VAT / Sales Tax Calculator

What is a VAT / Sales Tax Calculator?

The VAT / Sales Tax Calculator helps you separate the net price (excluding tax) and tax amount from a gross price, or calculate the gross price (including tax) from a net amount. It’s essential for invoicing, pricing, revenue calculations, and tax returns.

Simply enter any one of the three values — net price, VAT/tax, or gross price — and the other two will be calculated automatically.

Key Features

• Bidirectional Auto-Calculation — Enter net, VAT, or gross price and the remaining values are instantly calculated.
• Custom Tax Rates — Pre-set buttons for 20%, 5%, and 0%, plus a custom input field for any rate.
• Rounding Options — Round, Ceil, Floor, Truncate, plus unit truncation at 10, 100, or 1,000.
• Quick Amount Buttons — One-click entry for 1K, 5K, 10K, 50K, and 100K.
• Real-time Formatting — Automatic comma separators as you type for easier reading.
• Share Results — Generate a URL to share your calculation with others.
• Calculation History — Last 5 calculations are automatically saved.

When to Use This Calculator

• Creating Invoices — Extract net price and tax amount from a VAT-inclusive total for accurate billing.
• Price Quoting — Calculate net and gross prices for accurate quotes and estimates.
• Product Pricing — Add VAT to cost price to determine the final selling price.
• Transaction Settlement — Clarify actual amounts in tax-inclusive or tax-exclusive deals.
• Tax Returns — Separate net amounts and tax from sales/purchase data for filing.
• Cost Analysis — Determine the true cost (net price) of purchased goods for margin calculations.

How to Use

1. Set Options — Choose your tax rate (default 20%) and rounding method.
2. Enter Amount — Type in the net price, VAT, or gross price you know. Use quick amount buttons for faster entry.
3. View Results — The remaining values are calculated instantly and displayed prominently on the right.
4. Use Results — Copy individual values with the copy buttons, or generate a share URL to send to others.

Rounding Methods Explained

Basic Rounding

• Round — Standard rounding: 0.5 and above rounds up, below rounds down. Most common method.
• Ceil — Always rounds up to the next whole number. 12,345.1 → 12,346
• Floor — Always rounds down to the whole number. 12,345.9 → 12,345
• Truncate — Cuts off decimal places without rounding. Same as floor for positive numbers.

Unit Truncation

In business, it’s common to truncate to certain units rather than calculating to the penny:

• 10 — Truncates to nearest 10. 12,345 → 12,340
• 100 — Truncates to nearest 100. 12,345 → 12,300
• 1,000 — Truncates to nearest 1,000. 12,345 → 12,000

Different businesses may use different rounding methods, so choose the one that matches your requirements.

How VAT Calculation Works

The standard VAT rate in the UK is 20%. Here are the calculation formulas:

When You Know the Net Price (Excluding VAT)

If net price is £1,000:

• VAT = £1,000 × 20% = £200
• Gross = £1,000 + £200 = £1,200

When You Know the Gross Price (Including VAT)

If gross price is £1,200:

• Net = £1,200 ÷ 1.2 = £1,000
• VAT = £1,200 ÷ 6 = £200

When You Know the VAT Amount

If VAT is £200:

• Net = £200 ÷ 20% = £1,000
• Gross = £200 × 6 = £1,200

Common VAT and Sales Tax Rates

UK VAT Rates

• Standard Rate: 20% — Most goods and services
• Reduced Rate: 5% — Home energy, children’s car seats, mobility aids
• Zero Rate: 0% — Most food, children’s clothing, books, newspapers

US Sales Tax (varies by state)

• California: 7.25% (can be higher with local taxes)
• Texas: 6.25%
• New York: 4% (NYC is 8.875%)
• Oregon, Delaware, etc.: 0% (no sales tax)

Use the custom rate input to enter any tax rate you need.

Terminology

• Net Price — The price before tax is added. Also called “ex-VAT” or “before tax” price.
• VAT (Value Added Tax) — A consumption tax added to the price of goods and services. Called Sales Tax in the US.
• Gross Price — The final price including tax. Also called “inc-VAT” or “total” price.
• Ex-VAT / Excluding VAT — The displayed price does not include tax. You pay more at checkout.
• Inc-VAT / Including VAT — The displayed price already includes tax. What you see is what you pay.

Frequently Asked Questions