sales tax

noun

: a tax levied on the sale of goods and services that is usually calculated as a percentage of the purchase price and collected by the seller

Examples of sales tax in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

However, officials in two southern California cities—Commerce and Bell Gardens—are proposing a sales tax increase after both cities declared a fiscal emergency over the new rules, which are set to come into effect on April 1. —Amanda Greenwood, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026

Construction costs fluctuate and the city is collecting sales tax below its forecasts. —Devyani Chhetri, Dallas Morning News, 30 Mar. 2026

Cook County government bucked the 30-year trend, increasing property taxes by just 26%, although that was largely due to increases in the county sales tax to provide an alternative revenue source. —Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2026

After adding in the state and local sales tax, plus the DMV and dealer fees, the out the door and in your garage total purchase price came to $725,288. —Tony Leopardo, Mercury News, 29 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1921, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sales tax

• almanacs
• carrybacks
• haversacks
• lumberjacks
• maniacs
• microcracks
• minimax
• paperbacks
• parallax
• quarterbacks
• sticklebacks
• telefax

Kids Definition

sales tax

noun

: a tax paid on the purchase of goods and services and collected by the seller

Legal Definition

sales tax

noun

: a tax levied on the sale of goods and services that is usually calculated as a percentage of the purchase price and collected by the seller