Alaska sales tax and property tax

Sales tax in Alaska

There is no Alaska rate to look up, only local ones. Two sections of the municipal code carry the whole system: AS 29.45.650 lets a borough tax sales, rents and services, and AS 29.45.700 lets a city levy a sales tax inside or outside a borough. A borough or city that taxes sales may add a use tax at the same rate, with credit for sales tax paid elsewhere. Exemptions follow the same pattern. Food, clothing and medicine are free of state tax only because there is no state tax; whether the local ordinance exempts them is a separate question for each community, and the answer changes from one town to the next. One rule binds them all: anything paid for with SNAP or WIC benefits cannot be taxed by a borough or a city.

Online orders are caught by the same local taxes. Since February 2020, the Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission, a body formed by the municipalities themselves rather than a state agency, collects local tax on remote sales for its member jurisdictions, sourced to the point of delivery. Sellers must register once their sales into Alaska pass $100,000 a year; the old 200-transaction test was dropped on January 1, 2025.

The weak point is the ZIP code. Many Alaska ZIP codes cover far more ground than any taxing boundary, so a cabin outside a taxing area can be billed as if it sat in town. The Commission's official tax map shows whether an address falls inside a taxing jurisdiction, and its refund form recovers tax charged by mistake. Check the map, then enter the local rate in the calculator above; outside a taxing area, leave it at zero. Late municipal sales tax cannot carry interest above 15% a year.

What the state charges, item by item

Local sales taxes

Levied by borough sales and use taxes (AS 29.45.650) and city sales and use taxes (AS 29.45.700); remote sales are collected through the Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission for member jurisdictions. No statutory maximum rate; each borough or city sets its rate, exemptions and any per-sale tax cap by ordinance. Find the exact combined rate for an address with the official Alaska lookup, then type the local part into the calculator above.

Sales tax holidays in 2026

No statewide sales tax, so no state sales tax holiday.

Worth knowing about Alaska sales tax

• Boroughs may tax sales, rents and services; cities may levy sales taxes inside or outside a borough (AS 29.45.650 and 29.45.700). source
• Purchases made with SNAP food stamps or WIC vouchers cannot be subject to borough or city sales tax. source
• Since February 2020, member jurisdictions of the Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission collect local sales tax on online purchases, sourced to the point of delivery. source
• Remote sellers must register with ARSSTC once they exceed $100,000 of annual sales into Alaska; the 200-transaction test was dropped on January 1, 2025. source
• Many Alaska ZIP codes are larger than taxing boundaries, so buyers outside a taxing area can be wrongly charged; ARSSTC's official tax map and refund form address this. source
• Interest on late municipal sales tax may not exceed 15% a year. source

Property tax in Alaska

Most Alaskans who pay property tax pay it to a borough, a city, or both, and many areas of the state levy none. The state's own property tax is narrow: 20 mills on oil and gas production and pipeline property under AS 43.56, with a credit for local tax paid on the same property. Homes are valued at full and true value as of January 1, meaning the price a willing buyer would pay a willing seller on the open market.

Two state limits restrain local levies. A municipality may not tax more than 30 mills, 3% of assessed value, in a year, so a $400,000 house can never owe a single municipality more than $12,000. Total municipal tax revenue is also capped at $1,500 per resident a year. Actual bills sit well under the ceiling: at the Census ratio of 1.06%, the median $376,500 home pays about $3,976.

The one exemption written into state law is generous. Residents aged 65 or older, disabled veterans and surviving spouses aged 60 or more have the first $150,000 of their primary residence's assessed value exempt. On the median home, that would leave $226,500 taxable, or roughly $2,392 at the typical ratio. A municipality may require seniors to be eligible for the Permanent Fund Dividend before granting it. With voter approval, a borough or city can also exempt up to $75,000 of value on every residence, and one vehicle per household owned by a resident aged 65 or older escapes property or registration tax. Applications go in writing to the local assessor, and deadlines and payment dates are set by each municipality.

How the taxable value is set

Property is assessed at its full and true (market) value as of January 1 of the assessment year. A municipality may not levy more than 3% (30 mills) of assessed value in a year. Who levies the tax: Local: boroughs and cities levy property tax (many areas levy none). The state itself levies only an oil and gas production and pipeline property tax of 20 mills (AS 43.56).

Other property tax relief

• Optional residential exemption. With voter approval, a municipality may exempt up to $75,000 of assessed value per residence (indexable to the Urban Alaska CPI). source
• Senior vehicle exemption. One motor vehicle per household owned by a resident aged 65+ is exempt from property tax or from the vehicle registration tax. source

Worth knowing about Alaska property tax

• A municipality may not levy property tax above 3% of assessed value (30 mills) in a year. source
• Municipalities also face a per-capita cap: total tax revenue may not exceed $1,500 per resident a year. source
• The state levies 20 mills on oil and gas production and pipeline property; local tax paid on that property is credited against it. source
• Municipalities may require seniors to be eligible for the Permanent Fund Dividend to claim the $150,000 exemption. source
• Value is set as of January 1 at the price a willing buyer would pay a willing seller on the open market. source