OmniTools

VAT & Sales Tax Calculator

Add tax to a net price or strip it out of a gross price, at any rate.

Basis: Adding tax: gross = net × (1 + rate). Removing it: net = gross ÷ (1 + rate). The rate is your own input; the presets are standard headline rates as of 2026-09-13·2026-09-13 verified·Editorial policy

Before you rely on this

Applies one flat rate. Reduced, zero and exempt categories are not modelled, nor are layered US sales taxes where state, county and city rates stack. Figures destined for an invoice or a tax return must be checked against the rules of the jurisdiction in question.

Tool Overview & Key Purpose

Adds tax on top of a net price, or strips the tax back out of a price that already includes it. You type the rate yourself, so the same screen works for a VAT country and for US state sales tax.

Step-by-Step Usage Instructions

1STEP 1

Pick the direction — adding tax, or taking tax that is already inside the price back out.

2STEP 2

Enter the amount: the net figure when adding, the gross figure when removing.

3STEP 3

Enter the rate. The chips below hold common headline rates, labelled with the ISO country code.

4STEP 4

Read off net, tax and gross, and copy the three lines into a quote or your books.

Real-World Scenarios & Practical Cases

3 Practical CasesScenario #1

Pulling the tax out of a receipt

A receipt for 120 in a country with a 20% rate breaks down as 100 net and 20 tax, because 120 ÷ 1.2 = 100. It is not 120 × 20% = 24.

Multiplying the gross by the rate always overstates the tax. At 20%, tax is 16.67% of the gross price.Scenario #2

Putting tax on a quote

A net of 1,000 at 19% gives 190 of tax and a gross of 1,190. Splitting the three lines on the quote is what lets the buyer reclaim the input tax.

Sending only a gross total forces the other side to split it again — which is exactly where the multiplication error creeps in.Scenario #3

Comparing prices across borders

European shops usually display tax-inclusive prices while US shops display tax-exclusive ones. Comparing the two means restating one of them.

Strip the tax out of the European price, add your local sales tax to the US price, and only then are you comparing like with like.Tax amount formula

Adding tax: tax = net × rate, gross = net × (1 + rate)
Removing tax: net = gross ÷ (1 + rate), tax = gross − net
At a rate r, tax is r ÷ (1 + r) of the gross price — 16.67% at 20%, 9.09% at 10%.

Pro Tips & Key Considerations

To take tax out of a gross figure, divide — never multiply. That single slip is the most common error in practice.US sales tax stacks state, county and city rates. Enter the combined rate as one number here.Reduced-rate categories such as groceries, books and medicines must not be run at the headline rate — enter that category’s own rate.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Sources & References

European Commission — VAT rates in the EU Investopedia — "Value-Added Tax (VAT)" definition

Basis: Adding tax: gross = net × (1 + rate). Removing it: net = gross ÷ (1 + rate). The rate is your own input; the presets are standard headline rates as of 2026-09-13 · 2026-09-13 verified