Sales tax · RI
Rhode Island Sales Tax Rate
Rhode Island charges 7% on every taxable purchase, the same in every city and county: there is no local sales tax.
On a $100.00 purchase in Rhode Island (state portion only) you pay $7.00 in sales tax, 7% in all, for a total of $107.00.
| Levied by | Rate | Tax on $100.00 | In effect since |
|---|---|---|---|
| State of Rhode Island · state | 7% | $7.00 | 2026-10-08 |
| Combined rate | 7% | $7.00 |
Local sales tax in Rhode Island
No local sales tax: 7% applies statewide. A 1% local meals and beverage tax and hotel taxes are separate.
Methodology
How the combined rate is built
A sales tax rate is a sum. The state sets one rate for every sale in the state; the county, the city and any special district (transit authority, hospital district, improvement district) the address sits in each add their own. The combined rate is those components added together, and the page lists every one with the authority that levies it and the date it took effect, so the total can be checked line by line.
Combined rate = state rate + county rate + city rate + district rates Tax = purchase amount × combined rate ÷ 100
Source and effective date
Every rate on this page comes from the Rhode Island Division of Taxation, Sales & Use Tax. No local sales tax: 7% applies statewide. A 1% local meals and beverage tax and hotel taxes are separate. Sales tax rates are not tax-year figures: they change on the first day of a quarter, most often January, April, July and October 1. The snapshot behind these pages is rebuilt from the DOR file on the fifth of those months.
Limitations
- General merchandise only. Groceries, prepared food, lodging, motor vehicles, fuel, alcohol and services are taxed at different rates or not at all, and that differs by state and within Rhode Island.
- A ZIP code is not a jurisdiction. ZIP codes cross county, city and district lines, so a receipt's ZIP does not set the rate; the taxing jurisdictions the address sits in do. That is why there are no ZIP pages here.
- Special districts that cover part of a jurisdiction (an address-range improvement district, a transit area that stops at a road) are listed under "other rate areas" where the DOR lists them and left out where it lists them only by address.
- Caps and thresholds (a surtax that applies only to the first $5,000 of an item, a maximum tax per sale) are not modeled; the split assumes the full rate on the full amount.
Last reviewed: October 2026. The state table was checked against each revenue department's page on October 8, 2026; the local snapshots are refreshed from the DOR files every quarter and checked by scripts/check-sales-tax.mjs before each deploy.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Rhode Island state sales tax rate?
7%, as stated by the Rhode Island Division of Taxation, Sales & Use Tax. No local sales tax is added on top.
Why do two Rhode Island cities have different sales tax rates?
They don't, for general merchandise: Rhode Island has a single statewide rate. Differences come from what is taxed (prepared food, lodging) rather than where.
Does a ZIP code tell me the Rhode Island sales tax rate?
No. ZIP codes cross county, city and district lines; the rate depends on the taxing jurisdictions the address sits in. The Rhode Island Division of Taxation publishes the local rates.
When do Rhode Island sales tax rates change?
Local rate changes almost always take effect on the first day of a quarter (January, April, July or October 1), after a local vote or ordinance. The state table here was reviewed October 2026.
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