Black Friday. Cyber Monday. The holiday shopping season is underway again!
The Minnesota Department of Revenue can’t tell how much you’ll spend for gifts this year. But it has just drawn out a quick way to tell how much you can expect pay in state and local taxes.
Holiday shoppers now can pull up a Minnesota map on their computers or smartphones and find out whether they will pay only the state’s 6.875 percent sales tax or more on their merry purchases this season. The interactive Sales Tax Rate Map shows counties and cities; it also can drill down to the exact address and overhead “street view” of a single store.
We know you’re eager to try. So, call up https://taxmaps.state.mn.us/salestax/
If you consult the map for, say, Rochester, you’ll find a total rate of 8.125 percent. That includes the state rate (6.875) plus a city sales tax (0.75) and the county transit tax (0.5). The breakdown is shown in a panel next to the map. In general, you can count on that visual to tell you the tax rates for your shopping trips.
The map isn’t all-encompassing, though. If you stop for a meal, take in a show or stay at a hotel in some areas, you might encounter “special local taxes,” such as Rochester’s 7.0 percent tax for lodging. Those rates aren’t shown on the map itself, but they are a click away online at the Revenue Department’s Web site. See Fact Sheet 164S (http://www.revenue.state.mn.us/businesses/sut/factsheets/FS164S.pdf) including Rochester, St. Paul and Mankato in this area, and Fact Sheet 164M, (http://www.revenue.state.mn.us/businesses/sut/factsheets/FS164M.pdf), which covers Minneapolis.
For many people, navigating the map probably is easier than punching in numbers. However, if shoppers prefer figures, Minnesota Revenue still runs its Sales Tax Rate Calculator at: http://www.revenue.state.mn.us/businesses/sut/Pages/SalesTaxCalculator.aspx
We at EricJohn Ltd. wish you a happy – and tax-savvy – shopping season!