What is Maine's sales tax rate?

Maine charges a flat 5.5% statewide sales tax on most tangible goods. Unlike most states, Maine has no county or city sales taxes, so the rate is the same everywhere in the state.

Does Maine have local sales taxes?

No. Maine is one of a handful of states with a single statewide rate and no local sales taxes. Whether you shop in Portland, Bangor, or a small town, the general rate is 5.5%.

Why is prepared food taxed differently?

Maine applies a higher 8% rate to prepared food (restaurant meals and ready-to-eat items) and to lodging such as hotel rooms. Short-term automobile rentals are taxed at 10%. These special rates sit above the 5.5% general rate.

Are groceries taxed in Maine?

Grocery staples (unprepared food for home consumption) are exempt from Maine sales tax, as are prescription medicines. Prepared meals and many snack foods, however, are taxable at the 8% prepared-food rate.

How do I remove sales tax from a total?

Switch to remove-tax mode and enter the tax-inclusive total. The calculator divides by one plus the rate to recover the pre-tax price and shows the tax portion separately.

Maine Sales Tax Calculator

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Maine keeps sales tax simple: a flat 5.5% statewide rate with no local sales taxes at all. A few categories carry special rates — prepared food and lodging at 8% and short-term auto rentals at 10% — while grocery staples and prescription medicine are fully exempt. This calculator applies the correct Maine rate for the item type you choose and can add tax to a price or remove tax from a total.

How it works

Maine’s general rule is straightforward because there is only one base rate to apply:

Pick the rate by item type. General goods are taxed at 5.5%; prepared food and lodging at 8%; short-term auto rentals at 10%; groceries and prescription drugs are exempt (0%).
Add mode. tax = price x rate, and total = price + tax.
Remove mode. Given a tax-inclusive total, the pre-tax price is total / (1 + rate), and the tax is total - pre-tax.

Because there are no county or city add-ons, the same rate applies anywhere in Maine.

Tips and example

A $200 restaurant bill is “prepared food,” so it is taxed at 8%: $200 x 0.08 = $16 tax, for a $216 total. The same $200 spent on a TV (general goods) is taxed at 5.5%: $11 tax, $211 total. A $200 grocery run of unprepared food is exempt — $0 tax.

To split out the tax already baked into a receipt, use remove mode: a $216 prepared-food total divided by 1.08 gives the $200 pre-tax price and $16 of tax. Always confirm whether a specific item qualifies as exempt or prepared at Maine Revenue Services, since classification edge cases exist.