Nebraska’s state sales tax rate is 5.5 percent. Cities and counties can add their own local sales tax on top of that, so the combined rate you actually pay at the register runs anywhere from 5.5 percent up to 7.5 percent depending on where the sale takes place.1Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 77-2701.02 – Sales Tax Rate The 5.5 percent state rate has been in place since 2002 and remains in effect as of October 1, 2025, with no scheduled change.
The tax applies to most retail purchases of tangible goods, a defined list of services, admissions, warranties, and electronically delivered products like digital books, music, and video.2Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 77-2703 – Sales Tax Imposed
How Local Sales Tax Adds to the State Rate
The combined rate on your receipt depends on which city and county you’re buying in. Nebraska law lets local governments stack their own tax on top of the state’s 5.5 percent, but the rules differ for cities and counties.
City Rates
Most incorporated municipalities can impose a local sales tax of 0.5, 1, 1.5, 1.75, or 2 percent after voter approval. The exception is a metropolitan-class city, defined in Nebraska as any city with 400,000 or more residents. Omaha is currently the only city in that class, and its local rate is capped at 1.5 percent.3Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 77-27,142 – Incorporated Municipalities Sales and Use Tax Authorized Election
That means Omaha shoppers see a combined rate of up to 7 percent, while shoppers in smaller cities that have adopted the full 2 percent local option pay up to 7.5 percent. Cities that have never passed a local sales tax election charge only the 5.5 percent state rate.
County Rates
Counties can impose a local sales tax of 0.5, 1, or 1.5 percent, but only for specific purposes such as funding public safety commissions or obligations under interlocal cooperation agreements.4Nebraska Department of Revenue. Chapter 9 – Local Sales and Use Tax
Here is the part that trips people up. A county’s sales tax does not apply inside any incorporated city that already has its own local sales tax, even if the city’s rate is lower than the county’s rate. If you’re shopping inside city limits, you pay the city’s local rate on top of the state rate. The county’s rate only reaches sales made in unincorporated areas.
The Good Life District Reduced Rate
One category of sales is taxed at a lower state rate. Sales occurring inside a Good Life District are taxed at a state rate of 2.75 percent rather than 5.5 percent.5Nebraska Department of Revenue. Reporting Good Life District Sales and Use Tax on NebFile These districts were created under the Good Life Transformational Projects Act to attract large development projects. The reduced rate applies when the buyer takes possession of the property or receives the service inside the district’s boundaries. Everywhere else, the standard 5.5 percent state rate applies.
What Nebraska Taxes at the Rate
The 5.5 percent (plus any local add-on) hits three broad categories of transactions.
Tangible personal property is almost always taxable. That covers electronics, clothing, furniture, appliances, vehicles, and building materials. If you can touch it and it’s sold to an end consumer, assume it’s taxed unless a specific exemption applies.2Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 77-2703 – Sales Tax Imposed
Services are different. Nebraska taxes only a defined statutory list of services rather than taxing all services across the board. The list includes building cleaning and maintenance, security services, pest control, motor vehicle towing, commercial art and graphic design, detective and investigation services, and equipment repair labor.6Nebraska Department of Revenue. Sales Tax on Certain Services FAQs Services not on the list, such as legal advice and accounting, are generally not taxed.
Digital products are taxed too. Nebraska treats digital audio, digital video, digital books, and the digital codes that unlock them as taxable, whether the buyer gets permanent access or only a temporary right to stream or view.7Nebraska Department of Revenue. Revenue Ruling 01-11-3 Subscription streaming services fall under this rule. Software-as-a-service is less settled and depends on how the product is delivered and used.
Common Exemptions That Change What You Pay
Several categories are carved out of the sales tax entirely, which is why your grocery receipt and your pharmacy receipt look different from your electronics receipt.
- Groceries. Food and food ingredients bought for home consumption are exempt. That covers uncooked staples like produce, bread, and meat. Prepared food sold by restaurants and convenience stores stays taxable.8Nebraska Department of Revenue. Food Tax Exemptions
- Prescription drugs and medical equipment. Medications prescribed by a licensed professional and qualifying medical devices are exempt, a longstanding carve-out meant to keep healthcare costs from being inflated by sales tax.9Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Sales and Use Tax History and Program Description
- School meals and certain institutional food. Prepared food served by public or private schools during the school day, meals at church functions, and food served to patients in licensed care facilities are exempt.10Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 77-2704.10 – Sales and Use Taxes Not Imposed
The distinction between taxable prepared food and exempt grocery food is where most consumer confusion shows up. A rotisserie chicken from a deli counter is generally taxed; the raw chicken a few aisles over is not.
Use Tax on Out-of-State Purchases
Nebraska’s use tax mirrors the combined sales tax rate for your location and fills the gap when you buy from an out-of-state seller who doesn’t collect Nebraska tax. If you order furniture online from a retailer with no Nebraska presence and pay no sales tax at checkout, you technically owe the equivalent use tax when the item arrives. The rate you owe is the same 5.5 percent state rate plus whatever local rate applies at your delivery address.
Most large online retailers and marketplace platforms now collect Nebraska tax automatically, so the use tax question most often comes up for smaller or specialty purchases where no tax was charged at checkout.