Idaho has one statewide sales tax rate of 6 percent. The extra layers are a 2 percent travel and convention tax on short stays, auditorium district taxes in some areas, and a local tax in a list of resort cities that voters have allowed to add one. Food is taxed, with an income tax credit meant to offset it.
This guide sets out what the Idaho State Tax Commission says is taxed and exempt, how use tax works when you buy out of state or online, and the filing deadlines and penalties for sellers, using the Commission's pages read on 2 November 2026.
The Idaho State Tax Commission states that Idaho has a sales tax and a use tax, and both are 6 percent. Sales and use taxes apply to the sale of goods and services unless an exemption applies. The Commission lists these examples of taxable sales:
For lodging, the Commission also charges a travel and convention tax of 2 percent to occupants of hotel and motel rooms for stays of 30 days or less. It also applies to vacation-home rentals and overnight stays at private campgrounds, and does not apply to lodgers who stay more than 30 days continuously in the same room or space.
Idaho taxes food at the 6 percent rate: the Commission says all retail sales are taxable unless Idaho or federal law specifically exempts them, and its list of exemptions has no general food exemption (only WIC and SNAP purchases). The Commission describes its food tax credit as offsetting "the sales tax you pay on food throughout the year": for most Idaho residents it is $155 per person, or up to $250 if you submit receipts for sales tax paid for food, and you must be an Idaho resident to claim it. The credit is claimed on your income tax return, or on a separate form if you are not required to file (the credit was formerly called the grocery tax credit).
Apart from the 2 percent travel and convention tax on short lodging stays, the 6 percent state rate is the only statewide sales tax rate, but some Idaho resort cities add a local sales tax, and the Commission notes that some areas also have an auditorium district tax. The Commission says these taxes are decided by the voters in the community affected. Each resort city chooses what is taxed: it can include everything subject to the state sales tax, though some limit the local tax to lodging, alcohol by the drink, and restaurant food.
The Commission lists 23 cities with local sales taxes: Bellevue, Bonners Ferry, Cascade, Crouch, Donnelly, Driggs, Hailey, Harrison, Irwin, Kellogg, Ketchum, Lava Hot Springs, Mackay, McCall, Ponderay, Riggins, Salmon, Sandpoint, Stanley, Sun Valley, Swan Valley, Tetonia and Victor. Its page does not publish the rates and tells readers to contact the city directly, so this guide does not quote a local rate. If you shop or stay in one of these cities, ask the city or the seller what the combined rate is.
The Commission's Basics Guide separates charges that are taxed from charges that are not, if they are separately stated on the invoice.
Repair labor is treated separately: the Commission says labor charges to repair tangible personal property such as computers, bicycles, and vehicles are exempt if the seller separately states those charges on the invoice.
This guide does not list every exemption. The Commission's Types of Exemptions page has the full list.
Use tax applies to goods used or stored in Idaho if the seller did not charge sales tax or the buyer did not pay at least 6 percent sales tax, such as on goods bought in another state or online. The use tax rate is the same as the sales tax rate. You owe it on the taxable price, or on fair market value if you cannot show a recent purchase price.
You get credit for tax paid to another state: you do not owe Idaho use tax if you correctly paid another U.S. state's sales tax and its rate was equal to or greater than Idaho's, and you owe the difference if it was lower. The Commission says the other state's tax includes local taxes such as city or county local option taxes.
| Our illustration | Taxable price | Other-state tax already paid | Idaho tax owed at 6% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laptop bought online; seller charged no Idaho tax | $1,200.00 | none | $72.00 |
| Range $800 with $250 trade-in; $25 delivery separately stated | $550.00 ($800 - $250) | none | $33.00 |
| $500 of equipment bought in Wyoming; 5% state and local tax paid | $500.00 | 5% | $5.00 |
| $1,000 purchase in Washington; 10.1% combined tax paid | $1,000.00 | 10.1% | $0.00 |
The first row applies the 6 percent rate to a price we chose. The second row uses the Commission's own $800 range, $250 trade-in and $25 delivery example, and the third and fourth follow its Wyoming and Washington examples (10.1 percent is the Washington rate in the Commission's example on a page last updated in 2022, so current Washington rates may differ; any other-state rate of 6 percent or more gives the same result). These tables are our arithmetic, not official calculations.
How to report it: a governmental agent collects the tax when you register a vehicle. For other large purchases you use Form 850-U, due by the 20th of the month after you buy the item. For small purchases you can use Form 850-U or report the use tax on your Idaho Form 40 or Form 43.
Almost everyone selling goods or offering taxable services in Idaho must have a seller's permit, collect sales tax, file a return and forward the tax to the Commission. Most retailers file monthly and send the tax by the 20th day of the following month; retailers who owe less than $750 tax per quarter pay quarterly. You must file a return even if you made no sales, with an exception for Idaho residents who qualify for the small seller exemption (which ends once gross sales in the current calendar year exceed $5,000; the Commission says that above $7,500 the seller must collect tax on all sales, including the first $5,000).
We found no change to the 6 percent rate on the Tax Commission pages read on 2 November 2026. The Idaho Secretary of State's initiatives page for 2026 lists the Repeal Grocery Tax Initiative and the Tax-Free Food Initiative (marked as made redundant by the first) under measures that are no longer circulating (withdrawn or replaced), and shows the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act as the one initiative qualified for the 3 November 2026 ballot. Proposals to repeal the tax on food have been reported, but we found no official source showing one became law, so treat food as taxed until the Tax Commission says otherwise. We did not find a newer official sales tax rate or table for 2027 as of 2 November 2026.