How this travel budget planner works
This planner adds up what you expect to spend on a trip to the United States and shows the total in U.S. dollars and in your home currency. You enter your own costs: lodging per night, food, local transport and activities per day, plus one-time costs such as flights, visa or ESTA fees, insurance and souvenirs. The numbers already in the boxes are only examples so you can see how it works, and the button under them clears them. CentDaily does not know your prices, and it does not supply travel costs for any city.
The planner then adds the extras that are easy to forget. It adds sales tax to food and activities using the state average rate, adds a hotel tax rate to lodging, and adds tips on the price before tax. You can change every rate, and you can tell the planner that the prices you typed already include tax.
Why U.S. prices are not the final price
In the U.S., the price on a shelf or a menu usually does not include sales tax. The tax is added at the register, and it differs by state, county and city. Five states have no statewide sales tax (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon), and many cities add their own taxes on hotel rooms or restaurant meals. The planner starts from the Tax Foundation's average combined sales tax rate for the state you choose as of January 1, 2026, and uses it for sales tax. It puts the same number in the hotel tax box only as a placeholder: hotel occupancy taxes are separate and are usually higher, so copy the exact hotel tax and any resort or per-night fee from your booking confirmation. A tip is on top of that.
Budgeting for tips
Tipping is a custom in the U.S., not a law, and it can add noticeably to the cost of eating out. The default of 15% on food is an average: sit-down restaurants commonly fall in a 15% to 20% range, but groceries and counter service usually get no tip, and the percentage applies to the whole food amount. The default housekeeping tip is $3 a night, within the usual $2 to $5. Set transport and activity tips to match how you will travel: use 0% for a train pass, a rental car, or museum and park tickets, and 10% to 20% for taxis, rideshares or guided tours (the activities default is 0%). For details by service, use the tip calculator.
Your home currency
Choose your home currency and the planner converts the dollar total using the same daily reference exchange rates as the currency converter. These are reference rates, not what you will actually get. Banks, card networks and ATMs add their own margins and fees, and some cards charge a foreign transaction fee, so ask your bank before you travel. Leave a cushion in your budget for that difference.
Things to check on official sites
Visa or ESTA fees, and the rules for entering the U.S., come from the government, not from this planner. For ESTA, see the official U.S. Customs and Border Protection site, and for visas the U.S. Department of State. CentDaily gives no immigration advice. You can also check the time difference with home on the world clock, and if you plan to drive, try the road trip cost calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Does the planner include flights and visa fees?
Only if you enter them. Use the one-time costs section for flights, visa or ESTA fees, insurance and souvenirs. Look up current fees on the official government websites, because they change.
Is sales tax included in U.S. prices?
Usually not. Most prices in shops and on menus are shown before tax, and tax is added at checkout. Gas prices and some tickets are shown with taxes included. If a price you found already includes tax, choose "Already include tax" in the planner.
Why does my card charge differ from the planner?
The planner uses a daily reference exchange rate. Your bank or card network applies its own rate on the day of the purchase and may add a foreign transaction fee, so the amount charged can be a little higher. Your actual prices may also differ from the numbers you entered.