text: why do some company's charge sales tax and some don't? if you have the source to your information please list it. it depends on the state you live in and what is a taxable item in that state.  for instance, new hampshire has no sales tax, so nothing is taxed.  in massachusetts, there is a 5% tax on everything but clothing and food.  in tennessee, there is a 7% sales tax on almost everything (food is a 6% tax) because the state doesn't take an income tax, so they make it back in sales tax.  most times, if you are shipping something you have bought online, they will apply your states sales tax once you fill in the information about yourself.  some places also don't have to pay a sales tax.  a non-profit organization (charity, schools, etc) will have a certificate to prove their tax-exempt status for most items.  if they have an event to raise money, they don't have to pay sales tax for the location or food, however, alcohol is always taxable if the state applies it.  you can check out individual sites for states to see which states have which taxes in more detail, but here is a summary of the states and their sales taxes: http://www.taxadmin.org/fta/rate/sales.html