Sales Tax Calculator
Add or strip sales tax with exact pre-tax price and tax amount.
What it does
Checkout math runs both directions. American tags show pre tax prices and add the rate at the register, while European tags show tax included prices that sellers later split for the books. Both directions use one plus the rate, multiplying to add and dividing to strip.
The tool above handles both. Enter the price and rate, pick the direction, and read the result with the exact tax slice.
Stripping trips people because the rate applies to the net base, not the gross sticker. Eight and a half percent off a $108.50 gross is not $9.22; the true tax is $8.50 on the $100 base hiding inside.
Rates stack by jurisdiction in the US: state plus county plus city can total very differently two streets apart. Receipts itemize the combined rate when zones overlap.
How to use
- Pick add for US style tags or strip for EU style tags.
- Enter the price exactly as shown.
- Enter the combined local rate.
- Read the result and keep the tax slice for records.
Formula
- 1 + rate
- Gross multiplier. 8.5% means 1.085.
- net
- Pre tax price the seller keeps.
- gross
- Register price the buyer pays.
Division inverts multiplication exactly, so stripping with the same rate recovers the original net to the cent. Rounding happens once at the end per line item rules.
Worked example
Example: $100 at 8.5%, both directions
Net price 100, rate 8.5%.
- Add: tax = 100 x 0.085 = $8.50. Gross = $108.50.
- Strip check: 108.50 / 1.085 = $100.00 net.
- Tax back: 108.50 - 100 = $8.50. Matches.
- Wrong way: 108.50 x 0.085 = $9.22, which overstates tax.
Reference table
| Rate | Tax | Gross |
|---|---|---|
| 5% | $5.00 | $105.00 |
| 7% | $7.00 | $107.00 |
| 8.5% | $8.50 | $108.50 |
| 10% | $10.00 | $110.00 |
| 20% VAT | $20.00 | $120.00 |
Limits
- Single rate assumed. Layered districts need the combined figure.
- Exemptions for food, clothes, and resale vary by state.
- Rounding follows local line item rules.
- Shipping taxability differs by jurisdiction.
Common mistakes
- Multiplying the rate by the gross price when stripping.
- Using the home rate for purchases in other districts.
- Forgetting local add on taxes above the state rate.
- Rounding the rate before multiplying big orders.
- Assuming online orders always skip tax.
Try it yourself
Quick checks. Answers sit tucked under each question.
Gross $59.99 at 7%. Net and tax?
Net 59.99 / 1.07 = $56.07. Tax $3.92.
Net $250 at 6%. Gross?
250 x 1.06 = $265.00.
Questions
How do I remove sales tax?
Divide by one plus the rate. At 8.5%, divide the gross by 1.085.
Why not multiply gross by the rate?
The rate prices the net base. Multiplying gross taxes the tax itself.
Do all states charge sales tax?
No. A few states levy none statewide, while others let localities add on.
Is VAT the same math?
Yes with bigger rates. Twenty percent VAT means divide gross by 1.20 to strip.
Are groceries taxed?
Depends on the state. Many exempt unprepared food partly or fully.
What rate applies online?
Usually the delivery address rate after marketplace tax laws. Sellers collect it.