States without a statewide sales tax

What each of the five charges instead

Alaska

Alaska levies no statewide sales tax. Boroughs and cities may levy their own sales and use taxes, so the rate depends entirely on the delivery address (0% in areas without a local tax). Local sales taxes: 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.

Delaware

Delaware has no sales tax at the state or local level. Instead, sellers pay a gross receipts tax (a business license tax on their receipts, not itemized to buyers), e.g. 0.7468% for general retailers after a $100,000 monthly deduction. No local general sales tax.

• Motor vehicle document fee: 5.25%. Paid at titling: $5.25 per $100 of purchase price above $500 ($8 under $400; $13.75 from $400 to $500). Source
• Hotel, motel and tourist home rooms: 8%. 8% tax collected from the guest and remitted to the Division of Revenue. Source
• Lessee use of tangible personal property (leases): 1.9914%. Lessee use tax rate on leased goods and leased motor vehicles. Source

Montana

Montana does not have a general sales tax. Selective state taxes apply instead: a combined 8% lodging facility sales and use tax and a 4% rental vehicle sales and use tax. Designated resort communities may levy a voter-approved resort tax of up to 3%. Local sales taxes: Resort tax only, in incorporated resort communities or unincorporated resort areas designated by the Montana Department of Commerce and approved by local voters (7-6-1501 to 7-6-1507, MCA). It applies to lodging and camping, restaurants and food service, bars, destination ski or recreational facilities, and luxuries sold in the resort area..

• Lodging (hotels, motels, campgrounds, vacation rentals, short-term rental platforms): 8%. Combined lodging facility tax: 4% lodging sales tax + 4% lodging facility use tax. Stays of 30 continuous days or more are exempt. Source
• Rental vehicles (rented for less than 30 days): 4%. 4% sales and use tax on base rental charges for cars, motorcycles, motorboats, off-highway vehicles and light trucks/trailers. Source

New Hampshire

No general sales tax. Instead, an 8.5% Meals and Rooms (Rentals) Tax is charged to patrons of restaurants and lodging and on motor vehicle rentals. No local general sales tax.

• Meals (restaurants and other taxable meal sellers): 8.5%. Meals and Rooms (Rentals) Tax on meals costing $0.36 or more; paid by the consumer, remitted by the operator by the 15th of the following month. Source
• Rooms (hotels, short-term rentals and any facility with sleeping accommodations): 8.5%. Same Meals and Rooms (Rentals) Tax; room and motor vehicle rental facilitators (platforms) count as operators and must collect it. Source
• Motor vehicle rentals: 8.5%. Meals and Rooms (Rentals) Tax also applies to motor vehicle rentals. Source
• Two-way communications services: 7%. Communications Services Tax on the gross charge for two-way communications services, collected by providers. Source

Oregon

Oregon has no general sales or use/transaction tax. It levies a 0.5% vehicle privilege tax (on dealers selling new vehicles) and a matching vehicle use tax on new vehicles bought out of state. No local general sales tax.

• New vehicles (vehicle privilege tax / vehicle use tax): 0.5%. 0.5% of the retail price of taxable vehicles (7,500 miles or less, 26,000 lb GVWR or less, never titled in Oregon); privilege tax on Oregon dealers, use tax on out-of-state dealer purchases, due within 30 days. Source
• State transient lodging tax: 1.5%. 1.5% for stays ending on or before December 31, 2026; 2.75% from January 1, 2027. Local lodging taxes are additional. Source

Where the money comes from

A state that does not tax sales raises its budget from other taxes, and property tax is often one of them. On the Census Bureau's 2024 medians, the effective property tax rate of the five ranges from 0.47% in Delaware to 1.46% in New Hampshire; the full ranking is in property tax by state. Business taxes play a part too: a gross receipts or commercial activity tax is paid by the seller and passed on in prices, invisibly. The two-state comparison sets sales tax and property tax side by side for any pair of states.

Shopping across the border

The border stores of these states attract shoppers from neighboring states, especially for large items. For a resident of a state with a sales tax, the purchase is not tax-free in law: the home state's use tax is due at the same rate as its sales tax, reported on the state income tax return or a consumer use tax return. Most states enforce it systematically only on vehicles, boats and other items that must be registered, which is where the tax is collected. The mini-calculator above shows the state tax a purchase would carry in the neighboring state you choose, which is also the use tax a resident there owes. Details in use tax on out-of-state purchases.

Buying online when you live in one of the five

Online sellers charge the tax of the delivery address. With a delivery address in a state without sales tax, no state sales tax is due, although a local sales tax can apply where local governments levy one and have joined a collection system for remote sellers. Gift cards, digital downloads and services follow the same logic. Moving to one of the five does not change the tax due on purchases made before the move in your former state.

Visitors

Travellers notice the absence of sales tax in shops, then meet the specific taxes at the hotel desk, the car rental counter and in restaurants in the states that tax meals. The rates of those taxes are listed above and on each state's page, with their official sources.