Iowa sales tax for salons
Are haircuts and salon services taxable in Iowa?
Yes. Iowa taxes barber and beautician services, and Iowa Code 157.1 defines those to include haircutting, nail work, skin care and waxing, so haircuts and other salon services are taxable. Below: each kind of service, the products you sell, the rate and the permit a salon needs, each answered from the Iowa Department of Revenue's own publications, rules or statutes, read on October 25, 2026.
- Haircuts
- Taxable
- Nails
- Taxable
- Products you sell
- Taxable
Administered by Iowa Department of Revenue.The agency's page The state's own words
Services
Which salon services are taxable in Iowa?
Yes. Iowa taxes barber and beautician services, and Iowa Code 157.1 defines those to include haircutting, nail work, skin care and waxing, so haircuts and other salon services are taxable.
- Hair services
- Taxable
- Nail services
- Taxable
- Skin care and waxing
- Taxable
Hair services: haircuts, color, styling, perms and shaves. Nail services: manicures, pedicures and enhancements. Skin care: facials, waxing and other hair removal, and makeup.
Products
Do salons charge sales tax on products in Iowa?
Yes. A salon must collect and remit sales tax on its sales of tangible personal property, such as products sold to clients, as well as on its services. The state rate is 6% plus local tax.
The rate
What is the sales tax rate in Iowa?
- Statewide tax
- Sales and Use Tax
- State rate
- 6%
- Local sales taxes
- Yes, added by cities, counties or districts
The rate a client pays depends on the salon's address: look it up with the Iowa Department of Revenue.
The permit
Does a salon need a sales tax permit in Iowa?
Sales and Use Tax Permit. Apply for a sales and use tax permit through GovConnectIowa before making taxable sales; the permit carries no charge.
- Registration
- Sales and Use Tax Permit
- State fee
- Free
Good to know
What else Iowa says about salons and sales tax
- A barber or beauty shop pays sales tax when it buys shampoo and other items it uses up in services, because those items are not sold to the customer at a separate, fixed price.
- The local option sales tax applies only in cities and counties that have imposed it, so a salon must check its own location.
- A chair renter who works as an independent operator must get a sales tax permit of their own and is responsible for the sales tax due.
Sources
What Iowa's official pages say
Each answer above, in the words of the Iowa Department of Revenue's own publications, rules or statutes, read on October 25, 2026. This is not tax advice: rules and rates change, so confirm with the Iowa Department of Revenue or an accountant.
- Hair services
“Barber and beautician services are subject to Iowa sales tax”
revenue.iowa.gov “Beautician services include those described as”
revenue.iowa.gov “Curling, waving, press and curl hair straightening, shampooing, cutting, singeing, bleaching, coloring”
legis.iowa.gov “Persons engaged in the business of barbering and beauty are selling a service”
legis.iowa.gov - Nail services
“Cleansing, shaping, or polishing the fingernails, applying sculptured nails, nail extensions, wraps, overlays, nail art, or any other nail technique to the fingernails or toenails of a person.”
legis.iowa.gov - Skin care and waxing
“Removing superfluous hair from the face or body of a person with the use of depilatories, wax, sugars, or tweezing.”
legis.iowa.gov - Products you sell
“remit the tax on your sales of tangible personal property and services”
revenue.iowa.gov - The tax and its rate
“Iowa law imposes both a sales tax and a use tax. The rate for both is 6%, though an additional 1% applies to most sales subject to sales tax, as many jurisdictions impose a local option sales tax.”
revenue.iowa.gov “The tax is not statewide and the local option tax only applies in those jurisdictions that have imposed it.”
revenue.iowa.gov - The permit
“An application for a sales and use tax permit shall be made via GovConnectIowa”
legis.iowa.gov “There is no charge for a sales and use tax permit.”
legis.iowa.gov - Also good to know
“A beauty or barber shop purchases shampoo and other items to be used in the performance of its service. Tax is due at the time the shop buys the items from its supplier.”
revenue.iowa.gov - Also good to know
“secure a sales tax permit whereby the lessee will be responsible directly for the sales tax”
legis.iowa.gov
Questions
Iowa salon sales tax, answered
Are haircuts taxable in Iowa?
Do nail salons charge sales tax in Iowa?
Are facials and waxing taxable in Iowa?
Do salons charge sales tax on products in Iowa?
Does a salon need a sales tax permit in Iowa?
What is the sales tax rate in Iowa?
Plan the rest
Opening or running a salon in Iowa
- Every step to opening a salon in Iowa, as a checklist
- What Iowa requires to license a salon
- What Iowa inspectors check in a salon
- Salon point of sale systems compared, with card fees
Salon sales tax in other states
Ready when you are
Tax sorted? Fill the chairs next
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