You need to confirm the current sales tax rate for a customer address, vendor location, or new sales territory in Avalara without running a test transaction. Avalara Tax Research provides rooftop tax rates for exact street addresses and regional rate search when you only know the city, county, or ZIP Code.
Quick answer
- Sign in to Avalara Tax Research and navigate to Sales & Use Tax > taxRates from the menu icon in the top-left corner.
- Use Rooftop Tax Rates to look up rates for a specific street address or coordinates; use Tax Rate Search when you know the city, state, county, and ZIP Code, or Tax Rate Lookup when you need to filter by partial location details.
- The result shows the total tax rate for that location, with optional breakdowns by jurisdiction, and for rooftop lookups, a map showing boundary lines.
- If you are an AvaTax customer, do not use the free public site salestax.avalara.com for compliance decisions; it provides only ZIP Code level accuracy, while your paid AvaTax service calculates rooftop-level rates.
Where to look up rates in Avalara
Avalara Tax Research provides three lookup features under the taxRates section:
- Rooftop Tax Rates: For exact street addresses or latitude and longitude coordinates.
- Tax Rate Search: For specific city, state, county, and ZIP Code combinations.
- Tax Rate Lookup: For filtering and browsing rates when you are not sure of the exact location details.
All three features return current rates. Avalara tracks tax rate updates in real time and publishes monthly updates, including early access reports on the 25th and full monthly change reports on the 1st of each month.
How to find tax rates for a specific street address
Use this method when you have a complete street address and need rooftop-level accuracy.
- Sign in to Avalara Tax Research.
- Select the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top-left corner to open the navigation panel.
- Select Sales & Use Tax.
- Select taxRates.
- Select Rooftop Tax Rates.
- Provide the address in one of two ways:
- Enter the street address, city, state, and ZIP Code in the fields.
- Select Search coordinates, then enter latitude and longitude values.
- Select GET RATES.
The tax rate appears for the location. If you select MAP, you can see the boundary lines where the provided street address falls. If you have a question about the rate, select Ask a question at the top right of the page, ensure you select MAP in the search results, and post your question to the Avalara team.
How to find tax rates for a city, county, or ZIP Code
Use this method when you know the city, state, county, and ZIP Code but do not need rooftop precision.
- On the Avalara Tax Research home page, select the menu icon in the top-left corner to open the navigation panel.
- Select Sales & Use Tax, then select taxRates.
- Select Tax Rate Search.
- Enter the city, state, county, and ZIP Code where you need to find the current tax rates.
- Select GET RATES.
- Optionally, select the options above the search results to break down the results with more detail.
The current tax rates for the location you entered appear. If you selected breakdown options, the page shows extra detail such as state, county, city, and special district components.
How to filter rates when the location is uncertain
If you are not sure about the exact county or ZIP Code, or you want to browse rates across multiple jurisdictions, use the Tax Rate Lookup feature.
- On the Avalara Tax Research home page, select the menu icon in the top-left corner.
- Select Sales & Use Tax, then select taxRates.
- Select Tax Rate Lookup.
- Filter the tax rate results by county, city, or ZIP Code in the left pane.
The current tax rates appear in the right pane. You can select options above the search results to show a more detailed breakdown.
What the rate lookup shows you
The lookup result displays the total combined sales and use tax rate for the location you entered. This total includes state, county, city, and any special district rates that apply at that address or jurisdiction.
When you use the rooftop lookup and select MAP, Avalara shows you the tax jurisdiction boundary lines so you can confirm where the address falls. This is useful when an address sits near a city limit or special district border.
The breakdown options let you see how much of the total rate comes from each jurisdiction level.
Understanding rate accuracy and monthly updates
Avalara Tax Research provides rooftop-level accuracy for street address lookups and jurisdiction-level accuracy for city, county, and ZIP Code searches.
Avalara publishes three types of rate update reports each month:
| Report type | Available date | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Early Access Change Reports | 25th of each month | Tax rate updates that occurred by the 25th of the month |
| Monthly Change Reports | 1st of each month | All tax rate changes across the country for that month |
| True-up Reports | 1st of each month | Last-minute tax rate changes that occurred between the 25th of the previous month and the 1st of the next month |
Do not use the free public rate site for AvaTax compliance
If you are an AvaTax customer, do not use the free public site salestax.avalara.com to look up rates for compliance or transaction decisions. That site provides only ZIP Code level accuracy and can show discrepancies with the rooftop-accurate service included in your AvaTax subscription. Use Avalara Tax Research instead to access the same precision your AvaTax calculation engine uses.
For quick reference checks outside of Avalara, you can use a free sales tax calculator or review sales tax rates by state to understand state-level rates and local rate ranges.
Common issues when looking up rates
The rooftop lookup returns a rate but you expected a different jurisdiction: The address may sit on a boundary line or in an area where city limits or special districts overlap. Select MAP to see the boundary lines and confirm where the address falls. If the boundary appears incorrect, use the Ask a question option to flag it for Avalara's research team.
You enter a ZIP Code and see multiple rates: A single ZIP Code can span multiple cities, counties, or tax jurisdictions. Use the filter pane in Tax Rate Lookup or provide the full city and county in Tax Rate Search to narrow the result.
The rate you looked up does not match a transaction result in AvaTax: Avalara Tax Research shows current rates, but AvaTax applies rates based on the transaction date, product taxability, and exemptions. The rate alone does not account for product tax codes, customer exemption certificates, or transaction type.
Expert tip: Export rate data for bulk reference
You can export the latest tax rates from Avalara Tax Research instead of looking up locations one at a time. This saves time when you need to reference rates for multiple addresses or keep records outside the system.
How Galvix can help with sales tax accuracy and filing
Avalara Tax Research helps you find sales tax rates for specific addresses, but knowing the correct rate doesn't always mean your sales tax calculations and returns are accurate. Your finance team still needs to account for transaction dates, product taxability, and customer exemptions while ensuring that the tax collected matches your accounting records.
If your team is spending too much time investigating tax discrepancies, reconciling sales data, and preparing returns, Galvix can take that ongoing compliance work off their plate. Our team works with data from your billing and accounting systems, reconciles sales and tax amounts, prepares sales tax returns, and files them after your approval. You can track everything through a dashboard without managing the filing process yourself.
Book a demo to see how Galvix can help manage your sales tax compliance.
FAQ
Can I look up rates without signing in to Avalara Tax Research?
No, you must sign in to Avalara Tax Research to access the lookup features. The free public site salestax.avalara.com does not require sign-in but provides only ZIP Code accuracy.
What is the difference between rooftop rates and ZIP Code rates?
Rooftop rates are based on the exact street address or coordinates you provide, accounting for city limits, special taxing districts, and jurisdiction boundaries at that specific location. ZIP Code rates apply an average or default rate for the ZIP Code, which can span multiple jurisdictions.
Does the rate lookup include product-specific taxability?
No, the rate lookup shows the combined tax rate for the location but does not apply product tax codes, exemptions, or transaction type rules.
How often do tax rates change?
Tax rates change throughout the year as jurisdictions adjust state, county, city, and special district rates. Avalara tracks these changes in real time and publishes updates on the 25th and 1st of each month.
Can I export rate data from Avalara Tax Research?
Yes, Avalara Tax Research allows you to export the latest tax rates. The monthly rate update reports also provide links to download rate changes by jurisdiction and effective date.
