We call the gap between what you paid to replace a device and what it would have cost to repair it your throwaway tax. It’s not an official economic term — it’s just the name this calculator gives to money that didn’t have to leave your pocket.

Your state changes what’s possible, not the math

Pick your state above and the Repair Map further down updates to show which of your device categories have a legal right-to-repair protection where you live, and which don’t. The dollar totals above don’t change when you switch states — only your options do.

Mark what happened to each device

For each of the ten categories, choose whether you repaired it, replaced it, are still using it without trouble, or never owned one. Every click updates the totals immediately, with no button to press. At the Typical estimate, replacing a smartphone screen at around $600 instead of repairing it for about $180 adds roughly $420 to your throwaway tax on that one device alone.

Conservative, typical, and high estimates

Repair and replacement prices vary a lot by model and region, so instead of pretending to know your exact number, this calculator shows three tiers built from the same published cost data. Switching tiers recalculates every card below without reloading anything.

Where the money went

Each device you marked as replaced or repaired gets its own card here, showing the estimated dollar gap for that specific item. Occasionally — a cheap microwave with an expensive motor repair, for example — replacing genuinely was the cheaper option, and the card says so plainly instead of forcing every replacement into the “cost” column.

Your Repair Map

This is checked category by category, not state by state as one blanket yes or no. New York’s and Minnesota’s electronics laws look almost identical on phones and laptops, but only Minnesota’s covers washing machines and microwaves — New York’s law explicitly excludes home appliances. No state law reviewed here currently covers game consoles.

Sources and estimates

Household repair-savings figures are based on U.S. PIRG’s “Repair Saves Families Big II” report. Appliance repair cost ranges are based on published Angi/HomeAdvisor cost guides. State law details are drawn directly from each state’s statute text or official attorney general / legislature page, not from secondary summaries. These are illustrative estimates, not a quote for your specific device, and this tool is general information, not legal advice — actual coverage can depend on your device’s exact price, manufacture date, and statutory exceptions.