What you actually pay at the register, city by city.
Every page on this site — ours included — says a medical card saves you the 16% excise tax. That is true, and it is not the whole number. Here is what actually lands on the receipt.
Two taxes, not one
Arizona charges transaction privilege tax on cannabis like it does on most retail: 5.6% to the state plus whatever the county and city add. Both markets pay it. On top of that, adult-use purchases carry the 16% excise from Proposition 207, and medical purchases do not. So the question is not "16% of what" but "what is the difference between the two combined rates where I shop".
Combined rates in the four biggest markets
| City | Medical, all in | Adult-use, all in | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | 9.1% | 26.4% | 17.3 points |
| Tucson | 8.7% | 26.7% | 18.0 points |
| Mesa | 8.3% | 26.1% | 17.8 points |
| Scottsdale | 8.0% | 25.85% | 17.85 points |
What that is on a real basket
Take $100 of product before tax, in Phoenix:
- With a card: $100 × 1.091 = $109.10
- Without: $100 × 1.264 = $126.40
- Difference: $17.30, which is 13.7% off the adult-use till total.
Three different percentages describe the same transaction, and sellers pick whichever flatters them. 16% is the excise rate. 17.3 points is the gap between the combined rates. 13.7% is what comes off the bill you would otherwise have paid. None of them is 30%, which is the figure this site used to print and which came from nowhere.
Why our calculator uses 16%
The cost calculator on the home page figures savings at a flat 16% of spend, so it comes out slightly under the real gap — $384 a year at $200 a month where the true figure in Phoenix is closer to $415. That is deliberate. Local rates vary by jurisdiction, change on their own schedule, and a dispensary one city over can sit in a different tax district. A number that is reliably a little conservative is more useful than one that is sometimes wrong in your favor.
Things that quietly change the total
Where the shop sits, not where you live. Tax follows the dispensary's jurisdiction. Driving from Phoenix to a Scottsdale dispensary changes your rate.
Pre-tax discounts compound. A 15% medical-patient discount comes off before tax, so it reduces the tax too. See patient discounts.
Menu prices may already include tax. Some dispensaries post out-the-door pricing and some do not. Ask before you compare two shops' menus.
Does Schedule III change this?
Not your receipt, no. The April 2026 move affects how dispensaries are taxed as businesses under section 280E, not the rate you pay at the counter — see what Schedule III changed. If any of that reaches shelf prices it will show up as lower prices, not as a lower tax line.
The gap is worth about $17 on every $100 you spend.
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- Arizona Department of Revenue — TPT rate table, 1 October 2026
- ARS §42-5452 and Proposition 207 — 16% excise on adult-use marijuana; medical sales exempt
- City cannabis rate summaries for Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa and Scottsdale, retrieved 20 October 2026
City and county rates change on their own schedules and a dispensary a mile away can sit in a different jurisdiction. Check the current ADOR rate table before relying on a number here.