What to know
Tipping is the first cost to plan for. Under 29 CFR 531.59 the Department of Labor puts the minimum cash wage for a tipped worker at USD 2.13 an hour, the level the statute fixed on 20 August 1996. The register adds the second cost, because sales tax is applied there and not earlier.
Sales tax in the United States is not a national tax. There is no federal sales tax at all. The charge is levied by individual states, and by counties and cities within them, so what is added at the till depends on the counter you are standing at. A handful of states levy none at all: the Oregon Department of Revenue tells businesses that Oregon has no general sales or use tax.
California shows the mechanics. The rate table the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration published as effective 1 July 2026 puts the statewide rate at 7.25 per cent, with district taxes of 0.10 to 2.00 per cent added on top. More than one district tax can apply in the same place, so a total assembled that way changes at a county or city boundary. No printed shelf label could carry a figure that held good across the state.
Louisiana refunded the tax to overseas visitors for thirty-six years and then stopped. The Louisiana Department of Revenue records that its Tax Free Shopping Program, established by state lawmakers in 1988 and covering more than 900 participating retailers, ended on 1 July 2024 under Act 255 of the 2023 Regular Session. The last three refund centres, two in New Orleans and one in Kenner, closed to the public permanently on 30 June 2024, and mailed claims were accepted only until 30 June 2025.
Carrying money across the border is a filing exercise. United States Customs and Border Protection requires anyone who brings, sends or receives more than USD 10,000 at one time, in either direction, to report it on FinCEN Form 105. Coins, notes, traveller's cheques and bearer instruments all count, and a family or group travelling together is measured on its collective total, not on what each person carries. The figure sits in section 5316 of title 31 of the United States Code, where Public Law 98-473 of 12 October 1984 replaced USD 5,000 with USD 10,000.
Whether a shop must take cash at all is a separate question with a plain answer. The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, on a page last updated on 21 July 2020, states that no federal statute requires a private business, a person or an organisation to accept currency or coins as payment. It adds that businesses are free to set their own policies unless a state law says otherwise. A card-only stadium, museum cafe or coach service is lawful wherever no such state law exists, so a visitor carrying only cash should expect to meet a door that will not open for it.
Heading off with a card? Read how to choose a travel money card - including why you should always pay in the local currency, not Australian dollars.
Working out what the trip costs? Put your daily spend and trip length through the travel budget calculator, or convert a single amount with the currency converter.