Sales tax in Bonner County, Idaho
There is no single sales tax rate in Bonner County. It runs from 6% to 7% depending on the exact address, because Idaho counties cannot levy a sales tax and the cities inside Bonner County set their own. The 6% state rate applies everywhere in the county; everything above that depends on where you are standing.
What is the sales tax rate in Bonner County?
| Idaho state rate | 6% |
|---|---|
| Lowest combined rate in the county | 6% |
| Highest combined rate in the county | 7% |
The two combined figures are the lowest and highest totals found anywhere inside the county. They are not a state rate plus a county rate added together, and adding the rows above will not reproduce them, because cities and special districts levy in between.
Why the rate here is not the whole story
Idaho's state sales tax is 6 percent and Idaho counties have no authority to levy a general sales tax at all, so this county's own rate is a confirmed zero. Idaho Code section 50-1044 gives the power to resort cities only, meaning a city of 10,000 or fewer people that derives the major portion of its economic well being from businesses catering to visitors, and section 50-1046 requires 60 percent voter approval before a city may adopt one. Section 50-1048 speaks of what would follow "in the event that counties are given local-option nonproperty tax authority", which is the legislature saying plainly that they have not been. 2 cities in Bonner County are on the Tax Commission's list, and only one of them taxes general merchandise. Ponderay adds 1 percent to sales of property subject to the Idaho Sales Tax Act, excluding purchases over $999.99, effective January 1, 2026 and running to December 31, 2035, so the combined rate runs from 6 percent elsewhere in the county to 7 percent in Ponderay. Ponderay also levies a 10 percent hotel and motel room occupancy tax, and Sandpoint levies 14 percent on short term lodging and nothing else. Sandpoint's city code still prints a 1 percent tax on all sales subject to Idaho sales tax, but the same chapter limits it to five years from January 1, 2016, so it lapsed on January 1, 2021 and renewal measures failed in 2021 and 2024. Lodging taxes are a different tax and are not included in these figures. Idaho does not exempt groceries. Food is taxed at the full 6 percent and residents instead claim a food tax credit on their Idaho income tax return, worth $155 per person for 2025 or up to $250 if receipts for sales tax paid on food are submitted, so a grocery receipt in Idaho carries tax that a shopper gets back once a year rather than at the register.
How do I find the exact rate for an address in Bonner County?
Because the rate changes within the county, an address is the only way to get it right. Use Idaho's own lookup. A vendor's calculator is not the state speaking.
Who has to collect sales tax in Bonner County?
A seller with a physical presence in Idaho collects at the rate for the address where the sale takes place. A remote seller collects once it passes Idaho's economic nexus threshold, which is a separate question from the rate and is covered on our sales tax nexus checker. Marketplace facilitators generally collect on behalf of their sellers.
How does Bonner County compare?
See Idaho sales tax for the statewide picture, including the average local rate and what is exempt. Property tax is a separate tax with separate rules: property tax in Bonner County.
Sources
- Bonner County rates: Idaho State Tax Commission, City Sales Taxes (https://tax.idaho.gov/taxes/sales-use/sales-tax/local-sales-tax/city-sales-tax/, page updated January 13, 2026), which names every Idaho city levying a local sales tax and states that only resort cities may levy one; state rate from the Tax Commission's Sales and Use Taxes Basics Guide (https://tax.idaho.gov/taxes/sales-use/online-guide/, updated April 1, 2026), which states "Idaho's sales tax rate is 6%", confirmed independently against the Tax Commission's 2025 Annual Report (https://tax.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/reports/EPB00033/EPB00033_07-31-2026.pdf), which lists Sales/Use at 6 percent; auditorium district scope from the Tax Commission's Auditorium District Taxes page (https://tax.idaho.gov/taxes/taxes-on-sales/aud/); absence of county levying authority from Idaho Code sections 50-1044 through 50-1048 (https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title50/T50CH10/); food tax credit from the Tax Commission's Idaho Food Tax Credit page (https://tax.idaho.gov/taxes/income-tax/individual-income/popular-credits-and-deductions/idaho-grocery-credit/, updated February 19, 2026); city rates read from each city's own ordinance or official local option tax page, because the Tax Commission does not administer or publish resort city rates and directs the public to contact the city: Ponderay Ordinance 150R (https://cityofponderay.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ORD-No.-150R-Local-Option-Sales-Tax-Amend_Official.pdf); Sandpoint City Code title 3 chapters 10 and 13 (https://library.municode.com/id/sandpoint/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT3BULIRE_CH13NOTA)
- Collected and verified September 9, 2026. Confidence: P on the rate components, P on the range (P read on a primary agency page, S strong but indirect, U unverified).