Cook County (IL) Sales Tax

Sometimes, people have a hard time figuring out the math behind sales taxes. This is especially true when people have the total transaction cost and the total sales tax. To figure out the sales tax percentage, we must do a bit of math, which is very simple and can be done via a phone calculator. Let’s assume that your total transaction with taxes is $106.25 and you know that the shelf price of the products purchased is $100.

The first thing that you do is subtract the cost of the goods from the total. In that case $106.25-$100=$6.25. Now you know that the sales taxes are $6.25. Then you divide the total sales tax by the shelf price of the cost of the goods bought, hence $100. So, ding the math, we have $6.25/$100 = 0.0625. We take the ratio number, and we multiply by 100%. Hence, we get : 0.00625*100%= 6.25%, which is the rate.

Sales taxes rates change by zip code as each county can impose its own sales taxes. When we factor both state taxes and local taxes, we can see that in all USA, there are some areas that you end up paying more in sales taxes. We will list the top 5 states in the USA that have the highest sales taxes.

• New York has a state tax of 4%. A during up the local taxes, the final tax rate can add up to 8.5%. The metro city area has a surcharge of 0.375% to fund public transport. Groceries and drugs are tax-exempt in NY.
• Then we have Kansas. It has a state sales tax of 6.25%. Some local areas can charge an additional 4%. The average sales tax rate in Kansas is 8.7%, even though some areas can reach up to 10%. The sales tax applies to everything; hence it is very expensive there.
• California has a state tax of 7.25% and local areas can charge an additional 2.5%. The average combined sales tax is 8.82%.
• Illinois has a state tax of 6.25% and some local areas charge up to 4.75%. The average sales tax rate is 8.83%.
• Oklahoma has a state tax of 4.75% and local areas can charge up to 7% extra on sales taxes. The average sales tax is 8.95%.

Some areas have very small sales taxes. Starting, we have Alaska, which has a sales tax of 1.76%. We need to be mindful that products and services are very expensive in Alaska. Moving on with the list, we have Oregon, Delaware, Montana, and New Hampshire that have a 0% sales tax rate. If you need information regarding the ranking of states based on sales taxes, you can check this page.

Sales taxes are collected by the Department of Revenue. The taxes go to the General Fund, and it funds government expenses. Some parts of the sales tax fund state operations, such as K-12 education. The money can be used to fund other public services. The money collected from taxes is also used to pay the wages of jobs that are related to government agencies, such as police departments, libraries, museums, etc.

You need to know all the applicable sales taxes that you should collect. You collect these taxes on each transaction. When it comes time to file your business quarterly returns, you declare your sales taxes collected and you pay them to the Department OF Revenue. You pay these taxes on January 15, April 15, July 15, and October 15. The type of sales taxes collected, and the rate depends on the business incorporation location and the applicable laws of that location.