Covington (GA) 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 are regulated by state and federal laws. Since states control the amount of sales tax that they charge locally, some others have decided to omit sales taxes at all to facilitate transactions. There are municipalities, or cities that can impose their taxes. As of right now, there are 5 states in the USA that do not charge a state sales tax. These states are Alaska, Montana, Oregon, Delaware, New Hampshire.

When you purchase a car, the laws regarding the applicable sales tax are a bit more complicated. The first factor to consider is that there is a base 6% sales tax. Let’s say that your car costs 10k. You pay 6% on that, which is $600 on sales tax. On top of this cost, you also pay fees for vehicle registration and licenses. If you complete the transaction via a dealership, then all this paperwork and its cost are factored in on the sales agreement. If you buy the car via a private seller, then it is you, the buyer that needs to process all this paperwork via the local tax office and vehicle registration office. You would be responsible for paying registration fees and the title.

States allow for trade-in allowances, and this is a fantastic way to reduce your tax bill. Instead of selling your old vehicle, and then incurring sales taxes on that transaction, you can bring your old vehicle to the dealership and do a trade-in allowance for a new car. The value of the trade-in is reduced from the sticker price of the car that your intent to purchase. Then some dealerships offer rebates, which further reduces your total sales tax.

Let’s say that you will purchase the same car as in the above example that costs 10k. Instead, this time you have an old car to do a trade-in that is valued at 2k. The dealership offers you a 1k rebate offer. In that case, your sales tax will not be charged anymore on the original price of 10k, but it will be charged on the reduced price after the rebate and the trade-in. More specifically, we will reduce from 10k, the value of the rebate (1k) and the value of the trade-in (2k), hence a total of 3k of discount. We would end up paying out-of-pocket 7k. The applicable sales tax on a 7k car is $7000*6%= $420. We can see that we are paying a lower sales tax compared to the previous tax of $600. We are not paying any taxes on the old car that you brought for a rebate and not paying any sales taxes on that.

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%.

There are some special goods and services that do not qualify for the sales tax rate but instead are charged another rate. The most common category of these items falls under the excise tax. This is a special tax rate that is charged to gas, fuel, tobacco, and other goods that are heavily regulated by the government. Some services qualify for excise tax, such as using the highway. Air travel is in this category too.