VAT calculator
Add VAT to a net amount or work backwards from a gross price — results update as you type.
Processed on your device — nothing is sent anywhere.
How it works
- Enter the amount and set your VAT rate — 20% is preset, change it to match your country.
- Choose Add VAT if your amount excludes tax, or Remove VAT if it already includes tax.
- Read the net, VAT and gross figures below — they update instantly as you type.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between adding and removing VAT?
- Adding VAT starts from a net (tax-exclusive) price and calculates what the customer pays: net × (1 + rate). Removing VAT works backwards from a gross (tax-inclusive) price to find the original net amount: gross ÷ (1 + rate). Removing is not the same as subtracting the rate percentage, which is a common mistake.
- Which VAT rate should I use?
- Use the standard rate of the country where the sale is taxed — for example 20% in the UK and France, 19% in Germany, 21% in Spain and the Netherlands. Many countries also apply reduced rates to specific goods such as food, books or energy, so check which category your item falls into.
- Why does removing 20% VAT not give the same result as subtracting 20%?
- Because the VAT was calculated on the net amount, not the gross. A £120 gross price at 20% VAT has a net of £100 (120 ÷ 1.2), while subtracting 20% of £120 would wrongly give £96. The correct method always divides by one plus the rate.
- How do I calculate VAT backwards from a total?
- Choose Remove VAT, enter the tax-inclusive total and set the rate that was applied. The calculator divides by one plus the rate to recover the net amount, and the difference between gross and net is the VAT itself. This is the calculation you need when an invoice or receipt only shows the final price and you must report the tax portion separately.
- Is VAT the same as sales tax?
- They reach the consumer similarly but work differently. VAT is collected at every stage of the supply chain, with businesses reclaiming the tax they paid on inputs, and prices are usually advertised with VAT included. US-style sales tax is charged only at the final sale and added at the till. This calculator works for any percentage-based tax, so you can use it for either.
About this tool
This VAT calculator handles both directions of the calculation that trips people up most: adding VAT to a tax-exclusive price to find what a customer pays, and removing VAT from a tax-inclusive total to recover the original net amount. Enter one figure, choose the direction, and all three values — net, VAT and gross — appear instantly and update as you type. The rate field accepts any percentage, so it works for every country and for reduced rates as well as standard ones.
The arithmetic runs entirely in your browser; no prices, invoice amounts or business figures are transmitted or stored anywhere. Adding multiplies the net by one plus the rate, while removing divides the gross by the same factor — the step people most often get wrong by subtracting the percentage instead. Working that way on a £120 total at 20% gives £96 rather than the correct £100, an error of £4 on every line that a spreadsheet formula built the same way will silently repeat.
Freelancers use the tool to quote clients net and know the invoice total; small businesses use it to extract the VAT portion from receipts for their returns; and shoppers use it to compare a business-supplier price shown ex-VAT against a retail price shown inclusive. It is equally handy when checking that an invoice you received applied the right rate, or when pricing a product so the gross lands on a round number.
Two tips keep results accurate. First, always confirm whether a quoted price is net or gross before calculating — B2B suppliers usually quote ex-VAT while consumer prices in most VAT countries include it by law. Second, when you need a clean customer-facing price, work backwards: enter the round gross figure with Remove VAT to see the exact net you should put on the invoice line, rather than adding VAT to a rounded net and ending up at £119.99 instead of £120.