San Tan Valley shoppers already pay a 6.7 percent sales tax, and that part is legitimate. What is not legitimate, the town says, is the extra town tax some businesses have started adding on top of it.

Town Manager Brent Billingsley told the Town Council on Sept. 2 that the town has approved a sales tax but does not yet have one in effect. The council adopted a model city tax code on July 1, which set the rates, in two 6-1 votes with Councilmember Gia Jenkins opposed. Actually collecting the tax is the state's job, not the town's, and that step has not happened.

"We don't have a sales tax yet," Billingsley said. "We approved it, but it has to be implemented by the Arizona State Department of Revenue."

The town is hoping the rate is switched on in October.

Until then, his instruction to residents was direct. Speaking about the town's own tax, he said: "If you're paying a sales tax rate on a receipt for purchases in San Tan Valley, it's not valid. You need to go back to that vendor and ask for that tax back, because our tax is not active yet."

To be clear about what that means: the 6.7 percent you already pay is real and stays. It is the town's additional 2.25 percent that is not in effect and should not be appearing on any receipt yet.

What you pay now, and what you will pay later

The current rate across the San Tan Valley area is 6.7 percent, made up of Arizona's 5.6 percent state rate and Pinal County's 1.1 percent. That applies whether or not you are inside town limits, and it is not going away.

When the town's 2.25 percent takes effect, purchases inside the Town of San Tan Valley will total 8.95 percent. Purchases in unincorporated San Tan Valley stay at 6.7 percent, because the town tax only applies inside town boundaries.

Billingsley spent part of his report correcting numbers he said are being shared incorrectly online, including claims that the rate is 10.3 percent and that San Tan Valley has the highest sales tax in Pinal County. Neither is true, and he said the claims "could not be farther from the truth."

At 2.25 percent the town's own rate will be the second lowest in Pinal County, behind only Casa Grande. For comparison he read off neighboring towns' rates: Coolidge 3 percent, Eloy 3 percent, Florence 3.5 percent, Kearny 4 percent, Mammoth 4 percent, and Maricopa 2.5 percent.

The town separately adopted a 5 percent rate on construction, and the council designated that money for building infrastructure. That construction rate is the reason the town's proposed development impact fees now come out to essentially zero, which the council took up later in the same meeting.

Business owners: two letters are coming

If you own a business inside town limits, expect mail from two different places, and expect them to overlap.

One letter comes from the town. It covers the coming business license process, which will be handled by the Town Clerk, along with instructions for registering with the Arizona Department of Revenue. The town does not collect sales tax itself, but Billingsley said state law requires the town to have audited financials, which is why the registration piece matters to it.

The second letter comes from the Arizona Department of Revenue, which the town met with on Aug. 31. That letter will cover much of the same ground and will also include the town's business license information.

"They're going to be a little bit redundant," Billingsley said. "One's from the state, one's from us."

The town's business license program is planned to launch Oct. 1, 2026, and the town has said a grace period will be offered to businesses already operating, though its length has not been set. Businesses in the unincorporated San Tan Valley area do not need a town license. Any business selling taxable goods or services still needs a state TPT license regardless of which side of the town line it sits on.

What happens next

Even after the state activates the rate, the money does not arrive immediately. Billingsley told the council it will take time for the Department of Revenue to bring every business onto the system, and there is a two to three month lag before the town receives collections. He put the town's first real sales tax revenue in the December or January range.

He was also blunt that nobody knows the number yet. "Honestly, we have no idea how to project, or what type of revenues we might receive from sales tax," he said.

Need the business license details? Our permits and zoning guide covers who needs a town license, when the program starts and who to call.

Not sure whether your address is inside town limits? Enter it on our interactive map and it will tell you.