Nebraska sales tax, and who sets it
Tax year 2026
Set by the state
5.5%
Set locally
1.48%
statewide average
Combined
6.98%
Local share
21.2%
of what you pay
Work out the tax on a purchase in Nebraska
Add the tax on
6.98% effectiveThe general rate applies here: 6.98%, state and local combined. “Statewide average” is a comparison estimate. Named locations use the stored local rate; city and special-district coverage varies, so an address may differ. Rate source · as of 2026-07-01.
How Nebraska's sales tax is put together
- The rate you pay in Nebraska is built from two pieces. Nebraska sets about 5.5%. Local government adds about 1.48% more on average across Nebraska. Stack them and you get about 6.98% — the number that actually turns up on a receipt, and the one worth quoting.
- Groceries are not taxed in Nebraska. Fill a cart with unprepared food and the sales tax on it is nothing. That is the common treatment, though not the universal one — a few states charge full rate on food, and a few more charge a reduced rate. The line here falls between groceries and prepared food, and it is narrower than it sounds.
- Clothing is taxed at the ordinary rate in Nebraska — $70 on a thousand dollars of it. That is the usual arrangement nationally, though a small group of states exempt apparel entirely. Prescription medicine, by contrast, is exempt here, as it is almost everywhere.
- Nebraska sets its state rate at about 5.5% and permits locally-set add-ons on top; on average across Nebraska that add-on is about 1.48% and the combined rate is about 6.98%. Both layers are substantive, so neither figure alone describes the charge. Published state-rate rankings capture only the first, which is why Nebraska's position in such a table can differ markedly from its position on combined rates.
- Nebraska exempts groceries from sales tax entirely, so unprepared food carries no charge at any rate. This is the majority treatment nationally but far from universal: a small number of states apply the full rate to food and another group applies a reduced one. The consequential detail in an exempting state is the boundary rather than the exemption — where the statute separates exempt groceries from taxable prepared food, and rotisserie chicken, bakery items and heated food are where that line is usually drawn.
- Nebraska applies its full combined rate to clothing, adding $70 to a thousand dollars of apparel. This is the majority treatment; a small group of states exempts clothing outright, and those exemptions are a larger source of variation in real household burden than the rate differences that dominate published comparisons. Prescription drugs are exempt in Nebraska, consistent with essentially every sales-taxing state.
Sales tax on this purchase
A $75,000 salary
| Tax added | $6.98 |
|---|---|
| Rate appliedStatewide average | 6.98% |
Uses this location’s stored combined rate and category rule. Clothing is one item; address-level coverage varies.
Rates across this state
A $75,000 salary
| Counties in this state | 1 |
|---|---|
| Different rates among them | 1 |
| Lowest county rate | 6% |
| Highest county rate | 6% |
County floors only — city, transit and special-district taxes are excluded where applicable.
At the register
A $75,000 salary
| Tax added | $6.98 |
|---|---|
| You hand over | $106.98 |
| Rate here | 6.98% |
Uses this location’s stored combined rate and category rule. Clothing is one item; address-level coverage varies.
How much of that was tax
A $75,000 salary
| Goods before tax | $100.02 |
|---|---|
| Rate applied | 6.98% |
Uses the selected combined rate for ordinary goods. Exempt items or a mixed receipt change the split.
Every county here
A $75,000 salary
| Lowest | 6% |
|---|---|
| Highest | 6% |
| Gap between them | 0% |
County floors only — city, transit and special-district taxes are excluded where applicable.
What gets taxed, in each
A $75,000 salary
Nebraska
Statewide average
Texas
Harris County (Houston)
- Sales tax
- Fuel
- Tobacco
| Category | Nebraska | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| Groceries | Exempt | Exempt |
| Clothing at $100 | 6.98% | 8.25% |
| Fuel | 31.8¢ | 20¢ |
| Tobacco | $0.64 | $1.41 |
Grocery and general rates use the locations named here. Clothing is one item priced at $100; a more expensive garment may be taxed differently. Fuel and tobacco have separate units and scales.
The split, county by county
The state rate is the same everywhere in Nebraska. Anything beyond it was decided by a county or a city. These counties are a sample chosen to show the range, not a complete list.
| County | State | Local | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide average | 5.5% | 1.48% | 6.98% |
| Douglas County (Omaha) | same | 1.5% | 7% |
| Lancaster County (Lincoln) | same | 1.75% | 7.25% |
What it costs on a thousand dollars
The same purchase in four categories, priced on average across Nebraska. A flat thousand dollars is used deliberately — this is Nebraska's own rate restated in money, not a claim about what anyone spends.
| What you're buying | Tax as share of price | Tax on $1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| General goods | 6.98% | $70 |
| Groceries | 0% | $0 |
| Prescription drugs | 0% | $0 |
| Clothing | 6.98% | $70 |
Every county in Nebraska
This is the whole state, not a sample — 1 counties, from 6% in Dakota County up to 6% in Dakota County. These are county floors. City, transit and special-district taxes can add to them, so an address may pay more.
Complete county coverage for Nebraska: 1 counties spanning 6% (Dakota County) to 6% (Dakota County), across 1 distinct rates. Figures are county floors: the state rate plus the county's own levy, excluding municipal, transit and special-district taxes. The representative location figures earlier in the page may include additional local layers.
| County | State portion | County levy | Floor (state + county) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dakota County | 5.5% | 0.5% | 6% |
Streamlined Sales Tax member rate files plus individual state Department of Revenue rate tables — county-level rows only; city, transit and special-district levies excluded — as of 2026-01-01, last verified 2026-08-29.
What this page does not cover
- The first Nebraska county table and calculator location list are samples, picked to show how much local rates move rather than to cover everywhere. Your address might land outside the range shown. A recent receipt is the better source if you have one.
- This page covers Nebraska's general sales tax and nothing else. Fuel, alcohol and tobacco carry their own separate taxes, usually built into the shelf price where you never see them. Cars, hotel rooms and restaurant meals are often taxed at their own rates too. The general rate is the floor, not the ceiling.
- Categories have edges, and the edges are where the money is. Nebraska sets its own rules for what falls inside each exemption. A roast chicken and the ingredients for one are not always taxed the same way, and neither are trainers and shoes. Those distinctions decide what a real shopping trip costs.
- The first Nebraska county table and calculator location list are representative samples, not a complete register. It exists to demonstrate the magnitude of local variation, so the highest and lowest figures shown bound the sample rather than the state. Any specific address should be checked against the local revenue authority or a recent receipt; a complete county-floor table, where shown separately, still excludes additional city and district taxes.
- The figures here describe Nebraska's general sales tax only. Selective excise taxes on motor fuel, alcohol and tobacco operate separately and are typically embedded in the displayed price rather than added at the register. Vehicle purchases, lodging and prepared food frequently attract their own rates or additional local levies. The general rate should therefore be treated as a floor for a given transaction rather than a complete account of what it is taxed.
- The three exemption classes recorded for Nebraska describe treatment at category level only. Statutory definitions determine what actually qualifies: prepared, heated and ready-to-eat foods are commonly excluded from grocery exemptions, and clothing exemptions frequently exclude athletic footwear, accessories or items above a stated price. Effective burden on a real basket therefore depends on these boundaries at least as much as on the headline rate.
Questions people ask
Why is the tax at the register higher than the state rate?
Because the state rate is only the first layer. Counties, cities and special districts add their own on top, which takes about 5.5% up to about 6.98% — and it changes as you cross town lines rather than staying put.
Is food taxed the same as everything else?
Raw food is exempt in Nebraska. Prepared food is not, and the boundary between them is the part that surprises people.
Is clothing exempt here?
It is not. Clothing takes the standard rate here — only a small group of states exempt it, and Nebraska is outside that group.
Will the rate change if I shop in the next town?
Not by much. Only about 21.2% of the combined rate is set below state level here, so the figure moves a little across county lines rather than a lot — the state rate is most of what you pay wherever you are.
What composes the combined rate in this state?
The combined rate is the state levy plus every local levy sourced to the point of sale. Nebraska sets about 5.5%; the representative combined rate is about 6.98%, of which about 21.2% is decided locally. A single statewide figure is therefore an approximation.
How are groceries classified for sales tax here?
Nebraska exempts groceries from general sales tax. The exemption typically excludes prepared food, and definitional boundaries — utensils supplied, heating, or a seller's prepared-food share — determine which side a specific item falls on. Those tests vary by state and are not uniform.
How is apparel classified for sales tax in this state?
Nebraska applies the standard rate to apparel with no general exemption. Only a small minority of states exempt clothing, and among those several impose per-item caps or exclude athletic and formal wear, so cross-state assumptions about apparel are unreliable.
How much intra-state variation is there in the combined rate?
Locally determined levies account for about 21.2% of the representative combined rate, so intra-state dispersion is limited and the statewide figure approximates most locations closely. Rates remain sourced to the point of sale.