A legal weed tax rate chart in the United States runs from roughly 10% to more than 40% of the retail price, because most legal states stack a cannabis excise tax on top of ordinary sales tax. State excise rates alone range from 6% in Missouri to 37% in Washington, and local option taxes can add another 1% to 4% depending on the city or county. That total is what shoppers compare at checkout, and it now shapes where people buy more than the sticker price of the flower.
Does Cannabis Tax Apply to Medical Cannabis?
Legal weed tax rate chart: state excise rates
Rates below are state-level figures as of 2025 and exclude local add-ons. Medical programs are frequently taxed lower than adult-use sales, so check the receipt line.
- Washington: 37% excise at retail (no separate state sales tax).
- Montana: 20% adult-use excise (4% medical).
- Oregon: 17% retail excise.
- Arizona: 16% excise plus 5.6% state sales tax.
- California: 15% excise plus 7.25% state sales tax and local rates.
- Colorado: 15% retail marijuana sales tax plus a 15% wholesale excise and 2.9% state sales tax.
- Nevada: 10% retail excise plus a 15% wholesale excise.
- Illinois: 10%, 20%, or 25% by potency plus 6.25% state sales tax.
- Massachusetts: 10.75% excise plus 6.25% sales tax and up to 3% local.
- Michigan: 10% excise plus 6% sales tax.
- New York: 13% retail excise (9% state, 4% local) plus a potency-based wholesale tax.
- New Jersey: 6.625% sales tax, up to 2% local, plus a cultivator excise.
- Maine: 10% excise plus 5.5% sales tax.
- Vermont: 14% excise plus 6% sales tax and 1% local.
- Missouri: 6% excise plus 4.225% state sales tax and local rates.
- Maryland: 9% sales tax on adult-use products.
- Ohio: 10% excise plus state and local sales tax.
- New Mexico: 12% excise plus gross receipts tax.
- Rhode Island: 10% excise plus 7% sales tax and 3% local.
- Delaware: 15% retail tax.
How do cannabis taxes stack at checkout?
Most states apply the excise tax to the retail subtotal and then add general sales tax on top of that taxed amount, so the two compound. Illinois and New York instead build part of the tax into potency or wholesale tiers, which pushes cost into the product price before it ever reaches the register. Local option taxes in Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island can add another 1% to 4% at the city or county level.
cannabis sales tax vs excise tax
Is the tax always added at the register?
No. Washington requires the 37% excise to be built into the advertised shelf price, so the number on the label is close to the number you pay. Most other states show a subtotal, then list excise and sales tax as separate lines at checkout. That difference matters on delivery apps, where the final total is the only figure most shoppers ever see.
High Cannabis Tax States: Understanding the Impact
Why does the tax rate drive convenience decisions?
When two shops sit ten minutes apart but in different tax jurisdictions, the same eighth can cost a few dollars more at one counter. Delivery fees compound the gap, because a $5 fee on a $40 order is a smaller share of the bill in a 15% tax state than in a 35% tax state. Shoppers sort by final delivered price rather than menu price, which turns a tax chart into a shopping tool.
Do delivery orders get taxed differently?
Cannabis delivery carries the same tax rates as in-store pickup in every legal state, since the tax follows the product and not the handoff. A few jurisdictions also apply sales tax to the delivery fee itself. The bigger variable is the dispensary's location, not the delivery method.
Does medical cannabis cost less in tax?
Usually yes. Montana charges 4% on medical versus 20% on adult-use, and several other states reduce or waive excise tax for registered patients. Some also exempt medical products from general sales tax, which can cut the total tax line by half or more.
What should a useful tax chart include?
- State excise rate, and whether it applies at retail or wholesale.
- State and local sales tax rates that stack on top.
- Local option taxes by city or county.
- Medical rates and patient exemptions.
- The effective date, since legislatures revise rates often.
Rates change every legislative session, so confirm current figures with the state revenue department before budgeting a purchase or a business plan.