Sales Tax / VAT Calculator
Add sales tax or VAT to a price and see the net, tax and gross.
Add sales tax or VAT to any price to see the net amount, the tax and the final total. Works with any rate and any currency.
Formula / method
Examples
$108.50
€240
How sales tax and VAT are added
Sales tax (in the US) and VAT (across much of the world) are added on top of the net price as a percentage. This tool takes a net amount and a rate and shows the tax and the gross total. Enter your local rate — rates differ widely by country, state and sometimes city.
Working backwards from a gross price
If you already have a tax-inclusive price and need the net amount and the tax portion — common for invoices and expenses — you cannot just subtract the percentage. Use the Reverse VAT Calculator, which divides the gross by one plus the rate to recover the original net figure.
Where it's used
- Adding local sales tax to a purchase to see the real checkout total
- A small business computing the tax to collect on an invoice
- Budgeting the true cost of a big purchase like electronics or furniture
- Comparing out-the-door prices across cities or states with different rates
- Backing the tax portion out of a tax-inclusive total
Real-world examples
- Adding 8.25% sales tax to a $1,200 laptop for a $1,299 total
- A shopper in a 6% state finding $50 of goods costs $53.00
- A seller separating $7 of tax out of a $107 receipt at a 7% rate
- Comparing a $500 purchase in a no-tax state versus a 9% city, where it costs $545
A bit of history
The first general, state-level retail sales tax in the United States was introduced by Mississippi in 1930, as states scrambled for revenue during the Great Depression when property-tax collections collapsed; within a decade about two dozen more states had followed.
Did you know?
Five US states, remembered by the acronym NOMAD, have no statewide sales tax: New Hampshire, Oregon, Montana, Alaska, and Delaware, though Alaska and Montana still allow some local sales taxes.
FAQ
What is the difference between sales tax and VAT?
Both add a percentage to a price. Sales tax is typically added once at the point of sale; VAT is collected in stages along the supply chain. For a simple "add tax to price" calculation, the math is the same.