Milwaukee (WI) Sales Tax
The Milwaukee sales tax rate is 5.50%
| Taxing jurisdiction | Rate |
|---|---|
| Wisconsin state sales tax | 5.00% |
| Milwaukee County sales tax | 0.50% |
| City tax | 0% |
| Special tax | 0% |
| Combined Sales Tax | 5.50% |
Milwaukee sales Tax Calculator Wisconsin
To make it easier to calculate the Milwaukee (WI) Sales tax, we have created a calculator. All that you need to input is the zip code and the number of goods bought. The calculator will tell you how much you should approximately pay in sales tax. The tools are free to use and very simple.
How does the Milwaukee sales tax compare to the rest of Wisconsin?
Each vendor in the USA needs to charge sales tax to the items and services that they sell. The Department of Revenue collects the sales tax proceeds from the vendors. The Milwaukee, WI sales tax rate is 5.50%. This includes 5.00% Wisconsin state sales tax, 0.50% Milwaukee County sales tax and 0% special tax.
A merchant adds the sales tax to all the qualifying sales completed in Milwaukee, WI. The Milwaukee sales tax should be clearly stated on the invoice. There are some specific goods and services are tax-exempt in Milwaukee (Wisconsin). Alcohol, tobacco and gas are subject to excise tax.
The 5.50% sales tax rate of the Milwaukee, WI applies to the following list of zip codes: 53201, 53202, 53203, 53204, 53205, 53206, 53207, 53208, 53209, 53210, 53211, 53212, 53215, 53216, 53217, 53218, 53219, 53221, 53222, 53223, 53224, 53225, 53233, 53234, 53237, 53259, 53274, 53278, 53288, 53290, 53293, 53295.
The vendor needs to check their district zip code to make sure that they are charging the right sales tax for the business transactions.
There are 475661 people in and around Milwaukee. It is important to be aware that zip-code boundaries do not always coincide with general boundaries. Therefore, when choosing sales tax rates, you should not focus only on zip-codes. In the event of a dispute, it is recommended that you contact the Internal Revenue Service to determine sales tax rates for you.
Alternative sales tax rate for Milwaukee
| City | Combined Tax | State Rate | County Tax | City Tax | Special Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Waterford |
5.00% | 5.00% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Waukesha | 5.00% | 5.00% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
|
Whitewater |
5.50% | 5.00% | 0.50% | 0% | 0% |
Popular questions about sales tax in Milwaukee
Sales taxes add up and increase your costs. Everybody would like to save on costs. There are legal ways that you can use to avoid paying sales taxes. The first detail to know is a court ruling of 1992. According to the supreme court, you are not liable for sales taxes when you buy out of state. This means that if you do some research and buy from sellers that are established out of state, you will be able to avoid sales taxes.
Another great way to avoid sales taxes is to shop at eBay or other eCommerce stores where items are sold by individual sellers. We need to remember that companies that sell on these platforms are liable to charge sales taxes. The same strategy can be used to find big companies or established merchants that have their eCommerce business separate from their brick-and-mortar shops. Such is the case of Barnes&Nobles and Borders. Also making small research on how the sales tax is handled by the seller is a great way to save money, as the merchant may have special agreements with the government.
Another great way to avoid sales taxes is to purchase from states that do not incur sales taxes. If you cannot eliminate the sales tax, then why not reduce it. Since sales taxes depend on location, then choosing the right place to buy the car, will affect your sales taxes, as each county and zip code have their own applicable sales tax rate. The type of car also affects your applicable sales tax rate. A good way to reduce your sales taxes is to choose the right permanent address.
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.
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.
A sales tax certificate is a document that allows a business to make sales-tax-free purchases of goods and services that it intends to reuse for business and to later sell and collect sales tax on. Some states allow buyers and businesses that engage in frequent transactions to create a blanket certificate. This is a simplified version of the sale certificate, and it is valid for a specified amount of time.
Sellers that do not have a large volume of transactions do not even need a sale certificate. Such is the case of garage sales. Some states offer direct payment certificates, which allow for the purchasers to not pay any sales tax to their sellers, but they pay everything to the government directly. There are numerous intricate scenarios and for this, you need a good CPA or a sales law specialist to better guide you.