The sales tax in Coeur d’Alene is a flat 6%, the same rate charged everywhere else in Idaho. There is no city or county tax added on top.1Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 63-3621 – Imposition and Rate of the Use Tax — Exemptions Sticker price plus 6% is what you pay at the register, every time.
Why There’s No Local Add-On
Idaho law lets only designated “resort cities” with a population of 10,000 or fewer put a local sales tax to a voter referendum.2Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 50-1044 – Authority for Resort City Residents to Approve and Resort City Governments to Adopt, Implement and Collect Certain City Nonproperty Taxes Coeur d’Alene’s population of roughly 59,000 puts it well over that cap, so even with a tourism-heavy economy it can’t tack on the kind of local rate you’d see in McCall or Ketchum. The 6% state rate is the whole tax.
What Gets Taxed
The 6% applies to most physical goods you buy, lease, or rent: clothing, electronics, furniture, appliances, sporting equipment, building materials, leased vehicles. Each purchase or periodic payment is taxed at the full rate.3Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 63-3616 – Tangible Personal Property
Admissions and Recreation
Movie tickets, concert tickets, season passes, nightclub covers, and fees to use recreational facilities all carry the 6% tax. A “suggested donation” at the door counts as a taxable admission if the venue sets a specific price.4Idaho State Tax Commission. Taxable Sales – Recreation and Admissions The main exception covers events hosted by qualifying 501(c)(3) nonprofits where the event isn’t primarily recreational or commercial and the entertainment value is minimal relative to the price.
Repairs
Parts and materials are taxable, but separately stated labor is not.5Legal Information Institute. Idaho Admin Code r. 35.01.02.062 – Repairs Sale of Parts and Material Here’s where people lose money: if the shop puts everything on one line without breaking out parts from labor, the entire charge becomes taxable. Ask for an itemized invoice. On an expensive repair, that one request saves you 6% on the labor portion.
What’s Exempt
Prescription Medical Items
Prescription drugs, insulin, hearing aids, prosthetic devices, oxygen equipment, wheelchairs, hospital beds, and a long list of durable medical equipment are exempt when purchased under a practitioner’s prescription or work order.6Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 63-3622N – Prescriptions The exemption also covers diabetic testing supplies, dialysis equipment, and orthodontic appliances. Over-the-counter medication bought without a prescription doesn’t qualify.
Utilities
Natural gas, electricity, and water are exempt when delivered to a home or business through pipes, wires, or mains.7Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 63-3622F – Utilities The exemption doesn’t reach propane delivered by truck, firewood, or other fuels bought outside those delivery systems.
Professional and Personal Services
Idaho’s sales tax applies to tangible goods and certain enumerated transactions, not to professional services. A lawyer, accountant, architect, or consultant isn’t selling you a physical product, so no tax attaches. The same is true for most personal services like haircuts and dry cleaning.
Resale Purchases
If you own a business and are buying inventory to resell, you can purchase it tax-free by giving the seller a valid resale certificate listing your seller’s permit number, a description of the goods, and a statement that the purchase is for resale. You collect the 6% from your customers instead of paying it to your supplier.
Groceries Are Taxed — And You Can Claim a Credit
Idaho is one of roughly a dozen states that charges the full sales tax on groceries. Fresh produce, meat, dairy, every item in your cart at WinCo or Costco: all 6%. The state offsets this with a refundable food tax credit of $155 per person for tax year 2025 and beyond.8Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 63-3024A – Food Tax Credits and Refunds If you keep your grocery receipts and can document more than $155 in sales tax paid on food, you can claim up to $250 per person instead.9Idaho State Tax Commission. Idaho Food Tax Credit
You claim the credit on an Idaho individual income tax return, even if you don’t otherwise owe state income tax. Because the credit is refundable, the state sends a check for the full amount when nothing is owed. Part-year residents get a proportional credit based on the fraction of the year they lived in Idaho.8Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 63-3024A – Food Tax Credits and Refunds For a family of four, the standard credit is $620.
A ballot initiative proposed in 2025 would eliminate Idaho’s 6% grocery tax by fiscal year 2028, though tax on alcohol, tobacco, and prepared restaurant food would remain. Whether that initiative reaches voters and passes is an open question. For now, the tax applies and the credit is the only relief available.
Vehicle Purchases
Buying a car in Coeur d’Alene triggers the same 6% rate, but collection depends on where you buy. A licensed dealer collects the tax at the point of sale. A private seller doesn’t, so the county assessor’s office collects it when you apply for your Idaho title.10Idaho State Tax Commission. Types of Sales – Motor Vehicles – Private and Nondealer
Trade-ins reduce the taxable amount when you buy from a retailer or dealer, provided the trade is part of the same transaction. Private-party sales don’t get a trade-in deduction. A vehicle received as a genuine gift from a parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling is exempt, as long as that family member previously paid sales or use tax on the vehicle and no debt is attached.10Idaho State Tax Commission. Types of Sales – Motor Vehicles – Private and Nondealer
Buy a vehicle out of state and bring it into Idaho, and you owe use tax on it. Sales tax legitimately paid to the other state offsets what you owe Idaho, so there’s no double taxation, but there’s also no way to escape the 6% by shopping across a border.
Use Tax on Online and Cross-Border Purchases
Idaho’s use tax is the 6% rate applied to anything you buy for use in Idaho without paying Idaho sales tax at the time of purchase.1Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code 63-3621 – Imposition and Rate of the Use Tax — Exemptions It exists to close the gap that would otherwise let people avoid tax by shopping out of state or buying from sellers that don’t collect Idaho tax.
For residents near the Washington and Montana borders, this comes up often. Furniture from Spokane, equipment picked up in Montana (which has no sales tax), or an online order from a small retailer that doesn’t collect Idaho tax all create use tax obligations. You report and pay it on your Idaho individual income tax return. Unpaid use tax accrues interest, and penalties apply for late filing or underpayment.
Most large online retailers and marketplace platforms now collect Idaho sales tax automatically at checkout, so the use tax issue surfaces mainly with smaller out-of-state sellers, private purchases, and shopping trips across the border.