Currency and Taxes While Traveling in the US
While you are in the United States, you will need some U.S. currency that comes in a range of denominations as follows:
Penny $0.01
Nickel $0.05
Dime $0.10
Quarter $0.25
Half Dollar $0.50
Dollar $1.00
Five Dollars $5.00
Ten Dollars $10.00
Twenty Dollars $20.00
Fifty Dollars $50.00
One Hundred Dollars $100.00
You can exchange foreign currencies at the airport or at a large bank or tourist center, but the exchange rate will often be higher at the airport. The best place to get currency is from an ATM or Automated Teller Machine that can be found just about anywhere although some will charge fees of $1 to $2 per transaction and most will give you twenty dollar bills only. Coins will be used for pay phones, parking meters, buses and subways with quarters being used most often.
Using a credit card to pay for purchases is a standard form of payment and they are accepted in most businesses, restaurants or tourist attractions. Hotels usually require a credit card when making a reservation and credit cards can be used for just about any major purchase especially higher priced items. Save your cash for emergencies and for paying for smaller items like purchases at a convenience store. Besides U. S. currency, many people use traveler’s checks that can also be saved for emergencies or to use as needed.
Any purchases made in the United States will not include sales tax on the price tag as the country does not have a national sales tax like the value-added tax (VAT) or goods and services tax (GST) as other countries often do. For example, if you purchased an item of clothing it will have a price tag of $29.99, but that will not be the final total because sales tax will be added by the clerk that rings up the purchase. In the U.S. each state determines the amount of sales tax with some counties within the states having additional taxes so it can vary from state to state and even city to city within a state.
The sales tax you pay will depend, therefore, on where you are and also what you are buying as it will vary depending on the merchandise. Sales tax on food items in a restaurant or grocery store is often lower than that for clothing or other purchases and yet tax on gas for a car is often higher. It can be confusing but the tax will be clearly marked on your receipt so you will see how much you are paying for it.
Some states like Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon don’t have any sales tax while two other states, Louisiana and Texas, have a limited sales tax refund program and you can find more information about those states at www.louisianataxfree.com or www.taxfreetexas.com. Because sales tax is not collected on a national level, you cannot obtain a refund upon departure. You can often save money though on the sales tax if the merchandise is shipped outside the state, but if you have to pay the postage, it might not save you enough money to be worthwhile.
Tags: Money