Sales tax in Etowah County, Alabama

Updated

There is no single sales tax rate in Etowah County. It runs from 5% to 10% depending on the exact address, because cities and special districts inside the county levy their own on top of the 4% state rate. The 4% state rate applies everywhere in the county; everything above that depends on where you are standing. These rates were read from Alabama's own published schedule and checked on October 20, 2026. The rate in each of the 12 cities is in the table below.

What is the sales tax rate in Etowah County?

Sales tax rate components in Etowah County, Alabama
Alabama state rate4%
Etowah County rate1%
Lowest combined rate in the county5%
Highest combined rate in the county10%

The combined figures are the lowest and highest totals anywhere in Etowah County, so the rows above do not add up to them.

What is the sales tax rate in each city in Etowah County?

Alabama publishes the rate for every city it taxes. These are the combined rates, state and local together, as listed in Alabama's own rate file. Where a city shows a range, a special district covers only part of it, so the rate depends on the exact address.

Sales tax rate by city in Etowah County, Alabama
CityOctober 2026
AltoonaIn Altoona's police jurisdiction, outside the city limits, the rate is 7.5%.10%
Attalla10%
Boaz10%
Gadsden10%
GlencoeIn Glencoe's police jurisdiction, outside the city limits, the rate is 7.5%.10%
Hokes BluffIn Hokes Bluff's police jurisdiction, outside the city limits, the rate is 7.5%.10%
Rainbow CityIn Rainbow City's police jurisdiction, outside the city limits, the rate is 7.5%.10%
Reece CityIn Reece City's police jurisdiction, outside the city limits, the rate is 6.5%.8%
Ridgeville7%
Sardis CityIn Sardis City's police jurisdiction, outside the city limits, the rate is 7.5%.10%
SouthsideIn Southside's police jurisdiction, outside the city limits, the rate is 7.5%.10%
Walnut Grove8%
Unincorporated Etowah CountyOutside city limits the rate is 5%, except in the police jurisdiction of Reece City (6.5%), the police jurisdiction of Altoona (7.5%), the police jurisdiction of Glencoe (7.5%), the police jurisdiction of Hokes Bluff (7.5%), the police jurisdiction of Rainbow City (7.5%), the police jurisdiction of Sardis City (7.5%), and the police jurisdiction of Southside (7.5%).5% to 7.5%

Source: Alabama rate file for October 2026, from Alabama's official rate page.

How much sales tax is that on a purchase in Etowah County?

At 5%, a $100 purchase carries $5.00 in sales tax and a $1,000 purchase $50.00, at the lowest rate in the county. At the highest, 10%, the same purchases carry $10.00 and $100.00. That is general merchandise; Alabama taxes some categories, often groceries, differently, as the note below explains.

Etowah County's lowest rate is the lowest in Alabama, shared with 6 other counties. See every Alabama county.

Sales tax in counties next to Etowah County

Etowah County borders 6 counties.

Etowah County and its neighbors, highest rate first
CountyCombined sales tax
Cherokee County, AL7.5% to 11.5%
Blount County, AL7% to 12%
Calhoun County, AL7% to 10%
Marshall County, AL6% to 11%
St. Clair County, AL6% to 10%
DeKalb County, AL5% to 9%
Etowah County, AL (this county)5% to 10%

Why the rate here is not the whole story

Alabama charges 4 percent statewide on general merchandise and then stacks a county rate and a city rate, and both can change at the city limit and again inside a city police jurisdiction, so a single rate for the whole county does not exist. The county itself levies 1 percent countywide. The floor of 5 percent is unincorporated Etowah County, where only the state and the 1 percent county rate apply. The ceiling of 10 percent is at Altoona, Attalla, Boaz, Gadsden, Glencoe, Hokes Bluff and other towns, where the city adds 5 percent. Groceries are taxed by the state at 2 percent since 1 September 2025, down from 3 percent and from 4 percent before September 2023, with local rates still applying on top, so every figure here is general merchandise only. For one address, use the department's rate lookup linked from the page above.

How do I find the exact rate for an address in Etowah County?

Use Alabama's own address lookup. In Etowah County the rate depends on the address, anywhere from 5% to 10%.

Who has to collect sales tax in Etowah County?

Any seller with a physical presence in Alabama collects at the rate for the address of the sale; a remote seller does once it passes Alabama's economic nexus threshold. Alabama sales tax covers the statewide rules and what is exempt.

Work out your own numbers

Sources