Oh Where Oh Where Do Your Tax Dollars Go?

You go to the mall. Or the grocery store. Or out to dinner. And at the bottom of your receipt before the grand total is a little number called sales tax. We all know it’s a fact of life in OKC, but where does it go? How much is it? What does it pay for? We’re here to fill you in on the deets.

If you’re shopping in Oklahoma City, your sales tax is 8.375%. The State of Oklahoma collects 4.5%. Then the City of Oklahoma City collects 3.875% – or 3.87-ish cents for every dollar you spend.

Here’s how the City of Oklahoma City uses the money collected:
2 cents goes to the General Fund
3/4 cent goes to Public Safety
1/8 cent goes to the Oklahoma City Zoo
1 cent goes to MAPS 3

The MAPS 3 portion is a temporary sales tax that began in April 2010 and will expire in December 2017. Over that period of time, the City will collect approximately $777 million to fund eight projects.

And to put it all in perspective, here’s a quick look at sales tax rates in other cities: