Sales Tax Calculator: Add, Remove or Find the Rate
Add sales tax or VAT to a net price, take it out of a total that includes it, or find the rate from both prices. Type any rate with up to four decimals, such as 8.875%. Exact to the cent.
Type the net price and the rate as a percentage, such as 8.25. No rate is filled in, because rates change and differ by place.
About the Sales Tax Calculator
The Sales Tax Calculator answers the three questions people ask about tax on a price. Add tax works out the tax on a price before tax and the total you pay. Remove tax takes the tax out of a total that already includes it, so you can see the price before tax. Find the rate works out the rate from the price before tax and the total, which is handy when a receipt shows both amounts but not the rate. The same maths works for sales tax, VAT and GST, and a switch changes the labels to VAT wording.
You type the rate yourself. Tax rates change, and they differ by country, state, county and city, so no rate is filled in for you. The rate can have up to four decimals, such as 8.875 percent, and is held exactly. Every amount is worked out in whole cents and rounded once, half up, so the figures on screen always add up.
How to use it
Add tax
Choose Add tax, type the net price (before tax) and the tax rate as a percentage. The tax and the gross price appear as you type.
Remove tax
Choose Remove tax, type the gross price (with tax) and the rate. The calculator shows the net price and the tax that was included.
Find the rate
Choose Find the rate and type both prices. The rate is shown with up to four decimals, together with the tax amount.
The formulas
With a net price , a gross price and a rate written as a decimal:
In remove mode the net price is rounded to the cent first and the tax is what is left, so the net price and the tax add up to the gross price exactly.
Worked examples
- Add 8.25% to 100.00. The tax is , so the total is 108.25.
- Half a cent. 5 percent of 0.10 is 0.005, which rounds up to 0.01, for a total of 0.11.
- Take 8.875% out of 50.00. , so the net price is 45.92 and the tax is 4.08. Check: 45.92 × 0.08875 = 4.0754, which rounds to 4.08.
- Find the rate from 80.00 and 86.00. The tax is 6.00, and , so the rate is 7.5 percent.
- A rate that does not end. 30.00 before tax and 32.50 after is , or 8.3333 percent to four decimals.
Assumptions
The result is an estimate. Tax rates change and differ by place, some products are taxed at a lower rate or not at all, and shipping may or may not be taxed where you are. Check the current rate with your tax authority before you rely on a figure. To work out a price after a discount and then add tax on the reduced price, use the Discount Calculator. For general percentage questions, use the Percentage Calculator.
Privacy
Nothing is uploaded; every calculation runs in your browser and never leaves your device. The prices and rates you type stay on this page and are gone when you close or reload it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add sales tax to a price?
Multiply the price before tax by the rate and divide by 100 to get the tax, then add it to the price. At 8.25 percent, 100.00 carries 8.25 of tax, for a total of 108.25. The calculator rounds the tax to the nearest cent, with half a cent rounding up.
How do I take sales tax out of a total?
Divide the total by 1 plus the rate as a decimal. A total of 50.00 at 8.875 percent is 50 ÷ 1.08875 = 45.92 before tax, and the tax is the remaining 4.08. Do not take 8.875 percent off the total: that gives the wrong price, because the tax was charged on the smaller amount.
How do I find the sales tax rate from a receipt?
Choose Find the rate and type the price before tax and the total. The rate is the tax divided by the price before tax, times 100. A price of 80.00 with a total of 86.00 has 6.00 of tax, which is 7.5 percent.
Why is no tax rate filled in?
Sales tax and VAT rates change, and they differ by country, state, county and city, and sometimes by the kind of product. Any rate we filled in would be wrong for many readers, so you type the rate that applies to you. Check it with your tax authority.
Can I use it for VAT or GST?
Yes. The maths is the same for sales tax, VAT and GST. Choose VAT under Name of the tax to see the labels change to excl. VAT and incl. VAT, or open the VAT calculator page directly. Amounts have no currency symbol, so any currency works.
How many decimals can the rate have?
Up to four, so rates such as 8.875 percent or 7.1234 percent are exact. The rate can be from 0 to 100 percent. Prices can be up to 1,000,000,000, and every amount is worked out in whole cents, so the net price and the tax always add up to the total.