The Juneau sales tax is 5 percent on most retail sales, services, and rentals inside the City and Borough of Juneau, with higher combined rates on alcohol, marijuana, and overnight lodging. Residents and visitors pay it at the register, and businesses remit it to the CBJ Sales Tax Office. Essential groceries became exempt for everyone on November 20, 2025.
How the 5 Percent Rate Is Built
The headline rate is actually two pieces. Four percent is the permanent areawide tax. The other one percent is temporary and has to be renewed by voters every five years. The current one-percent portion runs through September 30, 2028, and voters will decide its fate at the October 2027 election.1City and Borough of Juneau. One Percent If renewal fails, the rate drops to 4 percent. It has stayed at 5 percent for decades, but only because voters keep reauthorizing that top piece.
Higher Rates on Alcohol, Marijuana, and Lodging
Alcohol and marijuana each carry a 3 percent surcharge on top of the 5 percent base, so the total tax on those products is 8 percent.2City and Borough of Juneau. Form Information
Overnight lodging is taxed at a combined 14 percent: the 5 percent sales tax plus a 9 percent hotel-motel room tax. The 9 percent bed tax is set through December 31, 2034, after which it reverts to 7 percent.3Municode Library. Juneau Code of Ordinances Chapter 69.07 – Hotel-Motel Room Tax
Tobacco is handled separately from the general sales tax. Cigarettes carry a per-pack tax, and other tobacco products including e-cigarettes are taxed as a percentage of wholesale price. Those levies sit outside the 5 percent base.
Groceries Are Now Exempt
Juneau stopped charging sales tax on essential grocery food for all buyers on November 20, 2025, after voters passed Proposition 2 in October 2025. The exemption follows the federal SNAP definition of eligible food.4City and Borough of Juneau. CBJ Implements Voter-Approved Sales Tax Exemptions for Essential Food and Utilities
Exempt items include dairy, fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, bakery goods, cereals, snack foods, cold sandwiches intended for off-premises consumption, and seeds or plants that produce food. Still taxable: hot prepared foods, restaurant meals, food meant to be eaten on-site, pet food, vitamins, cough drops, and anything with a Supplement Facts label rather than a Nutrition Facts label.4City and Borough of Juneau. CBJ Implements Voter-Approved Sales Tax Exemptions for Essential Food and Utilities Alcohol and tobacco are always taxable no matter where they’re sold.
Other Common Exemptions
Juneau’s tax code (CBJ 69.05.040) exempts a long list of transactions beyond groceries. The ones people run into most often:
- Goods or services bought for resale, when the buyer holds a valid CBJ resale certificate.
- Purchases by nonprofits with a CBJ exemption certificate, and dues paid to 501(c) organizations.
- Sales to federal, state, and local government entities.
- Professional medical services and supplies from state-licensed providers (doctors, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists, midwives, hospitals, counselors), prescription drugs, and assisted-living services.
- Babysitting, child care, and pre-elementary school tuition.
- Building materials that become a permanent part of a structure under a building permit, plus on-site construction services; the buyer must present a builder sales tax exemption card. Repair and maintenance do not qualify.
- Cemetery plots, caskets, and funeral services sold by a funeral home.
- Casual, one-off private sales that aren’t part of a regular business.
- Cruise ship onboard transactions that happen entirely outside Gastineau Channel, where both payment and delivery occur on the ship.
The exemptions also cover certain insurance sales, credit union transactions, and purchases made with SNAP benefits or WIC vouchers.5Municode Library. Juneau Code of Ordinances Chapter 69.05 – Uniform Sales Tax Sellers have to keep records proving each exempt sale qualifies.6City and Borough of Juneau. Sales Tax Exemption Summary CBJ Ordinance 69.05.040
The Senior Exemption Card
Juneau residents aged 65 or older can apply for a Senior Sales Tax Exemption Card. It is not a blanket exemption. The card only covers five categories at a resident’s primary home: SNAP-eligible groceries, electricity, heating fuel (heating oil, propane, wood pellets, firewood, and kerosene), CBJ water and wastewater service, and curbside garbage and recycling collection plus personal landfill use.
The card costs $20 and requires proof of age and Juneau residency. You apply in person at the CBJ Sales Tax Office at 155 S. Seward Street.7City and Borough of Juneau. Finance – Senior Citizen Tax Benefits Alcohol, hotel stays, and anything business-related are never exempt under the senior card.8Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission. Senior Exemption Card Benefits
Cards expire. CBJ mails a renewal notice with a prepaid postcard as the date approaches; return the postcard and a new card arrives within about 60 days. In-person renewal with a valid Alaska driver’s license or state ID also works.9City and Borough of Juneau. For Senior Citizens, Renewing Sales Tax Exemption Card Is Easier Than Ever
If You Host a Short-Term Rental
Vacation rental hosts owe the same combined 14 percent lodging tax that hotels do, and here is the catch: no major listing platform currently collects or remits CBJ sales tax or hotel-motel tax on behalf of hosts.10City and Borough of Juneau. Short Term Rentals If you rent a room or property in Juneau through any online platform, you must register with the CBJ Sales Tax Office, charge guests the full 14 percent, and file your own returns. Skipping registration exposes you to the same penalties any other delinquent business faces.
Selling Into Juneau From Out of State
Juneau participates in the Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission (ARSSTC). If your business has no physical presence in Alaska and generates $100,000 or more in statewide gross sales during a calendar year, you must collect and remit sales tax to every ARSSTC member jurisdiction where you make sales.11Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission. FAQs for Sellers The threshold counts both taxable and exempt transactions. One registration through the ARSSTC portal covers all member jurisdictions.12Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission. Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission Portal
Registering, Filing, and Paying as a Business
Anyone making sales, providing services, or renting property in Juneau has to register with the CBJ Sales Tax Office before the first transaction.13City and Borough of Juneau. Finance – Business Registration Registration asks for owner name, business structure, Alaska business license number, EIN or Social Security number, physical location, and the primary type of goods or services sold.14City and Borough of Juneau. Business Registration Form
CBJ assigns each business a monthly, quarterly, or annual filing schedule. Whichever one you have, the return and payment are due by the last day of the month after the reporting period closes. A first-quarter return is due April 30, second quarter July 31, and so on. Annual filers must file by January 31.15City and Borough of Juneau. Sales Tax Due Dates Returns can go through the eGovern online portal or by mail. ACH and eCheck payments through the portal are free; card payments carry a 2.95 percent convenience fee.16City and Borough of Juneau. Finance – Sales Tax – Online Payment
Miss a deadline and two penalties stack. A flat $25 late filing fee applies to every late return. On top of that, 5 percent of the unpaid tax accrues per month or partial month, up to a maximum of 25 percent. Interest also runs on the unpaid balance from the due date until it’s paid, at a rate set each January based on the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate plus 5 percent, with a floor of 10 percent and a ceiling of 15 percent.5Municode Library. Juneau Code of Ordinances Chapter 69.05 – Uniform Sales Tax Penalties and interest apply to each delinquent period on its own, so missing several quarters gets expensive fast.
Claiming Juneau Sales Tax on Your Federal Return
Alaska has no state income tax and no statewide sales tax, but the local sales tax you pay in Juneau can count toward the federal itemized deduction for state and local taxes (SALT). For tax year 2026, the SALT cap is $40,400 for most filers and $20,200 if married filing separately. The cap phases down for modified adjusted gross incomes above $505,000 ($252,500 if married filing separately) but never falls below $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing separately).17Internal Revenue Service. Correction to State and Local Income Tax Deduction Amount in the 2026 Form 1040-ES Because Alaska residents have no state income tax to deduct, that cap essentially covers combined Juneau sales tax and property tax. Itemizing pays off only if those plus any other eligible deductions beat the standard deduction.