Sales tax in Mercer County, New Jersey

What is the sales tax rate in Mercer County?

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

At 6.625%, a $100 purchase carries $6.63 in sales tax and a $1,000 purchase $66.25. That is general merchandise; New Jersey taxes some categories, often groceries, differently, as the note below explains.

Every county in New Jersey has the same 6.625% floor. See every New Jersey county.

Sales tax in counties next to Mercer County

Mercer County borders 6 counties, 1 of them in another state. The lowest rate next door is 6% in Bucks County, PA, which is $6.25 less on a $1,000 purchase than Mercer County's rate.

Why the rate here is not the whole story

New Jersey's state sales tax is 6.625 percent and that is the rate at every address in Mercer County. No New Jersey county levies a sales tax and county governments hold no power to levy one, and no municipality here may add a general sales tax either, which is why the Division of Taxation's own Rates and Boundaries page says New Jersey has a single rate sales tax for the entire State. New Jersey does have reduced rates that sit below 6.625 percent, and they turn on the seller rather than the address: a business certified in an urban enterprise zone may charge half the state rate, 3.3125 percent, on qualifying in person sales of tangible personal property, where the buyer orders and takes delivery at the seller's place of business in the zone. The zones in this county cover Trenton, and a buyer pays the full 6.625 percent at every other address and at any seller in the zone that is not certified, so 6.625 percent is the rate to expect and the floor for everything the exemption does not cover. Most food sold as groceries, most clothing and footwear, and prescription and over the counter drugs are exempt from New Jersey sales tax, so many receipts here show no tax at all.

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

Use New Jersey's own address lookup.

Who has to collect sales tax in Mercer County?

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

Work out your own numbers

• Sales tax calculator

  Tax on a specific purchase at this county's rate, and the total you will actually pay.

• Do you have to collect?

  Whether your sales into New Jersey cross its economic nexus threshold. A different question from the rate.

• Property tax in Mercer County

  The other local tax: effective rate and median bill for this county.

• Sales tax by county

  Every US county, and how New Jersey compares with the rest of the country.