Sales Tax Calculator
This calculator works in both directions. Give it a pre-tax price and a rate to get the tax amount and the total, or give it a final price that already includes tax and it extracts the original price and the tax portion. The reverse direction is the one people get wrong, because you divide rather than multiply.
- Total with tax
- $86.59
- Tax amount
- $6.60
- Price before tax
- $79.99
It handles any percentage, so it works for US state and local sales tax, VAT in Europe and elsewhere, and GST in countries like Canada, Australia, and India. Rates vary widely: US combined state and local rates run from 0 to about 10%, while VAT rates of 17 to 27% are common across Europe.
How it's calculated
Tax = price × rate ÷ 100 · Pre-tax price = total ÷ (1 + rate ÷ 100)
Adding tax is a simple percentage. Extracting it requires division: a $110 total at 10% tax was $100 before tax, not $99. Subtracting 10% from the total is the classic mistake, because the 10% was charged on the smaller pre-tax amount.
Worked example
A $79.99 purchase with 8.25% sales tax: tax is $6.60 and the total is $86.59. Working backward, a receipt total of $215 in a country with 20% VAT breaks down to $179.17 before tax plus $35.83 of VAT.
Frequently asked questions
›How do I calculate a price before tax?
Divide the total by 1 plus the rate as a decimal. For a $53 total at 6% tax: 53 ÷ 1.06 = $50 pre-tax. Never subtract the percentage from the total; that gives a wrong, slightly low answer.
›What is the difference between sales tax and VAT?
Sales tax is charged once, at the final sale to the consumer, and US shelf prices usually exclude it. VAT is collected at each stage of production and is almost always included in the displayed price. For a shopper the math is the same percentage either way.
›Why did I pay a different rate than my state's rate?
Many US cities and counties add local sales tax on top of the state rate. Some categories, like groceries or clothing, are taxed at reduced rates or exempt depending on the state.
›Are online purchases taxed?
In the US, most online retailers now collect sales tax based on the delivery address. Within the EU, VAT applies based on the buyer's country for most consumer purchases.
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