Wholesale Vape Tax by State: Rates and Calculator

Wholesale vape tax is the state excise tax on the vapes a store buys to resell. Each state sets its own, so the rules change from one state to the next. Some charge by the milliliter, some by the pod, and others take a share of the price. Our vape tax calculator gives a quick estimate for any state. Below it, a table lists the vape tax by state, with a link to each state’s own rules. In most states, the e-cigarette excise tax is part of the tobacco tax, and the distributor pays it. However, a store that buys from an out-of-state supplier often has to pay it itself.

Wholesale vape tax calculator

To use the vape tax calculator, first pick your store’s state. Then tap the product you’re buying and enter how many. The calculator asks only for what that state’s tax needs, such as the milliliters, the pods per pack or the price. After that, it shows the estimate, how it’s figured, who pays and the state’s source.

Wholesale vape and pouch tax calculator

Estimate the state excise tax on a store’s order in three quick steps.

1Your store’s state

Choose a stateAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming

2What are you buying?

DisposablesPrefilled, one usePodsPrefilled cartridgesE-liquidBottlesDevicesNo liquidPartsCoils, empty pods, tanksPouchesNicotine pouches

Contains nicotine?YesNo, 0 mgAnalog

3Order details

How many disposables

−+

mL per disposable

2 mL5 mL10 mL15 mL20 mL30 mL40 mL50 mL

Your price per disposable

$

Pick your store’s state to see its tax.

Selling online to consumers? Switch to the online order calculator

An estimate of the state excise tax on vapes and nicotine pouches only. It leaves out city and county taxes and sales tax. Rates change, so check the state’s source before you file. Not tax or legal advice.

For a mixed order, tap Add to order after each product, and the vape tax calculator adds up the lines. For example, a case of disposables and a box of bottled e-liquid are two lines. You can also copy the estimate for your records. Keep in mind that it covers the state excise tax only, so city taxes and sales tax are extra.

How states tax vapes at wholesale

States use three main ways to figure a wholesale vape tax. First, many tax the liquid by the milliliter, so a 100 mL bottle owes more than a 30 mL bottle. Second, a few charge a flat amount for each pod or disposable. Third, the rest take a share of a price, such as the wholesale price, the distributor’s cost or the manufacturer’s list price.

Many states also mix these methods. Connecticut, for example, charges $0.40 per mL in pods and disposables, but 10% of the wholesale price on bottles and devices. So the same order can owe very different amounts in two states that sit side by side.

What counts as a vape changes too. Some states tax only liquid that contains nicotine, while others tax nicotine-free liquid as well. Likewise, some tax the devices themselves, while others tax only the liquid.

Wholesale vape tax by state

The table covers all 50 states and DC. Type your state’s name to find it, or filter by how the tax is figured. Each state name links to an official source for that state, such as its tax department or the law itself, so you can check the details there. The last two columns show whether a state taxes nicotine-free liquid and devices sold without liquid. Also, the table and the vape tax calculator read the same rates, so they always match. California and DC reset their rates every year, so check the source before you file.

Who pays the tax on a store order

In most states, the tax is due once, at the first sale into the state. A licensed distributor in your state usually pays it and builds it into its price. Then its invoice shows that the tax was paid.

However, things change when your store buys from a supplier that isn’t licensed in your state. In that case, many states treat your store as the distributor. Illinois, for example, has a store that buys from an unlicensed supplier register as a distributor and pay the tax. Likewise, Georgia treats a store that gets vapes shipped in from out of state as the distributor. Colorado, on the other hand, gives anyone who holds untaxed product 30 days to pay it.

So before you place a wholesale order, ask the supplier two questions. First, is it licensed to collect your state’s vape tax? Second, will the invoice show the tax as paid? If either answer is no, your store probably owes the tax and may need its own license. Some states also limit which vapes can be sold there at all, as our guide to vape shipping restrictions by state explains.

Sales tax on a wholesale order

Sales tax is a separate tax from the vape excise tax. In most states, a store doesn’t pay sales tax on vapes it buys to resell. Instead, it gives the seller a resale certificate and then collects sales tax from its own customers. For example, the Multistate Tax Commission’s resale certificate works in 36 states, but check that your state accepts it.

However, a resale certificate covers sales tax only. It doesn’t remove the vape excise tax, which is still due on the order. So a wholesale invoice can show excise tax even when it shows no sales tax.

States that tax vapes at retail

A few states don’t tax vapes on the wholesale invoice. Instead, the store collects a tax from shoppers at the register. For example, Maryland charges a 20% sales tax on vape devices and liquid, or 60% on liquid in containers of 5 mL or less. New York, meanwhile, adds a 20% tax on retail sales of vapor products.

Two states split the tax. Indiana taxes pods and disposables at wholesale, but bottled e-liquid and devices at 30% of the retail price. New Jersey also taxes bottled e-liquid at retail, at 30%. California has both kinds: a tax on the distributor’s wholesale cost, plus a 12.5% retail tax that stores collect. In these states, your store usually has to register to collect the retail part as well.

City and county taxes

Some cities and counties add their own tax on top of the state’s. For example, Chicago taxes liquid nicotine products at retail, at $1.50 per item plus $1.20 per mL. Cook County, Illinois has its own vape tax as well. In Maryland, Montgomery County charges 30% of the wholesale price. Several Alaska cities and boroughs tax vapes even though the state doesn’t, and some Alabama cities kept their own vape taxes too. The vape tax calculator leaves local taxes out, so check with your city or county.

PACT Act reports on wholesale orders

The federal PACT Act covers vapes, and it applies to business orders too, not just orders to shoppers. A seller that ships vapes into a state that taxes them has to register with the ATF and that state’s tobacco tax office. After that, it sends the state a report every month that lists its shipments there. As a result, a state can compare what was shipped in with the tax that was paid. The ATF’s PACT Act page explains who has to file. For orders shipped to shoppers, our guide to the vape mail ban covers the age check and the signature at delivery. For the tax on those orders, see the rates on online orders.

Wholesale vape tax FAQ

This guide sums up each state’s vape excise tax in plain words for store owners. It isn’t tax or legal advice. Rates and rules change, so check the linked state source, or ask your state’s tax department, before you file. You must be 21 or older to buy vape products, under the federal Tobacco 21 law.