Sales Tax Calculator: Calculate Tax on Any Purchase

Need to know the final price including tax? Or extract the tax from a total? Our free Sales Tax Calculator handles both scenarios with a multi-item mode for shopping lists.

How to Use the Calculator

1. Enter the price: Type the pre-tax price
2. Set the tax rate: Enter manually or use a quick preset (5%, 6%, 7%, 8.25%, 10%, 20% VAT)
3. See results: Price, tax amount, and total update instantly
4. Reverse mode: Check the box to extract tax from a total that already includes tax
5. Multi-item mode: Add multiple items to see a combined subtotal, tax, and total

Understanding Reverse Calculation

Standard mode: Enter the pre-tax price, get the tax amount and total.

Reverse mode: Enter the total (tax included), and the calculator extracts the original price and tax amount. This is useful when a receipt shows only the total and you need to know how much was tax.

Common Tax Rates

Region	Typical Rate
US states	0% - 10.25%
Canada (GST)	5%
UK (VAT)	20%
EU countries	17% - 27%
Japan	10%
Australia (GST)	10%

Common Use Cases

• Shopping: Calculate the final price before checkout
• Budgeting: Know the true cost of purchases including tax
• Expense reports: Break down tax amounts from receipts
• Price comparison: Compare pre-tax prices across states or countries
• Business: Calculate tax owed on sales

Tips

• US sales tax varies by state, county, and city — check your local rate
• The multi-item calculator is handy for estimating a shopping cart total
• Use reverse mode when you know the total and need to find the pre-tax price
• VAT (Value Added Tax) works the same as sales tax for consumer purchases

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this handle multiple tax rates? The calculator uses a single tax rate. If items have different tax rates, calculate them separately.

Is this for income tax? No. This calculates sales tax / VAT on purchases. Income tax calculations are more complex.

Can I use this for VAT? Yes. VAT and sales tax calculations work the same way. Set the rate to your country’s VAT rate.

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Try our free Sales Tax Calculator to calculate tax on purchases.