Sales tax · shipping and delivery · October 2026
Sales tax on shipping by state.
Find out whether a state taxes shipping, delivery and handling charges when you sell a taxable item, and what has to be true for shipping to stay out of the taxable price.
A guide, not a ruling
This page summarizes what each state tax agency (and the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board) publishes. It does not look anything up from a state system and does not confirm your own obligations. Rules and dollar thresholds change; use the source link on each row and confirm with the state or a tax professional before you rely on it.
Find your state
Is shipping taxable? State summaries
Most states tax delivery charges when the item delivered is taxable, but a good number let you leave out shipping that is separately stated, actually incurred and handled by a third-party carrier. Handling, packing and fulfillment fees are taxed far more often than the freight itself. The table paraphrases each agency’s own guidance; some of those pages are old, which is noted where it matters.
| State | General treatment | Details | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Depends on conditions | Taxable when the seller delivers in its own vehicle. Common-carrier or postal freight is excluded only if billed separately and identifiable; a combined shipping-and-handling line does not qualify. | Source |
| Alaska | No clear rule found | Alaska has no state sales tax; local tax rules differ by municipality. Check the local government or ARSSTC. | Source |
| Arizona | Depends on conditions | A shipping charge for the actual cost of delivery that is separately stated is deductible. Flat-rate shipping and handling or fulfillment fees are taxable. | Source |
| Arkansas | Taxable with taxable goods | Freight and shipping follow the taxability of the goods; charges billed straight to the buyer by a common carrier are not subject to tax. | Source |
| California | Often excluded if separately stated | Separately stated delivery by common carrier, contract carrier or mail at actual cost is not taxed. Handling is generally taxable, as is delivery in the seller’s own vehicle. | Source |
| Colorado | Often excluded if separately stated | Delivery and freight are not taxed when separable (the buyer can decline) and separately stated; otherwise taxed with the sale. The Retail Delivery Fee is separate. | Source |
| Connecticut | Taxable with taxable goods | Shipping and delivery charges, including postage, are taxable when connected with a taxable sale, even if separately stated and whether the seller or a third party delivers; none on non-taxable sales. | Source |
| Delaware | No clear rule found | No sales tax, so shipping is not subject to one. | Source |
| District of Columbia | Depends on conditions | A shipping and handling line item on the bill is part of the sales price; separately stated postage is not taxed. Our source is an older OTR form booklet, so confirm with OTR. | Source |
| Florida | Depends on conditions | Delivery charges are generally taxable; not taxable when separately stated on the invoice and the buyer can avoid the charge (for example by picking up the item). | Source |
| Georgia | Taxable with taxable goods | Shipping and handling are part of the sales price and taxed like the goods, including optional or separately stated delivery on taxable items. | Source |
| Hawaii | No clear rule found | The general excise tax applies to gross income. We did not find a shipping-specific rule on the Department’s site; confirm with the Department. | Source |
| Idaho | Often excluded if separately stated | Shipping and handling directly to the buyer is excluded if separately stated. Freight to the retailer passed on to the buyer is taxable. | Source |
| Illinois | Depends on conditions | Taxable unless separately stated and the buyer can avoid it (for example by picking up the item); separately contracted shipping reflecting actual cost is not taxable. | Source |
| Indiana | Depends on conditions | Delivery arranged by the seller is taxable even when separately stated; delivery billed and furnished by a third party is exempt; separately stated USPS postage is excluded. | Source |
| Iowa | Often excluded if separately stated | Delivery charges that are separately contracted for and itemized are excluded from the sales price; freight-in is taxable even if stated separately. | Source |
| Kansas | Often excluded if separately stated | Since 7/1/2023, separately stated delivery is excluded if labelled delivery, transmission or transportation and it reflects a reasonable true cost; otherwise taxable. | Source |
| Kentucky | Taxable with taxable goods | Since 7/1/2004 a delivery charge billed by the seller is part of the price and taxable when the product is taxable. Our source is a 2004 Department newsletter describing that statute change. | Source |
| Louisiana | Taxable with taxable goods | Transportation charges paid to the seller are part of the sales price and taxable; exempt sales carry exempt shipping; carrier billed directly to the buyer is not taxed. | Source |
| Maine | Often excluded if separately stated | Excluded only if the goods ship directly to the customer, the charge is separately stated and a common or contract carrier or the mail delivers. Handling, mileage and fuel surcharges stay taxable; the seller’s own delivery is taxable. | Source |
| Maryland | Often excluded if separately stated | Separately stated shipping direct to the buyer is not taxable, but handling is; combining them makes the whole charge taxable. | Source |
| Massachusetts | Often excluded if separately stated | Separately stated, reasonable transportation charges are excluded under Directive 04-5; an older directive (98-5) used a stricter test, so confirm current treatment. | Source |
| Michigan | Depends on conditions | Since April 2023, delivery and installation charges are excluded only if separately itemized on the invoice and the books show it; otherwise taxable. | Source |
| Minnesota | Taxable with taxable goods | Seller-billed delivery of a taxable item is taxable even if separately stated. A carrier billing the buyer directly is not taxed. A separate $0.50 Retail Delivery Fee applies from 7/1/2024. | Source |
| Mississippi | Taxable with taxable goods | Shipping, handling and delivery are part of gross proceeds and taxed with taxable goods; delivery follows the taxability of the property. | Source |
| Missouri | Often excluded if separately stated | Industry matrices treat shipping, delivery, freight and postage as generally exempt and handling as taxable; a combined shipping-and-handling charge is taxable. | Source |
| Montana | No clear rule found | No statewide sales tax. | Source |
| Nebraska | Taxable with taxable goods | Delivery charges paid to the retailer are taxable when the item is taxable. A freight company hired and paid directly by the buyer is not taxed; a single charge on a mixed invoice is all taxable unless stated separately. | Source |
| Nevada | Often excluded if separately stated | Separately stated shipping is exempt but handling, packaging and crating are taxable even if itemized. A 2023 Department memo proposed making all of these taxable; confirm the current regulation. | Source |
| New Hampshire | No clear rule found | No general sales tax. | Source |
| New Jersey | Taxable with taxable goods | Delivery charges for taxable items are taxable even if separately stated (transportation, shipping, postage, handling, crating, packing); mixed shipments must be allocated. | Source |
| New Mexico | No clear rule found | We did not find a shipping-specific rule for ordinary goods on the Department’s site; GRT is on seller receipts. Confirm with the Department. | Source |
| New York | Taxable with taxable goods | Shipping and delivery charges on a seller’s bill are taxable if the item shipped is taxable (including handling and postage terms). One lump charge on a mixed bill is fully taxable; a carrier you hire and pay directly is not taxed. | Source |
| North Carolina | Taxable with taxable goods | Shipping, handling, transportation and delivery charges the retailer imposes are taxable even when billed separately. | Source |
| North Dakota | Taxable with taxable goods | Freight, delivery and other transportation are part of the selling price (since 10/1/2005). Buyer-paid third-party carrier is exempt; deliveries in the retailer’s own vehicle are always taxable. | Source |
| Ohio | Taxable with taxable goods | Since 8/1/2003, a vendor’s delivery charges (transportation, shipping, postage, handling, crating, packing) for taxable goods are taxable. | Source |
| Oklahoma | Often excluded if separately stated | A separately stated charge that represents the cost of transporting goods to the buyer is not taxable; delivery built into the selling price is taxable. | Source |
| Oregon | No clear rule found | No sales tax. | Source |
| Pennsylvania | No clear rule found | The Department’s pages we read describe delivery and service fees on third-party and own-delivery restaurant orders as taxable, and use tax on shipping from out-of-state sellers, but give no general rule for ordinary retail shipping. See the retailers’ information guide REV-717. | Source |
| Rhode Island | Taxable with taxable goods | Delivery charges follow the taxability of the item; exempt items carry exempt delivery; mixed shipments are allocated by the taxable share of the price. | Source |
| South Carolina | Depends on conditions | Delivery is in the tax base when the retailer uses its own trucks or a common carrier ships FOB destination; excluded for a common carrier shipping FOB shipping point; exempt sales carry exempt delivery. | Source |
| South Dakota | Taxable with taxable goods | Delivery charges (transportation, shipping, postage, handling, crating, packing, fuel) are taxed like the product; separately invoiced delivery is still taxable. | Source |
| Tennessee | Taxable with taxable goods | Seller-added delivery charges (shipping, freight, postage, handling) are taxable if the sale is taxable and exempt if it is exempt, itemized or not. A carrier you hire and pay directly is not taxed. | Source |
| Texas | Taxable with taxable goods | Delivery and shipping tied to taxable items are taxable (a $500 sofa with a $50 delivery fee is taxed on $550); exempt sales carry exempt delivery. | Source |
| Utah | Depends on conditions | Delivery charges are excluded from the taxable price when separately stated. A ruling limits that to common-carrier shipment at actual cost after title passes; the seller’s own truck is generally taxable. | Source |
| Vermont | Taxable with taxable goods | Delivery charges on taxable items are taxable even if separately stated; mixed packages are split by price or weight. | Source |
| Virginia | Often excluded if separately stated | Separately stated delivery from seller to buyer at actual cost is not taxed; handling is taxable and a combined shipping-and-handling charge is taxable; marked-up shipping is taxable. Based on Tax Commissioner rulings. | Source |
| Washington | Taxable with taxable goods | A seller’s delivery charges are part of the selling price and cannot be excluded, even when billed separately; mixed shipments are split by price or weight. | Source |
| West Virginia | Taxable with taxable goods | When the vendor bills shipping and handling, the total is taxable to the customer (administrative notice 2009-20). A regulated common carrier the customer pays directly is the exception. | Source |
| Wisconsin | Taxable with taxable goods | A retailer’s total charge including delivery is taxable whether the seller, a carrier or the Postal Service delivers. A carrier independent of the seller that the buyer pays directly is excluded. | Source |
| Wyoming | No clear rule found | We did not locate a shipping-specific rule on the Department’s site; its sales and use tax rules (Chapter 2, effective 5/20/2026) are the place to look. | Source |
Reading the labels
- Taxable with taxable goods: the charge follows the goods, and listing shipping as its own line does not take it out of the base.
- Often excluded if separately stated: shipping can be left out of the taxable price when the state’s conditions are met; handling usually cannot.
- Depends on conditions: who delivers, when title passes, or whether the buyer can avoid the charge changes the answer.
- No clear rule found: we did not find an explicit rule on the state’s own site; read the linked page.
Exempt items carry exempt shipping in nearly every state. Mixed shipments are usually split by price or weight, and some states add separate delivery fees (Colorado and Minnesota have a Retail Delivery Fee) that are outside the sales tax.
FAQ
Is shipping taxable?
It depends on the state. Many tax shipping that goes with a taxable item; others exclude it if it is separately stated and meets the state’s conditions. The table summarizes each state’s published guidance and links to it.
Is handling taxed even when shipping is not?
Often yes. Several states that exclude separately stated shipping still tax handling, packing or fulfillment charges, and a single combined “shipping and handling” line is typically all taxable.
What if I sell a mix of taxable and exempt items?
Most states that address it allow you to split the delivery charge, usually by price or by weight, and tax only the taxable share. If you do not split it, the whole charge may be taxed.
Does free shipping change anything?
Not for the item. The tax is on the sales price of the taxable goods. Some states add separate delivery fees that apply even when shipping is free, so check the state page.
Why does a row say no clear rule found?
We looked for an explicit rule on each state’s own site. Where we did not find one, we say so and link to the closest page instead of guessing.