Free VAT / Tax Calculator
Works both directions at any rate you enter. Add VAT or sales tax to a net figure, or take a tax-inclusive total and split it back into the net amount and the tax within it. Net and tax always add back to exactly the total, with no rounding drift.
Any rate — VAT, GST or sales tax.
Fill in the fields and the result appears here as you type.
How VAT is added and removed
Adding VAT: tax = net × rate ÷ 100, and the total is net + tax. Removing it is not the same sum in reverse — you cannot take 15% off a VAT-inclusive total and get back to the net.
To remove VAT, divide by one plus the rate: net = total ÷ (1 + rate ÷ 100). Subtracting the percentage instead is the most common tax arithmetic error in small business, and it understates the net every time.
A worked example
A net amount of 1,000 at a 15% rate, then the same total worked backwards.
- VAT to add
- 1,000 × 15 ÷ 100 = 150
- Total
- 1,000 + 150 = 1,150
- Net from the total
- 1,150 ÷ 1.15 = 1,000
- The wrong way
- 1,150 − 15% = 977.50 — not the net
Removing 15% from 1,150 gives 977.50, which is 22.50 short. On a year of invoices that error compounds into a figure worth finding.
Questions about vat / tax
How do I remove VAT from a total?
Divide by one plus the rate. At 15%, divide the gross by 1.15; at 5%, divide by 1.05; at 20%, divide by 1.2. Do not subtract the percentage — that gives a smaller net than the real one, because the percentage was calculated on the net rather than on the total.
What is the VAT rate in Saudi Arabia and the UAE?
Saudi Arabia charges 15% and the UAE charges 5% on standard-rated supplies. This calculator takes any rate, so it works for either, for the GCC states that have since introduced VAT, and for elsewhere. Check the current rate and what is zero-rated or exempt with the tax authority — rates change and this tool does not track them.
Is this the same as sales tax?
The arithmetic is, for a single transaction. VAT is charged at each stage of the supply chain with businesses reclaiming what they paid, while a sales tax is usually charged once at the final sale. Adding or removing a percentage works the same either way.