UnitConv

Sales Tax & VAT Calculator

Add or remove sales tax / VAT from any price, or find the effective tax rate

Net price → tax amount and tax-inclusive total

10%
Gross (tax-inclusive) amount
1,100
Net (pre-tax) amount
1,000
Tax amount
100
Gross (tax-inclusive) amount
1,100
Net (pre-tax) amount
Tax amount
Tax amount = 1,000 × 10% = 100
Gross (tax-inclusive) amount = 1,000 + 100 = 1,100

What is a Sales Tax / VAT Calculator?

A sales tax or VAT calculator applies a tax rate to a price, in whichever direction you need. Three things are linked by one percentage: the net (pre-tax) amount, the tax amount, and the gross (tax-inclusive) amount. Give it the net price and a rate and it adds the tax; give it a tax-inclusive total and it works backwards to reveal the original price and the tax hidden inside; give it both prices and it tells you the rate. ‘Sales tax’, ‘VAT’, ‘GST’ and ‘consumption tax’ are regional names for the same percentage-of-price idea, so this one tool covers them all. Because rates differ from place to place — and even from city to city — the rate is always entered by hand rather than guessed from a country, and the result is currency-neutral: you supply the number and an optional currency label, so it works for dollars, euros, yen or anything else.

How to use this calculator

1. Choose a mode: ‘Add tax’ (net → gross), ‘Remove tax’ (gross → net) or ‘Find rate’. 2. In Add mode, enter the pre-tax price and the tax rate to get the tax and the total. 3. In Remove mode, enter the tax-inclusive total and the rate to get the original price and the tax it contains. 4. In Find-rate mode, enter the net and the gross price to get the effective rate. 5. Optionally type a currency label (like USD or JPY) that is added to every figure. Results and the formula update instantly.

Formula

With a rate r (in percent): tax = net × r/100 gross = net × (1 + r/100) net = gross ÷ (1 + r/100) (removing tax) r = (gross ÷ net − 1) × 100 (finding the rate) Examples: 1,000 net at 10% gives 100 tax and 1,100 gross. A 1,100 total at 10% reverses to 1,000 net with 100 tax — note you divide by 1.10, you do not subtract 10%. A net of 1,000 and a gross of 1,080 imply an 8% effective rate.

Interpreting Results

The tax amount is what is owed on top of the net price; the gross is what the customer actually pays. When removing tax, the key point is that the tax is a slice of the gross, not of the net — so you divide by (1 + rate/100) rather than subtracting the rate from the total, which would understate the net. The effective-rate mode is handy when a receipt shows only the before- and after-tax amounts: it recovers the rate that was applied. Remember that real receipts may combine several rates (for example reduced rates on food), apply rounding per line, or include other fees, so a single-rate estimate is a close guide rather than an exact reproduction of a complex bill.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between sales tax and VAT? ▾

Mathematically nothing — both add a percentage of the price as tax. The difference is administrative: US sales tax is charged once at the final retail sale, while VAT (and GST) is collected in stages along the supply chain, with each business reclaiming the tax it paid. For a shopper the final added amount is the same percentage, so this calculator handles sales tax, VAT, GST and consumption tax identically.

How do I work out the price before tax from a tax-included total? ▾

Divide, don’t subtract. Because the tax was added on top of the net price, the net is the gross divided by (1 + rate/100). For a 1,100 total at 10%, net = 1,100 ÷ 1.10 = 1,000, and the tax contained is 100. Subtracting 10% of 1,100 would wrongly give 990.

Why doesn’t the calculator show a currency symbol? ▾

Tax rates and currencies vary by country, so results are plain numbers. Type the rate that applies where you are and, if you like, a currency label such as USD, EUR or JPY that is appended to every figure.

Can it find the tax rate from two prices? ▾

Yes. Switch to ‘Find rate’ and enter the net price and the gross (tax-included) price. The effective rate is (gross ÷ net − 1) × 100 — for example a net of 1,000 and a gross of 1,080 implies an 8% rate.

Estimates are for general information only. Actual taxes may combine several rates, apply per-line rounding or include other fees, and tax rules differ by jurisdiction — check local regulations for exact amounts.