VAT Calculator

What VAT questions this page answers

Two flows dominate real work. First, building an invoice: you have a net price and need the gross with tax shown separately. Second, reading a receipt: you have a gross price and want to know how much of it was tax. The calculator handles both because VAT always works from one direction — it is charged on the net — and extracting it means dividing by a slightly bigger number than subtracting suggests.

Where it does not apply: countries that charge sales tax at the till (mostly inside the United States — that is a different system, use the Sales Tax Calculator), special margin schemes for second-hand goods, and reverse-charge cross-border invoices where no VAT is added at all. For none of those does a simple rate flip give the right answer, so check which scheme your invoice is under before trusting any calculator, this one included.

A worked example, step by step

Problem: a contractor's invoice says 183 gross, VAT inclusive at 21%. What is the VAT element?

1. Write the relationship: gross = net × 1.21, so net = gross ÷ 1.21.
2. Divide: 183 ÷ 1.21 = 151.24 (the net price).
3. Subtract: 183 − 151.24 = 31.76 of VAT.
4. Check by rebuilding: 151.24 × 1.21 = 183.00. It reconciles.

The tempting error is 21% "off" 183, which gives 144.66 net and turns 31.76 of tax into 38.34 — a swing of several euros on one line, multiplied by every line on a long invoice.

Gross prices for a net of 250

Rates differ by country and by category of goods, so this table works across common rates:

Notice the VAT fraction shortcut for 20%: one sixth of the gross is VAT (300 ÷ 6 = 50). Similar fractions exist for other rates, and the calculator applies the exact rule every time.

Mistakes that shift invoices by whole per cent

• Subtracting the rate from gross. Tax is calculated on the net, so extraction means division, never subtraction.
• Applying a standard rate to reduced-rate goods. Food, books and medicine often use lower bands; the schedule decides, not habit.
• Rounding line by line. Tax authorities usually want the tax on the summed net, which can differ by a cent from rounding every row.
• Copying a rate from a foreign invoice. Rates are national and change over time; confirm yours with the tax authority.
• Adding VAT to a VAT-inclusive price. If the quote already contains tax, extract instead of adding on top.

Keep exploring

• Sales Tax Calculator — the US-style one-time sales tax.
• Markup Calculator — price building before tax is added.
• Profit Margin Calculator — what survives of a sale after costs.
• Guide: VAT and Sales Tax Explained.