There is no single Ohio sales tax rate, which is why a search for ohio sales tax rates by county is really a search for 88 different answers. Every taxable purchase in Ohio starts with the same state rate of 5.75%, but each county adds its own permissive tax on top, and some areas add a transit authority tax as well. The result is a combined rate that runs from 6.50% in Ohio’s lowest-tax counties to 8.00% in its highest — a difference of $15 in tax on a $1,000 purchase, and $450 on a $30,000 vehicle, depending on nothing more than which side of a county line the purchase is taxed in. This guide gives the full county table, explains how the combined rate is built, and works through real examples.
Ohio Sales Tax Rates by County: The Full 88-County Table
The table below lists the combined rate — the 5.75% state rate already included — for every Ohio county. These are the base county rates published by the Ohio Department of Taxation. Five counties carry an important footnote: in Delaware, Fairfield, Licking, Union and Wood counties, part of the county sits inside a transit district whose rate is higher than the base rate shown, and that complication is explained in its own section below.
| County | Combined rate |
|---|---|
| Adams County | 7.25% |
| Allen County | 6.85% |
| Ashland County | 7.00% |
| Ashtabula County | 6.75% |
| Athens County | 7.25% |
| Auglaize County | 7.25% |
| Belmont County | 7.25% |
| Brown County | 7.00% |
| Butler County | 6.50% |
| Carroll County | 6.75% |
| Champaign County | 7.25% |
| Clark County | 7.25% |
| Clermont County | 6.75% |
| Clinton County | 7.25% |
| Columbiana County | 7.25% |
| Coshocton County | 7.75% |
| Crawford County | 7.25% |
| Cuyahoga County | 8.00% |
| Darke County | 7.25% |
| Defiance County | 6.75% |
| Delaware County | 7.00% |
| Erie County | 6.75% |
| Fairfield County | 6.75% |
| Fayette County | 7.25% |
| Franklin County | 8.00% |
| Fulton County | 7.25% |
| Gallia County | 7.25% |
| Geauga County | 6.75% |
| Greene County | 6.75% |
| Guernsey County | 7.25% |
| Hamilton County | 7.80% |
| Hancock County | 6.75% |
| Hardin County | 7.25% |
| Harrison County | 7.25% |
| Henry County | 7.25% |
| Highland County | 7.25% |
| Hocking County | 7.25% |
| Holmes County | 7.00% |
| Huron County | 7.25% |
| Jackson County | 7.25% |
| Jefferson County | 7.25% |
| Knox County | 7.25% |
| Lake County | 7.25% |
| Lawrence County | 7.25% |
| Licking County | 7.25% |
| Logan County | 7.25% |
| Lorain County | 6.50% |
| Lucas County | 7.75% |
| Madison County | 7.00% |
| Mahoning County | 7.50% |
| Marion County | 7.25% |
| Medina County | 6.75% |
| Meigs County | 7.25% |
| Mercer County | 7.25% |
| Miami County | 7.00% |
| Monroe County | 7.25% |
| Montgomery County | 7.50% |
| Morgan County | 7.25% |
| Morrow County | 7.25% |
| Muskingum County | 7.25% |
| Noble County | 7.25% |
| Ottawa County | 7.00% |
| Paulding County | 7.25% |
| Perry County | 7.25% |
| Pickaway County | 7.25% |
| Pike County | 7.25% |
| Portage County | 7.00% |
| Preble County | 7.25% |
| Putnam County | 7.00% |
| Richland County | 7.00% |
| Ross County | 7.25% |
| Sandusky County | 7.25% |
| Scioto County | 7.25% |
| Seneca County | 7.25% |
| Shelby County | 7.25% |
| Stark County | 6.50% |
| Summit County | 6.75% |
| Trumbull County | 6.75% |
| Tuscarawas County | 6.75% |
| Union County | 7.00% |
| Van Wert County | 7.25% |
| Vinton County | 7.25% |
| Warren County | 7.25% |
| Washington County | 7.25% |
| Wayne County | 6.50% |
| Williams County | 7.25% |
| Wood County | 6.75% |
| Wyandot County | 7.25% |
Read the table with two anchor points in mind. At the top, Cuyahoga County (Cleveland) and Franklin County (Columbus) tie for the highest base rate at 8.00%. At the bottom, four counties share the lowest rate of 6.50%: Butler, Lorain, Stark and Wayne. Hamilton County (Cincinnati) sits near the top at 7.80%, Lucas County (Toledo) is 7.75%, and Mahoning and Montgomery counties are both 7.50%. By far the most common rate in Ohio is 7.25% — the rate in the majority of the state’s 88 counties — so if you are estimating a purchase in a county you do not know, 7.25% is the most likely answer, but it is still only an estimate until you check the actual county.
How the Combined Rate Is Built
Ohio sales tax is charged in layers, and understanding the layers explains why the county table looks the way it does. The bottom layer is the state’s 5.75% base rate, which applies everywhere in Ohio and has not changed since September 1, 2013. On top of that, county commissioners can levy a permissive county sales tax, which is the layer that makes one county different from the next. In some areas a third layer applies: a regional transit authority levies its own sales tax to fund public transportation, and that levy is part of why the two 8.00% counties reach the top of the table.
Add the layers that apply to a purchase together and you get the combined rate — the only rate that actually matters at the register. The arithmetic after that is simple: sales tax equals the purchase amount multiplied by the combined rate, rounded to the nearest cent, and the amount you pay is the purchase price plus that tax. When the calculator breaks a result into a state portion and a county-and-transit portion, it is simply splitting that one product back into its layers: the state portion is always 5.75% of the price, and everything above it belongs to the county and transit layers.
Worked Example: A $1,000 Purchase in Franklin County
Say you buy $1,000 of taxable goods in Franklin County. Franklin’s combined rate is 8.00% — the 5.75% state base plus 2.25% of county and transit tax. Multiply $1,000 by 8.00% and the sales tax is $80.00, for a total of $1,080.00. Of that $80.00, $57.50 is the state’s 5.75% share and the remaining $22.50 is the county and transit share.
Now run the same purchase at the other end of the scale. A $100 purchase in Butler County, at Ohio’s lowest combined rate of 6.50%, carries just $6.50 in tax, for a total of $106.50. Scale that Butler County rate up to the same $1,000 basket and the tax is $65.00 instead of $80.00. Neither county is doing anything unusual — the $15 gap is entirely the difference between the local layers the two counties have chosen to levy. On everyday purchases the gap is easy to ignore; on furniture, appliances, building materials or a vehicle, it is worth knowing before you buy.
How to Calculate the Tax on Any Purchase, Step by Step
- Find the county where the purchase is taxed. For most over-the-counter purchases that is the county where you buy the goods. Vehicles are the big exception, covered below.
- Look up that county’s combined rate in the table above — remember that the state 5.75% is already included, so do not add it again.
- Multiply the price by the rate. A $250 purchase in a 7.25% county is $250 × 0.0725 = $18.13 of tax, rounded to the nearest cent.
- Add the tax to the price to get your total: $250 + $18.13 = $268.13.
- Check the transit-district footnote if the county is Delaware, Fairfield, Licking, Union or Wood, because an address inside the district is taxed higher than the table’s base rate.
If you would rather not do the multiplication yourself, our Ohio sales tax calculator takes a county and a price and returns the tax, the total, and the split between the state share and the county-and-transit share in one step.
Buying a Car? The Rate Follows Your Home County
Vehicles are the exception Ohio buyers most often get wrong. For a car, Ohio does not use the rate of the county where you buy it. Tax is charged at the rate of the buyer’s county of residence — the county where the vehicle will be titled and registered. A dealer sitting in a 6.50% county does not save a Franklin County buyer anything: the tax is figured at Franklin’s 8.00% because that is where the car will live.
That rule cuts both ways. A Butler County resident who drives to Columbus to buy a car is taxed at Butler’s 6.50% home-county rate, not Franklin’s 8.00%. Either way, when you estimate the tax on a vehicle, select your home county, not the dealer’s. Trade-in credit rules and title fees are separate questions; the figure here is the sales tax on the taxable price only.
The Five Transit-District Counties
Five counties — Delaware, Fairfield, Licking, Union and Wood — contain transit districts that cover only part of the county. Addresses inside the district pay the district’s higher combined rate; addresses outside it pay the base county rate in the table. The district rates are: 8.00% in the COTA district parts of Delaware County, 7.75% in the COTA parts of Fairfield County, 8.25% in the COTA parts of Licking County — the highest rate anywhere in Ohio — 8.00% in the COTA parts of Union County, and 7.25% in the TARTA district parts of Wood County.
This is the one situation where a county table, including this one, cannot give a final answer on its own. Two addresses in the same county can legitimately be taxed at different rates. For an exact, address-level rate, use the Ohio Tax Finder from the Department of Taxation, and see the Ohio Department of Taxation’s sales and use tax guidance for the Department’s own explanation of how these taxes apply.
When Rates Change
County rates are not frozen. Counties can vote to change their rate, and changes take effect only at the start of a calendar quarter — in January, April, July or October. The most recent change in this table is Warren County, which rose from 6.75% to 7.25% on October 1, 2026. That quarterly rhythm has a practical consequence: a rate you checked for a major purchase three months ago may have moved by the time you buy. For anything expensive, confirm the current rate against the Department of Taxation’s county table close to the purchase date rather than relying on an old screenshot or an older version of this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ohio’s state sales tax rate?
The state rate is 5.75%, and it is the same everywhere in Ohio. What changes from place to place is what gets added on top: county and transit levies push the combined rate you actually pay to somewhere between 6.50% and 8.00%, depending on the county.
Which Ohio counties have the highest and lowest sales tax?
At the base county level, Cuyahoga and Franklin counties tie for the highest combined rate at 8.00%, while Butler, Lorain, Stark and Wayne counties are lowest at 6.50%. One partial-county exception sits above the table: addresses inside the COTA transit district in parts of Licking County pay 8.25%, the highest rate in Ohio.
Why is the rate higher in part of my county?
Five counties — Delaware, Fairfield, Licking, Union and Wood — contain transit districts (COTA or TARTA) that cover only part of the county. Addresses inside the district pay the district’s higher combined rate; addresses outside it pay the base county rate. The Ohio Tax Finder can confirm the exact rate for a specific address.
What sales tax do I pay when I buy a car?
Vehicles are taxed at the rate of the buyer’s county of residence — where the car will be titled and registered — rather than the county where the dealership sits. Select your home county when estimating. Title fees and any trade-in credit are handled separately from the sales tax itself.
When do Ohio sales tax rates change?
County rate changes take effect at the start of a calendar quarter. The most recent one in this table is Warren County, which rose from 6.75% to 7.25% on October 1, 2026. If you are checking a rate for a high-value purchase, confirm it against the Department of Taxation’s current county table, since a county vote can move a rate between your last visit and your next one.
The Bottom Line
Ohio sales tax is one statewide base — 5.75% — wearing 88 different local layers. The combined rate runs from 6.50% to 8.00% at the county level, with a single transit-district pocket at 8.25%. Find the right county, multiply, and round to the cent, and you have the tax. The two mistakes worth avoiding are using the dealer’s county for a car instead of your home county, and trusting the base rate in one of the five transit-district counties without checking the exact address.
This article is general information about Ohio sales tax rates and is not tax advice. Rates are the Ohio Department of Taxation’s published county rates as retrieved for the calculator on October 29, 2026, and counties can change rates at the start of a calendar quarter. Confirm the rate for your exact address and tax year with the Department of Taxation before relying on it for a major purchase.
