"How much is it *really* going to cost?" is a fair question at any cannabis shop, because Vermont, like every legal-cannabis state, taxes it. The good news is that Vermont's system is simple once you see it laid out: two flat percentages, both figured the same easy way, plus a small local add-on in Burlington. Here's exactly how the 14% cannabis excise tax and the 6% sales tax work, what they total at the register, and why you'll never actually reach for a calculator when you shop with us.

How much tax is on cannabis in Vermont?

Two statewide taxes apply to adult-use cannabis in Vermont:

• Cannabis excise tax — 14%. A tax specific to cannabis, on top of the regular sales tax. It's the same 14% whether you're buying flower, a vape, edibles, or a beverage.
• State sales tax — 6%. Vermont's ordinary sales-and-use tax, the same 6% rate you'd pay on most taxable goods, applied here to cannabis as well.

Add those together and cannabis carries 20% in state tax. That's the figure to keep in your head anywhere in Vermont — with one small wrinkle in Burlington, covered below.

Do the 14% and 6% stack on top of each other?

No — and this is the part people most often get wrong. Both taxes are calculated on the pre-tax product price, not on each other. The 6% sales tax isn't charged on a price that already includes the 14% excise; each is figured from the same base number. So the combined rate is a clean 14% + 6% = 20% of the pre-tax price, never a compounded 20.8%.

What does that look like on a real purchase in Burlington?

Here's the full breakdown on a $100 pre-tax cannabis purchase at a Burlington shop, which is exactly how Vermont's own tax guidance frames it:

• Pre-tax price: $100.00
• Cannabis excise tax (14%): $14.00
• State sales tax (6%): $6.00
• Burlington local option tax (1%): $1.00
• Total tax: $21.00 → out the door: $121.00

Scale it to whatever you're spending: on a $40 pre-tax purchase in Burlington the tax is about $8.40, and on a $25 purchase it's about $5.25. Outside a local-option town, drop the 1% and it's a flat 20%.

What's the extra 1% in Burlington?

Vermont lets individual towns add a 1% local option tax on top of the state rate, and Burlington is one of the municipalities that has adopted it. On cannabis that means the 14% excise and 6% state sales tax are joined by a 1% local option tax, for a total of 21% on the pre-tax price. It's a Burlington-specific line, not a statewide one — a purchase in a town without the local option tax comes to 20%. Either way, it's a small slice of the total.

So what do I actually pay at the counter at Float On?

Exactly the number on the menu — nothing more. Vermont law lets a retailer choose how it displays prices, and at Float On the menu price is the final, all-in price: the excise, sales, and local option taxes are already built into what you see. A listing that reads $30 is $30 at the counter, not $30 plus a surprise 21% at checkout. You can browse the live menu and know that the numbers there are what you'll hand over.

That's a display choice, not a change to the tax itself — the same 20–21% is still being collected and, as below, still itemized on your receipt. Some shops list pre-tax prices and add the tax at the register; we'd rather you see the real, final number while you shop. If it's your first visit, our first-time Burlington dispensary walkthrough covers the rest of the flow.

Will the tax show up on my receipt?

Yes. Vermont requires the cannabis excise tax to be itemized separately from the general sales tax on the receipt you're given, and the local option tax appears as its own line too. So even though the price is all-in when you shop with us, your receipt still breaks out each piece — a straightforward way to see precisely what went to the 14% excise, the 6% sales tax, and Burlington's 1%. Keeping that receipt with your sealed, labeled packaging is also the simplest proof that what you bought came from a licensed, tax-paying store rather than the illicit market.

Where does Vermont's cannabis tax money go?

It's earmarked, not just dropped into a general pot. Under Vermont law, 30% of the 14% excise tax revenue is dedicated to a substance-misuse prevention fund administered by the Department of Health, with the remainder going to the state's General Fund. Separately, the 6% sales tax collected on cannabis is directed to a fund supporting after-school and summer programs through the Agency of Education, with a focus on underserved parts of the state. In other words, a real share of what you pay is routed back into prevention and youth programming.

Is any of this different for medical patients?

This article is about adult-use retail, which is what Float On sells. Vermont runs a separate medical cannabis program with its own registration and rules, and its tax treatment differs from adult-use. If you're a registered patient, check the specifics of that program rather than assuming the adult-use 20–21% applies. For everyone shopping the adult-use menu, the math above is the whole story.

The short version: Vermont's cannabis tax is a flat, easy-to-predict 20% statewide — 21% here in Burlington — figured on the pre-tax price, itemized on your receipt, and partly earmarked for prevention and after-school programs. And because our menu prices are all-in, the only number you really need is the one already on the listing when you stop by us in downtown Burlington.