VAT & GST Calculator
Free VAT and GST calculator. Add tax to a price or work backwards from a tax-inclusive total, with standard rates for the UK, EU, India, Australia and more.
Common rates
India
Sri Lanka
United Kingdom
Ireland
Germany
France
Spain
Italy
Netherlands
Australia
New Zealand
Singapore
Malaysia
UAE
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
Nigeria
Kenya
Canada
Philippines
Indonesia
Japan
Price with tax added
- Net (before tax)
- $1,000.00
- Tax at 18%
- $180.00
- Gross (total)
- $1,180.00
$1,000.00 × 1.1800 = $1,180.00
The same price at other rates
| Rate | Tax | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | $50.00 | $1,050.00 |
| 7.5% | $75.00 | $1,075.00 |
| 10% | $100.00 | $1,100.00 |
| 12% | $120.00 | $1,120.00 |
| 15% | $150.00 | $1,150.00 |
| 18% | $180.00 | $1,180.00 |
| 20% | $200.00 | $1,200.00 |
| 21% | $210.00 | $1,210.00 |
| 23% | $230.00 | $1,230.00 |
| 28% | $280.00 | $1,280.00 |
Rates shown are standard rates and change from time to time. Reduced rates apply to many goods in most countries — check your own tax authority before invoicing.
Value added tax goes by a different name almost everywhere — VAT in Britain and Europe, GST in India, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, consumption tax in Japan — but the arithmetic is identical, and so is the mistake people make with it. Adding 20% to a net price and subtracting 20% from a gross price do not cancel out, and invoices are wrong every day because of it.
This calculator works in both directions. Add tax to a price before tax, or extract the tax from a total that already includes it, in any of thirty-plus currencies with standard rates for the countries people ask about most.
How to use the VAT & GST Calculator
Choose the direction
Adding tax to a net price, or removing it from a gross total.
Pick your currency
Your choice is remembered across every money tool on the site.
Enter the amount
The price before tax, or the total including it, depending on the direction.
Set the rate
Type it, or tap a country preset. Every result updates instantly.
Read all three figures
Net, tax and gross are shown together — the three numbers a compliant invoice has to state.
The reverse calculation, and why subtracting fails
To add 20% VAT to a net price of 100, multiply by 1.20 and get 120. To go back the other way from a gross price of 120, you must divide by 1.20, which returns 100.
Subtracting 20% of 120 gives 96, which is wrong by four units and wrong in a direction that always understates the net. The reason is that the percentage applies to the smaller number, not the larger one. This single error is responsible for a great deal of incorrect bookkeeping, and it grows with the rate: at 23% Irish VAT the mistake is over five percent of the net.
| Rate | Divide gross by | VAT fraction of gross |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | 1.05 | 1/21 (4.76%) |
| 10% | 1.10 | 1/11 (9.09%) |
| 12% | 1.12 | 3/28 (10.71%) |
| 15% | 1.15 | 3/23 (13.04%) |
| 18% | 1.18 | 9/59 (15.25%) |
| 20% | 1.20 | 1/6 (16.67%) |
| 21% | 1.21 | 21/121 (17.36%) |
| 23% | 1.23 | 23/123 (18.70%) |
The old British bookkeeper’s shortcut — “divide by six” for 20% VAT — is exactly this fraction, and it still works.
VAT, GST and sales tax are not the same thing
VAT and GST are collected at every stage of production. A manufacturer charges tax to a wholesaler, who charges it to a retailer, who charges it to you — but each business reclaims what it paid, so only the final consumer bears the cost. This is why businesses talk about input and output tax.
US sales tax works differently: it is charged once, at the final sale, and businesses buying for resale are exempt at the point of purchase. If you are working with US figures, the sales tax calculator matches that model, including state rates.
The practical consequence for a registered business is that VAT is not revenue and not a cost — it is money collected on the government's behalf. Treating it as income is how businesses end up unable to pay their quarterly return.
Reduced and zero rates
The presets here are standard rates. Almost every country also applies reduced rates to categories it considers essential — food, books, children's clothes, medicine, public transport, domestic energy — and the boundaries are famously arbitrary. The United Kingdom taxes a chocolate-covered biscuit and zero-rates a chocolate-covered cake, a distinction that has been litigated.
"Zero-rated" and "exempt" also differ in a way that matters. Zero-rated goods are taxable at 0%, so the seller can still reclaim input tax. Exempt goods are outside the system, so the seller cannot. Use the custom rate box for anything that is not the standard rate, and check the category with your own tax authority.
Putting it on an invoice
- Show all three numbers. Net, tax and gross must each appear separately in most jurisdictions.
- State the rate. "VAT @ 20%" rather than just an amount.
- Include your registration number if you are registered — an invoice without it may not be reclaimable by your customer.
- Round at the total, not per line. Rounding each line separately drifts by a few units across a long invoice and will not reconcile.
- Cross-border sales change the rules. Reverse charge, place-of-supply and digital-services rules can mean no tax, or the buyer's rate rather than yours.
Frequently asked questions
How do I remove VAT from a price?
Divide the gross amount by 1 plus the rate — for 20% VAT, divide by 1.20. Do not subtract 20%, which gives a different and incorrect answer.
What is the difference between VAT and GST?
Mostly the name. Both are multi-stage consumption taxes where businesses reclaim the tax they pay and the final consumer bears it. Rates and exemptions differ by country, the mechanism does not.
Why is subtracting the percentage wrong?
Because the percentage applies to the net price, not the gross. Adding 20% to 100 gives 120, but subtracting 20% from 120 gives 96 rather than 100. The correct reverse operation is division.
Are the country rates up to date?
They are standard rates current at the time of writing, provided for convenience. Rates change with budgets, and most countries also have reduced rates for particular goods — confirm with your own tax authority before invoicing.
Can I use this for US sales tax?
Use the sales tax calculator instead. US sales tax is charged once at the final sale rather than at every stage, and rates combine state, county and city components.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. Everything is calculated in your browser, so your prices and margins never leave your device.
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Instant results. No upload queue. Processing time depends on your device.
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