and 11% on alcohol.

For a $75 dinner and drinks split as $60 food and $15 wine in a town with the local option, the tax is $7.65. A $200-a-night room there carries $20.00 a night. Short-term rental operators also pay a 3% surcharge and must file their meals and rooms tax electronically.

Cars pay a 6% purchase and use tax instead

Vehicles are not charged sales tax in Vermont. Instead, the DMV collects a 6% purchase and use tax when you register or title the vehicle. It is charged on the purchase price or the J.D. Power clean trade-in value, whichever is greater. The 1% local option tax does not apply to vehicles.

Example: a used SUV bought for $28,000 with a J.D. Power clean trade-in value of $26,500 is taxed on the higher purchase price, which is $1,680.00. If the same SUV were bought cheaply from a relative for $20,000, the tax would still be worked out on the $26,500 book value: $1,590.00. A vehicle already registered to you or your spouse in another state is taxed on its J.D. Power value, and you can submit a dealer appraisal if you think that value is too high.

Shopping in New Hampshire? Vermont use tax still applies

New Hampshire has no general sales tax, so Vermonters near the Connecticut River often shop there. Taxable items brought back for use in Vermont owe Vermont use tax at the same rate as the sales tax. The same exemptions apply, so clothing and groceries bought in New Hampshire owe nothing.

Example: a $1,100 television bought in West Lebanon and installed at home in Hartford, which has the local option tax, owes $77.00 of use tax at 7%. A home in a town without the local option owes $66.00. A $250 pair of boots bought on the same trip owes nothing in either town.

Worked examples and refunds

A $500 power tool bought in Burlington costs $35.00 in tax at 7%. In a town without the local option, it is $30.00. A $500 coat costs nothing in either place. To take the tax out of a 7% receipt, divide by 1.07: $107.00 is $100.00 of goods and $7.00 of tax.

If you are charged the local tax when you shouldn’t have been, for example because the delivery address was outside a participating town, ask the store for a refund first. If it can’t refund you, file Form REF-620 with the Department of Taxes, with a copy of the receipt. Vermont use tax, owed on untaxed purchases from out of state, is charged at the same rate as the sales tax.