Yes, Idaho has a sales tax. The statewide rate is 6 percent on most retail purchases, and a small number of resort communities and special districts add local taxes that can push the total as high as 9 percent at the register.1Justia. Idaho Code Title 63 – Revenue and Taxation – Chapter 36 – Sales Tax Groceries are taxed at the full rate, though residents can recover part of that cost through a credit on their state income tax return.
The Statewide Rate
The 6 percent rate applies to retail sales of tangible personal property and certain services anywhere in Idaho. Retailers collect it at the point of sale and remit it to the Idaho State Tax Commission. The rate is uniform across every county and city; anything above 6 percent is a local add-on, not a different state rate.
Where the Rate Goes Higher
A limited set of Idaho communities can impose local sales taxes on top of the 6 percent. Resort cities with populations of 10,000 or fewer may ask voters to approve one or more local nonproperty taxes to pay for services and infrastructure connected to tourism.2Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code Section 50-1044 – Authority for Resort Cities Sun Valley and McCall are two of the better-known examples. Auditorium and community center districts can also tax hotel and motel receipts within their boundaries. Stacked on the state rate, these local taxes can bring the total paid at checkout to as much as 9 percent in the highest-tax places.
What’s Taxed
Most physical goods you buy, lease, or rent in Idaho are taxable: clothing, furniture, electronics, appliances, building materials, and so on. Lodging is taxable too, including hotels, motels, campgrounds, and short-term vacation rentals.3Cornell Law Institute. Idaho Admin Code r 35.01.02.028 – Hotels, Motels and Campgrounds Most other services fall outside the sales tax.
Common Exemptions
Idaho law exempts several categories of purchases from the 6 percent tax. The ones consumers and small businesses encounter most often are:
- Items bought by a retailer for resale to customers.
- Qualifying machinery and equipment used in farming, mining, fabrication, and manufacturing.
- Purchases by federal, state, and local government agencies for official use.
- Purchases by qualifying nonprofit organizations that meet the statutory criteria.
Claiming an exemption requires the buyer to give the seller a completed Form ST-101, Idaho’s Sales Tax Resale or Exemption Certificate. The seller keeps the form on file as proof.4Idaho State Tax Commission. Form ST-101 Sales Tax Resale or Exemption Certificate Without a valid certificate on hand, the seller is expected to charge the full 6 percent.
Groceries and the Food Tax Credit
Idaho is one of the few states that taxes groceries at its full sales tax rate. Every item of food you buy at a supermarket, from fresh produce to packaged snacks, is subject to the 6 percent at the register.
To offset that cost, Idaho offers a food tax credit on the state income tax return. Most residents receive $155 per person. If you save your grocery receipts and can document a higher amount of sales tax paid on food, you can claim up to $250 per person instead.5Idaho State Tax Commission. Idaho Food Tax Credit Even residents whose income is too low to require filing an Idaho return can still file one solely to claim this refund.
Buying From Out of State
When you buy something from an out-of-state retailer and no Idaho sales tax is collected, you owe Idaho’s use tax instead. The rate is the same 6 percent as the sales tax.6Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code Section 63-3621 – Imposition and Rate of the Use Tax – Exemptions Idaho presumes that any tangible property shipped or brought into the state was bought for use here, so the burden is on the buyer to prove otherwise.
Most online purchases now have Idaho sales tax collected automatically. Out-of-state retailers must register and start collecting once their sales into Idaho exceed $100,000 in the current or previous calendar year, and Idaho uses that dollar figure alone as the trigger, not a transaction count.7Idaho State Tax Commission. Online Sellers Guide Marketplace platforms like Amazon, Etsy, and eBay face the same $100,000 threshold, but their calculation combines the platform’s own sales with the sales they handle for third-party sellers. Once that combined total crosses the line, the marketplace itself collects and remits Idaho tax on all facilitated sales.8Idaho State Legislature. Idaho Code Section 63-3620E – Collection of Tax by Marketplace Facilitators Use tax most commonly comes up when you buy from a small out-of-state vendor that isn’t required to collect, or when you bring goods into Idaho yourself.
If You Sell in Idaho
Any business that sells, rents, or leases taxable goods or services in Idaho needs a seller’s permit before making its first sale. There’s no fee for a standard permit. You apply through the Idaho Business Registration process on the State Tax Commission’s website, and you’ll need your EIN, Social Security numbers or EINs for every owner, partner, and officer, your business addresses, and the date you started operating in Idaho.9Idaho State Tax Commission. Getting Tax Permits Online applications generally produce a permit within 10 to 15 business days; paper applications take up to four weeks.
Filing Schedule
How often you file depends on how much tax you collect:
- Monthly filers, the default for most retailers, owe their return and payment by the 20th of the following month.
- Retailers who owe less than $750 per quarter file quarterly, due within 20 days after the quarter ends.
- Distributors or wholesalers with very few taxable sales may qualify to file semiannually (due July 20 and January 20) or annually (due January 20).
When a due date falls on a weekend or holiday, it moves to the next business day.10Idaho State Tax Commission. Sales Tax: Filing and Paying
Penalties for Missing a Deadline
Late filing costs 5 percent of the tax due for each month or partial month the return is late, capped at 25 percent. If you file on time but don’t pay, the penalty drops to 0.5 percent per month, also capped at 25 percent. The minimum penalty is $10 whenever any tax is owed. Interest runs on the unpaid balance from the original due date; for 2026, the annual rate is 6 percent. A return showing zero tax due carries no penalty.10Idaho State Tax Commission. Sales Tax: Filing and Paying