Tax
—
Finance · Tax
VAT
VAT
& sales tax calculator
Add tax onto a net price, or peel it back out of a gross price. Either way you get the tax amount, the net and the gross — updated as you type.
—
—
$
%
Gross
—
Adding and removing tax
VAT (value-added tax) and sales tax are both a percentage added to a price. The only real question is which way you're going: putting tax on a tax-free (net) price, or pulling it out of a tax-inclusive (gross) price. They are not the same sum.
Add tax — net to gross
gross = net × (1 + rate ÷ 100)
Remove tax — gross to net
net = gross ÷ (1 + rate ÷ 100)
Why you can't just subtract the percent
A common mistake when removing tax is to subtract the rate from the gross price. That undershoots, because the percentage was applied to the smaller net figure, not the larger gross one. On a $120 gross price at 20%, the tax is $20 — not $24 — so the net is $100. Dividing by 1.20 gets it right; subtracting 20% does not.
Worked example
$100 net · 20% VAT
tax = 100 × 0.20 = $20
gross = 100 + 20 = $120
gross = 100 + 20 = $120
VAT versus sales tax
Mechanically, for a shopper, they behave the same here: one rate on one price. The difference is where in the supply chain the tax is collected — VAT at each stage, US-style sales tax only at the final sale. For this calculation it makes no difference. Need the raw percentage maths? See the percentage calculator.
Common questions
VAT / sales tax FAQ
Multiply the net price by one plus the rate as a decimal. To add 20% VAT to $100: 100 × 1.20 = $120. The tax portion is $20.
Divide the gross price by one plus the rate. To strip 20% from $120: 120 ÷ 1.20 = $100 net, leaving $20 of tax. Don't just subtract the percentage — that gives the wrong answer.
Because the tax was calculated on the smaller net amount, not the larger gross one. Subtracting 20% of the gross removes too much. Dividing by 1.20 reverses the original calculation correctly.
For a single price and rate, the calculation is identical. The difference is administrative: VAT is collected at each stage of production, while US sales tax is charged only at the final sale.
No. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is saved or sent anywhere.