Sales tax in Houston County, Alabama
There is no single sales tax rate in Houston County. It runs from 5% to 9% 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 13 cities is in the table below.
What is the sales tax rate in Houston County?
| Alabama state rate | 4% |
|---|---|
| Houston County rate | 1% |
| Lowest combined rate in the county | 5% |
| Highest combined rate in the county | 9% |
The combined figures are the lowest and highest totals anywhere in Houston County, so the rows above do not add up to them.
What is the sales tax rate in each city in Houston 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.
| City | October 2026 |
|---|---|
| AshfordIn Ashford's police jurisdiction, outside the city limits, the rate is 7%. | 9% |
| Avon | 5% |
| Clayhatchee | 7% |
| Columbia | 8% |
| Cottonwood | 8% |
| Cowarts | 7% |
| Dothan | 9% |
| GordonIn Gordon's police jurisdiction, outside the city limits, the rate is 7%. | 9% |
| KinseyIn Kinsey's police jurisdiction, outside the city limits, the rate is 7%. | 9% |
| Madrid | 9% |
| RehobethIn Rehobeth's police jurisdiction, outside the city limits, the rate is 7%. | 9% |
| Taylor | 9% |
| Webb | 8% |
| Unincorporated Houston CountyOutside city limits the rate is 5%, except in the police jurisdiction of Ashford (7%), the police jurisdiction of Gordon (7%), the police jurisdiction of Kinsey (7%), and the police jurisdiction of Rehobeth (7%). | 5% to 7% |
Source: Alabama rate file for October 2026, from Alabama's official rate page.
How much sales tax is that on a purchase in Houston 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, 9%, the same purchases carry $9.00 and $90.00. That is general merchandise; Alabama taxes some categories, often groceries, differently, as the note below explains.
Houston County's lowest rate is the lowest in Alabama, shared with 6 other counties. See every Alabama county.
Sales tax in counties next to Houston County
Houston County borders 6 counties, 3 of them in another state.
| County | Combined sales tax |
|---|---|
| Early County, GA | 8% |
| Seminole County, GA | 8% |
| Jackson County, FL | 7.5% |
| Dale County, AL | 6% to 10% |
| Geneva County, AL | 6% to 10% |
| Henry County, AL | 6% to 9% |
| Houston County, AL (this county) | 5% to 9% |
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 Houston County, where only the state and the 1 percent county rate apply. The ceiling of 9 percent is at Ashford, Dothan, Gordon, Kinsey, Madrid, Rehobeth and other towns, where the city adds 4 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. Some municipalities in this county administer and collect their own sales tax rather than filing through the department, so the department reports those city rates rather than setting them. 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 Houston County?
Use Alabama's own address lookup. In Houston County the rate depends on the address, anywhere from 5% to 9%.
Who has to collect sales tax in Houston 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
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Sales tax calculator
Tax on a specific purchase at this county's rate, and the total you will actually pay.
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Do you have to collect?
Whether your sales into Alabama cross its economic nexus threshold. A different question from the rate.
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Property tax in Houston County
The other local tax: effective rate and median bill for this county.
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Sales tax by county
Every US county, and how Alabama compares with the rest of the country.
Sources
- Houston County rates: Alabama Department of Revenue, Local Sales, Use, Rental and Lodgings Tax Rates text file, taxrates_current.csv, October 2026 edition, last modified 5 October 2026, https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/taxrates_current.csv, with the 4 percent state general rate and the 2 percent state food rate read from the department's State Sales and Use Tax Rates page, https://www.revenue.alabama.gov/sales-use/state-sales-use-tax-rates/
- Collected and verified October 20, 2026. Confidence: P on the rate components, P on the range (P read on a primary agency page, S strong but indirect, U unverified).