If you’re looking to retrieve accurate sales tax rates without capturing orders in TaxCloud for tax filing, follow this guide. However, if you are calculating tax rates for orders that need to be captured for filing, see Real-time API Workflow.
TaxCloud does not currently offer a standalone tax rate lookup endpoint. Instead, TaxCloud uses a cart-based model, which calculates tax dynamically based on the line items and shipping destination. You can simulate a tax calculation by creating a cart, retrieving the tax result, and then abandon the simulated cart. There is no need to convert it into an order if you’re just looking up rates.
This is the recommended and supported method for rate lookup, estimation, and pre-checkout tax previewing.
Use this flow when you:
Important: Since there’s no standalone endpoint like /rates, this is the only supported way to get accurate, jurisdiction-specific tax estimates from TaxCloud.
To get a tax rate, simulate a purchase using the Cart API.
This step requires:
Note: If all your products are taxable, use tic: “0” for simplicity. For more accurate calculations, especially for digital goods, clothing, or exempt items, set the appropriate TIC code.
If you’re in an early stage of checkout and don’t have a full address yet, you can still perform a rate lookup using a partial address. The verify address endpoint can help validate this address.
Set “unknown” for fields like address1 or city, but be sure to include state and zip5.
TaxCloud will still use this to determine the correct tax jurisdiction. This is especially useful for calculating a default estimate before the user completes their shipping information.
When offering discounts, you need to make sure the discounted price is reflected in the cart, or the tax amount will be overstated. Please see our handling discount guide here on how to reflect your discounts for the line items or overall cart items.
Once you send the cart, TaxCloud will return:
TotalAmount : The net price of taxable goods.
SalesTaxAmount : The calculated tax.
EffectiveRate : The derived rate (tax amount ÷ total amount).
These values are usually included in the CreateCart response.
You can now use this data to:
There’s no need to convert a cart to an order. This flow is designed to support accurate tax lookups even during early checkout or estimation stages. This approach ensures you stay compliant and deliver a tax-inclusive user experience, all while using the current capabilities of the TaxCloud platform.