Sales Tax / VAT Calculator

Add or remove tax in seconds

Use 'add tax' mode to find the total a customer pays on top of a net price, or 'remove tax' mode to back out the pre-tax amount from a tax-inclusive total — useful for invoices and expense claims. The calculator handles any tax or VAT rate.

Breakdown shown

• Net amount (before tax)
• Tax / VAT amount
• Gross total (after tax)

Key features at a glance

• Add tax to a net price or remove it from a gross price
• Works with any sales tax or VAT rate
• Clear breakdown of net, tax, and gross amounts
• Reverse mode backs out the pre-tax amount from a total
• Instant results as you type
• Runs entirely in your browser, even offline

Adding versus removing tax

Adding tax is the everyday direction: you have a net (pre-tax) price and want the total a customer pays, so you multiply the net amount by one plus the tax rate. A 100 item at 20% tax becomes 100 × 1.20 = 120, of which 20 is tax. This is how prices are built up on quotes and invoices that show tax separately.

Removing tax is the reverse and trips many people up. To find the net amount inside a tax-inclusive price, you divide by one plus the rate rather than subtracting the percentage. A 120 gross price at 20% is 120 ÷ 1.20 = 100 net, with 20 of tax — not 120 minus 20%, which would wrongly give 96. This reverse calculation is essential for expense claims, bookkeeping, and any time a displayed price already includes tax.

Sales tax versus VAT

Although this tool handles both with the same arithmetic, sales tax and VAT work differently in practice. Sales tax, common in the United States, is applied once at the final point of sale to the end consumer, and is usually added on top of displayed prices. Rates vary by state, county, and city, so the same purchase can be taxed differently in two neighboring towns.

Value Added Tax, used across Europe and much of the world, is collected in stages throughout the supply chain, with businesses reclaiming the tax they pay on inputs. Crucially, VAT is typically included in the displayed price for consumers, which is why the 'remove tax' mode is so frequently needed to find the underlying net figure for accounting.

Tips for working with tax

• Use 'add tax' for quotes and 'remove tax' for tax-inclusive prices
• To remove tax, divide by (1 + rate), never subtract the percentage
• Check whether displayed prices already include tax before calculating
• Keep the net, tax, and gross figures for clean invoicing and expense claims
• Confirm the correct local rate, since it can vary by region

Why choose our sales tax / VAT calculator?

Our calculator is completely free with no signup, no limits, and no subscription. It runs entirely in your browser, so results are instant, it works offline, and your figures are never sent to a server.

It is one of more than 200 free tools on ToopTools, and you can pin it to your My Workspace, a personalized workspace where you keep the tools you use most in a single dashboard. Beside the GST, discount, and percentage calculators, it makes tax math in either direction effortless.

Common use cases

Freelancers and small businesses use the calculator to add tax to quotes and invoices and to back out the net amount from tax-inclusive receipts for bookkeeping and expense claims. Shoppers use it to work out the final price including tax before reaching the till.

Accountants and anyone filing expenses use the reverse mode constantly to separate the tax portion of a gross total, which is required for accurate records and tax returns. Because it accepts any rate, it works wherever you are and whatever the local tax or VAT percentage.

Is the sales tax / VAT calculator free?

Yes. It is completely free with no account, no sign-up, and no usage limits. Calculate as much tax as you like at no cost.

How do I remove tax from a price?

Divide the tax-inclusive price by one plus the tax rate as a decimal. At 20%, divide by 1.20. Subtracting the percentage directly gives the wrong answer, which is a common mistake.

How do I add tax to a price?

Multiply the net price by one plus the tax rate. At 20%, multiply by 1.20. The tax amount is the difference between the gross and net figures.

What is the difference between sales tax and VAT?

Sales tax is applied once at the final sale to the consumer and usually added on top of the price. VAT is collected in stages along the supply chain and is typically already included in displayed consumer prices.

Why can't I just subtract the percentage to remove tax?

Because the tax was added to the smaller net amount, not the larger gross one. Subtracting the percentage from the gross removes too much; dividing by one plus the rate correctly recovers the net figure.

Does the calculator support any tax rate?

Yes. You can enter any percentage, so the tool works for every state and local sales tax rate as well as any VAT rate worldwide. There are no fixed presets to limit you, which is useful given how much rates vary by region and product category.

Can I use it for expense claims and invoices?

Absolutely. The reverse mode is designed for exactly this: it separates the net and tax portions of a tax-inclusive total, which is what bookkeeping, expense reports, and tax returns require. Keep the net, tax, and gross figures it produces for clean, auditable records.

Are my figures kept private?

Yes. Everything is computed in your browser and nothing is uploaded, so your amounts stay private and the tool works without an internet connection.

How do I calculate the tax on a purchase?

Enter the price and your tax rate, and the calculator instantly shows the tax amount and the total. Switch modes to either add tax to a net price or extract the tax already included in a gross price, depending on what you need.

Does the sales tax calculator work offline?

Yes. The calculation runs entirely in your browser, so once the page has loaded the tool works without an internet connection, and your figures are never uploaded — they stay private on your own device.