Cannabis tax rates by state: the short answer

States stack an excise tax on top of the sales tax. The total on a retail purchase runs from 6% in Missouri to 37% in Washington. Figures here reflect rates in place in early 2025. Legislatures adjust them each session, so treat every number as a dated snapshot.

recreational marijuana tax rates by state

Four tax structures

Retail price, wholesale price, weight, and THC content are the four bases in use. A 15% wholesale excise in Colorado is not the same tax as a 15% retail excise in California, because the base differs. Illinois charges by THC level. Alaska charges by ounce.

Recreational Marijuana Tax Rates by State: A Comprehensive Guide

Rates by state

  • Alaska: $50 per ounce of flower at the cultivation level, $25 per ounce of trim, $15 per ounce of other material. No state sales tax.
  • Arizona: 16% excise on retail price, plus standard sales tax.
  • California: 15% excise on retail price, plus sales tax.
  • Colorado: 15% excise at wholesale, plus a 15% retail cannabis sales tax.
  • Connecticut: 6.35% sales tax, plus an excise of $0.925 per milligram of THC in flower, with lower per-milligram rates for trim and other products.
  • Delaware: 15% sales tax on cannabis. Storefront sales had not started in early 2025.
  • Illinois: 10% excise for flower at or under 35% THC, 25% above 35%, 20% for infused products, 25% for concentrates. The 6.25% state sales tax and local taxes apply on top.
  • Maine: 10% excise plus 5.5% sales tax.
  • Maryland: 9% sales tax, with no separate excise.
  • Massachusetts: 10.75% excise, 6.25% sales tax, and local taxes up to 3%.
  • Michigan: 10% excise plus 6% sales tax.
  • Minnesota: 10% excise on retail. Storefront sales had not started in early 2025.
  • Missouri: 6% sales tax, with local taxes up to 3%. No excise.
  • Montana: 20% excise on retail, 4% on medical. No general sales tax.
  • Nevada: 10% retail excise plus a 15% wholesale excise.
  • New Jersey: 6.625% sales tax plus a cultivation excise fee the state sets each year.
  • New Mexico: 12% excise on retail, rising one point each year to 18% in 2030. Gross receipts tax applies.
  • New York: 13% excise, split 9% state and 4% local, plus a wholesale tax of $0.005 per milligram of THC in flower, $0.008 in concentrate, and $0.03 in edibles.
  • Ohio: 10% excise on retail plus sales tax.
  • Oregon: 17% retail tax. Oregon has no general sales tax.
  • Rhode Island: 10% excise, 7% sales tax, 3% local tax.
  • Vermont: 14% excise plus 6% sales tax.
  • Washington: 37% excise on retail. Cannabis is exempt from the state sales tax.

Local add-ons

Cities and counties add their own taxes in several states. Illinois allows local cannabis taxes. Missouri permits up to 3%. California cities set their own rates, and some land in the double digits. A buyer in Chicago pays more than a buyer in a rural Illinois county for the same package.

cannabis excise tax by state 2025

Price versus convenience

Tax sets the price floor. Convenience decides who captures the sale. Delivery, curbside pickup, store count, and store hours move volume across state lines and between licensed and unlicensed sellers.

recreational marijuana tax rates by state

Two examples. Washington charges 37%, and Oregon, across the Columbia River, charges 17%. Buyers near that border have a reason to drive. New York opened retail with few licensed stores, so shoppers in some counties had no legal store within a short trip.

Delivery is licensed in some form in California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New York, and Oregon. Curbside pickup spread during the pandemic and stayed in several states.

What is not known

State agencies publish total sales and tax collections. They do not publish channel splits. No public dataset shows how much volume shifts from stores to delivery, or how many buyers stay in the legal market when a store is closer than a delivery window.

How to compare two states

  1. Find the tax base: retail, wholesale, weight, or THC.
  2. Add the state sales tax if cannabis is not exempt.
  3. Add city and county taxes.
  4. Check the store count and delivery rules in the county where the buyer lives.