What is the sales tax rate in Detroit?

Detroit's sales tax rate is 6%, which is simply the Michigan statewide rate. Michigan does not permit any city or county to levy a local sales tax, so unlike many other US cities there is no extra Detroit city tax or Wayne County tax added on top. The 6% you pay in Detroit is the same rate paid everywhere else in Michigan.

Does Wayne County or the City of Detroit add a local sales tax?

No. Michigan is one of a small number of states that prohibits local sales taxes entirely. There is no Wayne County sales tax and no City of Detroit sales tax. The combined rate is therefore identical to the state rate of 6%, which is why this calculator uses a single flat rate.

Are groceries taxed in Detroit?

No. Michigan exempts food for home consumption (unprepared groceries) from sales tax, along with prescription drugs. So buying groceries at a Detroit supermarket incurs no sales tax. However, prepared food and restaurant meals are taxable at the full 6% rate — select the prepared-food option in the tool for those purchases.

How do I calculate Michigan sales tax on a purchase?

Multiply the pre-tax price by 0.06. For a $100 taxable item, the tax is $100 x 0.06 = $6.00, for a total of $106.00. To reverse it, divide the tax-inclusive total by 1.06 to recover the pre-tax amount. Exempt items like groceries and prescriptions add no tax at all.

Is prepared food taxed differently from groceries in Michigan?

Yes. Unprepared food for home consumption is exempt, but prepared food — restaurant meals, hot deli items, and food sold for immediate consumption — is taxable at the standard 6% rate. The distinction is whether the food is ready to eat at the point of sale. This calculator applies the correct treatment based on the item type you choose.

Detroit Combined Sales Tax Calculator — Michigan 6% Rate

Detroit’s sales tax is refreshingly simple compared with most large US cities. Michigan levies a single statewide sales and use tax of 6% and — crucially — bans local sales taxes entirely. There is no Detroit city tax and no Wayne County tax, so the “combined” rate in Detroit is just the flat 6% state rate. This calculator applies that rate in both directions and handles Michigan’s grocery and prescription exemptions correctly.

How it works

The calculator runs two formulas in your browser, switching to a 0% rate automatically for exempt items.

Add mode — apply tax to a pre-tax price:

Tax = Pre-tax price x 0.06 Total = Pre-tax price + Tax

Remove (reverse) mode — recover the pre-tax amount from an inclusive total:

Pre-tax = Total / 1.06 Tax included = Total - Pre-tax

Groceries and prescription drugs are exempt, so the tool charges $0 tax on them. Prepared food and restaurant meals remain fully taxable at 6%.

Why Detroit has no local sales tax

Michigan’s state constitution and tax law reserve sales taxation to the state. Cities and counties fund themselves through property taxes, income taxes (Detroit has a city income tax), and state revenue sharing instead of a local sales tax. The practical result: the rate is identical statewide, and a purchase costs the same in sales tax in Detroit, Grand Rapids, or Ann Arbor.

Worked example

A $100 general-merchandise purchase in Detroit:

Tax: $100 x 0.06 = $6.00
Total: $106.00

Reversing a $106.00 receipt:

$106.00 / 1.06 = $100.00 pre-tax, $6.00 tax included.

A $100 grocery order, by contrast, is exempt — $0 tax, $100 total.

Notes

Michigan exempts groceries and prescriptions; prepared food is taxable. Choose the right item type for an accurate result.
Detroit does levy a separate city income tax on residents and workers, but that is unrelated to sales tax and not part of this calculation.
For the official rules and current rate, see the Michigan Department of Treasury at michigan.gov/treasury.

All math runs locally — nothing leaves your browser.