Sales Tax Lookup API

About the Sales Tax Lookup API

Look up sales tax by ZIP code for a checkout, an invoice or a POS setup screen. A ZIP code returns the estimated combined rate for that area, and a state code returns the statewide base rate. ZIP+4 codes are accepted. Each response names the city and state. Paid plans break the combined rate into its state, county, city and special district parts, add the tax region name, and say whether the state sources in-state sales at origin or destination, which decides whose local rate a seller charges. To apply the rate to an order, the Sales Tax Calculator API returns the tax amount and total in the same call.

What people use it for

Online Store Checkout

When a customer enters their shipping ZIP code, e-commerce checkouts apply the matching combined rate to calculate cart totals.

Automated Invoice Generation

B2B billing platforms look up state tax rates to append accurate tax line items to monthly customer invoices.

Point of Sale Calculation

Retail POS systems query store location ZIP codes during setup to store local tax percentages for offline transactions.

Subscription Billing Quotes

SaaS quote generators calculate estimated local taxes before sending multi-state sales proposals to prospective corporate clients.

Without writing code

Sales tax by state on DigestYourFinances compares every state's rate.

Ways to call it

One endpoint, many ways in — REST with JSON, XML, YAML and CSV, plus GraphQL and an MCP interface for AI agents.

JSON

Default REST response

XML

Markup format

YAML

Human-readable

CSV

Tabular export

Beta

GraphQL

Query language

New

MCP

For AI agents

How it compares

Side by side with the tools people weigh Sales Tax Lookup against — what each one is better at, in plain terms.

Request parameters — GET /v1/salestax

Sent in the query string. Premium parameters are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them. Anything not listed here is dropped rather than passed through.

Required

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curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/salestax?zip=64082" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"

Authentication

Send your key in the x-api-key header. That is the only auth step — no token exchange, and no per-endpoint scope to configure.

Response — GET /v1/salestax

Every APIVerve endpoint returns the same three top-level keys, so one response handler covers your whole integration: status, error and data. Only data changes shape.

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{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "state": "CA",
    "zip": 90210,
    "region": "WEST HOLLYWOOD TOURISM IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT",
    "rate": 0.1025,
    "county": 0.0025,
    "city": 0.0075,
    "special": 0.0325,
    "stateRate": 0.06,
    "cityName": "Beverly Hills",
    "stateName": "California",
    "sourcing": "mixed"
  }
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Response headers

Every response carries your balance, so your own code always knows where it stands without polling anything. All four are exposed to browsers through CORS.

Errors

Read the HTTP status first, then error for the specific reason. The body names the parameter that has to change.

What a call costs — 2 credits per call

Credits are shared across every APIVerve API — one balance, one key, one bill. Failed requests never count against it, so a rejected input costs nothing.

Calls are what the credits buy at this API's rate — spend them here, on any of the other APIs, or across both. Nothing is reserved per endpoint.

Zero-code embed — one snippet, no backend

Drop an interactive Sales Tax Lookup form onto any page. The widget calls the API for you, so no key ever appears in your markup and there is nothing to deploy.

Changelog — Sales Tax Lookup API

Every change to this endpoint, newest first. Breaking changes ship as a new version and the previous one keeps serving — response fields are added, never removed or retyped in place, so an integration written against v1 keeps working.

Currently v1Data refreshed hourly