VAT Calculator
Add VAT to a net price or extract VAT from a gross price.
How to use
- Enter the amount and pick a VAT rate (or set a custom one).
- Choose Add VAT (net → gross) or Remove VAT (gross → net).
- Click Calculate.
Estimates only — not financial advice. Verify important decisions with a qualified professional.
What Is a VAT Calculator?
A VAT calculator adds Value Added Tax to a net price, or extracts it from a gross price, so you always know which part of a figure is the goods and which part is the tax. VAT is the consumption tax used across the European Union, the United Kingdom, and more than 160 other countries — but not the United States, which uses sales tax instead. Because business prices are often quoted net (excluding VAT) while consumer prices are shown gross (including it), converting between the two is a daily task for anyone trading internationally.
The two directions confuse people in different ways. Adding VAT is simple multiplication: net × (1 + rate). Removing it is where errors creep in — the VAT inside a gross price is not the rate multiplied by the gross price, because the tax was charged on the smaller net amount. To extract it you divide: net = gross ÷ (1 + rate), and the VAT portion is the difference. This calculator has a mode for each direction, plus preset and custom rates, so invoices, expense claims, and price lists can be checked in seconds.
How to Use the VAT Calculator
- Choose the mode: Add VAT to a net amount, or Remove VAT from a gross amount.
- Select a preset VAT rate or enter a custom rate for your country and product category.
- Enter the amount.
- Click Calculate to see the net price, the VAT amount, and the gross price side by side.
Who Uses a VAT Calculator?
Freelancers and small businesses invoicing clients across borders use it to quote net prices and present legal VAT-inclusive invoices. Online sellers use it to set prices for multiple countries with different rates from one net figure. Travelers and expats use it for VAT refund claims on goods bought abroad. Accountants use it to verify that the VAT portion claimed on a receipt matches the rate that was actually charged — an easy place for errors to hide in a stack of supplier invoices.
Tips for Working With VAT
- Rates differ not only by country but by product: many countries apply reduced rates to food, books, and children's clothing, and zero rates to exports.
- If you are VAT-registered, the tax you charge (output VAT) and the tax you pay on purchases (input VAT) are settled against each other in your return — this calculator handles the per-invoice math.
- Always note whether a quoted B2B price is net or gross before comparing suppliers; a "cheaper" quote may simply exclude VAT.
What is the difference between VAT and sales tax?
Sales tax is charged once, at the final sale to the consumer. VAT is charged at every stage of production and distribution, but businesses reclaim the VAT they paid on inputs, so the cost ultimately lands on the final consumer in a similar way — with a paper trail at every step that makes VAT harder to evade.
How do I remove VAT from a price that includes it?
Divide the gross price by (1 + the VAT rate as a decimal). At a 20% rate, a €120 gross price divides by 1.20 to give a €100 net price, so the VAT inside it is €20 — not €24, which is the common mistake of taking 20% of the gross. The Remove mode of this calculator does it correctly.
What are typical VAT rates?
Standard rates are set by each country: EU member states must charge at least 15%, and standard rates there run roughly from 17% to 27%; the UK standard rate is 20%. Many countries also have reduced rates for essentials. Always confirm the rate for your country and product category, or enter it as a custom rate here.
Why doesn't the United States use VAT?
The US chose sales tax, administered by states and localities, and repeated federal proposals to adopt a VAT have never passed. Americans mainly encounter VAT when traveling or buying from abroad — and may be able to reclaim some of it on goods exported from countries like those in the EU, subject to their refund rules.