VAT / Sales Tax Calculator
Whether you're pricing products for an online store, preparing invoices, or simply trying to figure out how much tax is included in a purchase, our VAT and Sales Tax Calculator makes it easy. Enter a price and tax rate to either add tax to a net price or extract the tax from a tax-inclusive price. The tool comes preloaded with standard VAT and sales tax rates for 28 countries and US states, so you can select your jurisdiction from a dropdown instead of looking up rates manually. It handles both Value Added Tax (VAT) used across Europe and most of the world, and sales tax as used in the United States, using the same straightforward percentage-based calculation.
Add tax to net price
How to use
Enter a price and tax rate to add or remove VAT/sales tax. Use presets for common rates.
Includes 28 preset rates for US states and international.
- check_circle Add tax to a net price
- check_circle Remove tax from an inclusive price
- check_circle Preset rates for quick selection
What is a VAT / Sales Tax Calculator?
VAT and US sales tax both add a percentage to the price of goods, but the underlying mechanics differ significantly. US sales tax is applied once at the final point of sale to the consumer — retailers collect it and remit it to the state, but intermediate businesses pay nothing. VAT, used across Europe and over 160 countries, is a multi-stage tax: every business in the supply chain charges it and then reclaims what it paid at the previous stage. The result for the end consumer is often similar, but for businesses the accounting obligations are entirely different.
The sharper practical trap is inclusive versus exclusive pricing. An exclusive price of €100 with 20% VAT becomes €120 at checkout — the tax is added on top. But a €120 inclusive price already contains €20 of VAT; stripping it out gives you a net of €100. Freelancers quoting project fees and online shoppers comparing cross-border prices routinely get this backwards, leading to undercharged invoices or surprise checkout totals. For a complete picture of how taxes interact with prices and currencies, see https://usertools.app/guides/ultimate-guide-to-ai-tools-2026. The Percentage Calculator handles the underlying ratio maths, and the Currency Converter helps you work out the equivalent cost in your home currency when purchasing from international suppliers.
When should you use it?
- check_circle E-commerce sellers calculating tax-inclusive prices for product listings in different countries
- check_circle Freelancers and small businesses adding VAT to invoices for European clients
- check_circle Accountants extracting the net amount and tax from tax-inclusive receipts for bookkeeping
- check_circle Shoppers figuring out how much tax they're actually paying on a purchase
- check_circle Importers estimating VAT or GST costs when sourcing products from overseas suppliers
- check_circle Business owners comparing effective tax rates across different US states or countries
How it works
The calculator operates in two modes, each using a different formula. When adding tax to a net price, it multiplies the net amount by the tax rate percentage and adds the result: Gross = Net × (1 + Rate/100). The tax amount is the difference between the gross and net values. This is the calculation you need when you know your pre-tax price and want to determine the final price a customer will pay.
When removing tax from a gross (tax-inclusive) price, the formula reverses: Net = Gross ÷ (1 + Rate/100). This is essential when you have a shelf price that already includes tax and need to determine the net amount and the tax component separately — a common requirement for accounting, bookkeeping, and invoice preparation.
The preset tax rates are organized by country and include standard national VAT rates for EU member states, the UK, Australia (GST), Canada (GST), Japan, and other major economies, as well as state-level sales tax rates for all US states that levy sales tax. You can also enter any custom rate manually, which is useful for local tax jurisdictions, reduced rates on specific goods, or special economic zones with non-standard rates.