Final answer:
To calculate sales tax on a sale, multiply the price of the item by the sales tax rate expressed as a decimal. Then, add the resulting sales tax to the original price to determine the total cost. Examples include calculating tax on $65.00 at 5% and on $150.00 at 10%.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the amount of sales tax due on each sale, you use a simple formula which is the price of the item multiplied by the rate of sales tax expressed as a decimal. The calculated tax is then added to the original amount to obtain the total cost.
For example, to find the total amount on a $65.00 item with 5% sales tax assessed, you first convert the 5% to a decimal (0.05) and then multiply by the cost of the item:
$65.00 × 0.05 = $3.25 in sales tax.
Then, you add the sales tax to the original price to get the total:
$65.00 + $3.25 = $68.25.
Similarly, for an item that costs $150.00 with a 10% sales tax, the calculation would be:
$150.00 × 0.10 = $15.00 in sales tax,
resulting in a total cost of:
$150.00 + $15.00 = $165.00.