Franklin County, Ohio Sales Tax Rate

Franklin County's 8.00% rate sits above the statewide average of 7.14%. Across Ohio, combined rates run from 6.50% to 8.00%, so where you buy genuinely changes the bill. Ohio is unusual here: for most sales by an Ohio seller to an Ohio buyer the rate follows the seller's location, not yours (R.C. 5739.033(B)(1) sources intrastate sales to where the vendor receives the order). Out-of-state sellers and online marketplaces are the exception — they source to your delivery address, so your home county rate is the one that applies there. See all 88 Ohio county rates side by side.

Whether you're shopping in Columbus or anywhere else in Franklin County, a taxable purchase adds 2.25% in county and transit tax on top of Ohio's 5.75% state base — the 8.00% combined rate shown above. 1 of Ohio's 88 counties charge this exact rate, and none are higher — it's tied for the steepest in the state. Cars, general merchandise, and prepared restaurant food are all taxed at 8.00%, while unprepared groceries and prescription drugs stay exempt statewide.

Ranked against the rest of the state, Franklin County is the 1st-highest of Ohio's 88 counties, tied with 1 other county on 8.00%. In hard numbers that matters most on big-ticket buys: a $30,000.00 car costs $2,400.00 in sales tax here. Registering the same car in Butler County (6.50%, Ohio's lowest) would cost $1,950.00 — a $450.00 difference. No Ohio county charges more. Ohio taxes a vehicle at the rate of the buyer's county of residence, not the dealer's, so the county on your registration is the one that sets the bill.

Franklin County is seated at Columbus, covers 540 square miles and is home to 1,361,536 people — the 1st-most-populous of Ohio's 88 counties, at about 2,522 people per square mile. 63 ZIP codes fall inside it, running from 43002 to 43291, and every one of them pays the same 8.00% — Ohio municipalities cannot levy a sales tax of their own, so there is no city surcharge anywhere in the county.