This is one of the most common sales tax questions people search — and it comes up on a lot of economics and civics quizzes.
The short answer: $60 if the rate is 6%, or $62.50 using Massachusetts's actual 2026 rate of 6.25%.
But the longer answer is more interesting — because crossing the border to avoid sales tax isn't as simple as it sounds.
Sales tax is calculated as a percentage of the purchase price.
If the rate is 6% and you buy a $1,000 television in Massachusetts:
$1,000 × 0.06 = $60 in sales tax
If the rate is 6.25% — which is Massachusetts's actual current rate:
$1,000 × 0.0625 = $62.50 in sales tax
New Hampshire has no state sales tax. So if you buy the same $1,000 TV across the border in New Hampshire, you pay $0 in sales tax.
The savings: $60 to $62.50, depending on which rate you use.
For quiz purposes, the answer is $60 — that's the closest option and the one based on the 6% rate used in the question. In real life, using Massachusetts's actual 6.25% rate, you'd save $62.50.
New Hampshire is one of only five states in the U.S. with no statewide sales tax. The others are Alaska, Delaware, Montana, and Oregon.
New Hampshire funds its government primarily through property taxes and other revenue sources — and it leans hard into its no-tax identity. You'll see "Live Free or Die" license plates everywhere, and that philosophy extends to how the state approaches consumption taxes.
The result: shopping in New Hampshire is a popular move for residents of neighboring states, especially Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont — all of which have meaningful sales tax rates.
Border shopping — crossing into a no-tax or lower-tax state specifically to make a purchase — is common, especially for big-ticket items.
A $1,000 TV saves you $62.50. A $5,000 appliance package saves you $312.50. A $30,000 car saves you $1,875. The dollar amount scales directly with the purchase price, which is why border shopping gets more appealing the more expensive the item is.
Stores near the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border — especially in places like Salem and Nashua, NH — do a significant portion of their business with Massachusetts residents for exactly this reason.
Here's what most people don't know.
Massachusetts has a use tax — and it's the same rate as the sales tax: 6.25%.
The use tax exists specifically to capture sales tax revenue on purchases made out of state that are brought back into Massachusetts for use. Legally, if you drive to New Hampshire, buy a $1,000 television, and bring it home to Massachusetts, you owe Massachusetts 6.25% use tax on that purchase.
That's $62.50 — the same amount you would have paid in sales tax at a Massachusetts store.
In practice, most individual consumers never report or pay use tax on personal purchases. Enforcement on small consumer transactions is minimal. But it's not a technicality — it's the law. Massachusetts residents are required to self-report use tax on their annual state income tax return.
For businesses, use tax is taken much more seriously. If a Massachusetts business buys equipment, supplies, or goods from an out-of-state vendor that doesn't charge sales tax, the use tax obligation is real and actively audited.
Crossing the border to shop legally saves you money when:
The savings evaporate quickly if you're driving two hours and burning gas to save $60 on a TV. And for businesses operating in Massachusetts, the use tax obligation means the savings may not exist at all.
Massachusetts sits in the middle of the pack nationally at 6.25%. Here's how its neighbors compare:
The variation across New England alone shows how much the tax you pay can depend on where you happen to be standing when you swipe your card.
Questions about how sales tax applies to your business — including use tax obligations on out-of-state purchases? Book a free consultation with our team at sales.tax. We'll walk through your specific situation and make sure you're not carrying a liability you didn't know about.