excise
A tax on one specific product, not on shopping in general.
A tax on a specific commodity, typically specific rather than ad valorem and levied upstream.
What that means in practice
Fuel, tobacco, alcohol and cannabis each carry their own tax. It is charged by the gallon, the pack or the ounce. That is different from a percentage of the price. And it is built into the shelf price long before you get there, so it never appears on your receipt.
Excise is imposed per physical unit in most applications, so its real value erodes with inflation absent indexation, and it is collected from producers or distributors rather than at retail. ⚠️ Because it is embedded in shelf price before general sales tax is computed, the two compound where both apply. ⛔ Rates across categories use different units and must never be summed.
Questions people ask
Is this the same everywhere in the country?
There is no national version. States decide, local governments frequently add to it, and excise therefore depends on the address rather than the country.
Do I need to understand other terms before this one makes sense?
It has neighbors. excise connects to several other terms, listed below. Each carries part of the meaning. The word does not fully resolve on its own.
I have seen this called something else. Is it the same thing?
Very likely the same rule. Several names point at excise, depending on whether you met it on a form, from an employer or in the news.
How is this determined across jurisdictions?
No federal general sales tax exists; consumption taxes are levied by states and, where authorized, by counties, municipalities and special districts. Rates are sourced to the point of sale, so applicable liability varies within a state as well as between states.
What conceptual dependencies does this term carry?
This term has multiple conceptual dependencies, enumerated in the related-terms list. Definitions in tax law are frequently mutually referential — a provision's meaning depends on defined terms elsewhere in the code — so isolated reading commonly produces error.
What alternative designations refer to this concept?
This concept is referred to by multiple designations across statutory text, agency guidance, payroll documentation and common usage. The alternatives are enumerated on this page. ⚠️ Terminology divergence is a frequent source of error where a statutory term and its colloquial equivalent are not exactly co-extensive.