The sales tax in Ohio starts at a statewide rate of 5.75%, and every county adds its own local tax on top, which brings the combined rate you actually pay at the register to somewhere between 6.50% and 8.00% depending on where the sale happens.1Ohio Department of Taxation. County Rate Table by ZIP Code February 2026 The tax covers most physical goods, a specific list of services, and digital products like streaming and downloads. Groceries for home consumption, prescription medications, and a handful of other categories are exempt.
The Combined Rate Where You Shop
The 5.75% state rate is set by state law and is the same in all 88 counties.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Title 57 Chapter 5739 – Section 5739.02 What varies is the local piece. Counties can add their own tax under statutory caps,3Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Section 5739.021 – Additional Sales Tax Levied by County and regional transit authorities can levy up to 1.5% more, subject to limits on the combined local total.4Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Section 5739.023 – Transit Authority Tax Levy
As of early 2026, the lowest combined rates in Ohio are 6.50%, and the highest are 8.00% in counties including Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, and Montgomery.1Ohio Department of Taxation. County Rate Table by ZIP Code February 2026 Most counties fall between those endpoints.
Which rate applies depends on where delivery happens. For an in-person purchase, you pay the rate at the store’s location. For a shipped order, you pay the rate at the delivery address.5Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Title 57 Chapter 5739 – Section 5739.033 Because rates change over time and vary by county, the Ohio Department of Taxation runs a free address lookup called The Finder that returns the exact combined rate for any address and date.6Ohio Department of Taxation. The Finder
What Ohio Taxes
The default rule for physical goods is that retail sales are taxable. Electronics, clothing, furniture, and appliances all carry sales tax at the combined rate.
Services are different. Only services Ohio has specifically identified are taxable, and the list is a defined one: landscaping and lawn care, private investigation and security, building maintenance and janitorial work, exterminating, employment placement, and telecommunications, among others.7Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Title 57 Chapter 5739 – Section 5739.01 Automatic data processing, computer services, and electronic information services also fall inside the tax.
Digital Products and Streaming
Digital products have been taxable in Ohio since January 1, 2014. That covers movies, music, e-books, and audiovisual content delivered electronically, whether you buy the file outright or just stream it. Netflix, Hulu, and similar streaming subscriptions are inside the tax. Prewritten computer software is taxable too, whether you pick up a disc or download it.8Ohio Department of Taxation. Sales and Use Tax – Digital Products
A few digital categories sit outside the tax. Electronically delivered photos, magazines, and newspapers are not treated as taxable digital products. Content delivered through a cable television system is excluded, but the same content delivered by satellite is taxable.8Ohio Department of Taxation. Sales and Use Tax – Digital Products
What Is Exempt
Several everyday categories come off the receipt entirely.
Food for off-premises consumption is exempt. That includes produce, canned goods, bottled water, fruit juice that is more than 50% juice, and chewing gum. Soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, and dietary supplements fall outside the state’s definition of “food” and stay taxable.9Ohio Department of Taxation. Everyday Purchases
Where you eat prepared food matters. Sit down and eat at the restaurant and the meal is taxable. Take it through the drive-through and eat it at home and it is not.9Ohio Department of Taxation. Everyday Purchases
Prescription drugs are exempt, along with many prosthetic devices and certain medical equipment such as oxygen delivery systems.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Title 57 Chapter 5739 – Section 5739.02
The August Sales Tax Holiday
Ohio runs a three-day sales tax holiday on the first Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of August each year. Qualifying clothing and school supplies under the state’s price thresholds come off tax for that weekend. The Department of Taxation publishes the current eligible items and price caps ahead of each holiday.
Cars, Boats, and Other Titled Property
Vehicles work a little differently. When you buy a car, boat, or outboard motor, the sales tax uses the combined rate in your county of residence, not the county where the dealer sits.10Ohio Department of Taxation. Sales Tax for Motor Vehicles, Watercraft, and Aircraft For most purchases the clerk of courts collects the tax when you transfer the title, rather than the dealership adding it at the counter. If you buy from a private party, you pay the clerk of courts when you apply for the title.
County permissive sales taxes do not apply to titled motor vehicles and watercraft, so the local portion on these purchases can differ from the rate on everyday goods.3Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Section 5739.021 – Additional Sales Tax Levied by County
Online and Out-of-State Purchases
Most large online retailers now charge Ohio sales tax at checkout, because out-of-state sellers must register and collect once they hit $100,000 in sales to Ohio customers or 200 separate Ohio transactions in the current or previous calendar year. Marketplace platforms like Amazon and Etsy collect on behalf of their third-party sellers once the same thresholds are met.11Ohio Department of Taxation. Sales and Use Tax
When a seller does not charge Ohio tax on something that would normally be taxable, you still owe it. This is called use tax, and the rate is the same combined rate that would have applied at the register. You can report and pay use tax on your Ohio income tax return. If you make these kinds of purchases regularly, you can open a consumer’s use tax account. For a one-off purchase, the Department of Taxation offers a voluntary payment form, VP USE.12Ohio Department of Taxation. Sales and Use – General Information
If You Are Selling, Not Buying
Everything above is written from the buyer’s side. If you are making retail sales in Ohio, you need a vendor’s license from the county fiscal officer, which costs $50 per fixed location,13Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Section 5739.17 – Vendor’s License and you file sales tax returns electronically through the Ohio Business Gateway on a schedule set by your tax volume.14Ohio Department of Taxation. How to File Sales Tax Penalties for failing to collect or remit the tax run up to 50% of the amount owed, and officers or managers responsible for a business’s finances can be held personally liable for unpaid sales tax even if the company dissolves.15Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code Section 5739.33 – Personal Liability for Tax