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VAT Calculator

Add or remove VAT from a price, work out the net and gross amount, and see the tax broken out at any rate.

✓ Last reviewed: Sources: podatki.gov.pl — Stawki i limity VAT

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Price before VAT (excluding tax).

Enter the tax rate as a percentage — decimals are allowed (e.g. 5.5).

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VAT Calculator: add VAT, remove VAT, or find just the tax

This VAT calculator answers the three questions that come up around every price: what will it cost with tax added, what did it cost before tax, and how much of the total is the tax itself. Enter a price and a rate, and it works out the rest — in either direction. It’s for anyone raising invoices, checking a quote, or double-checking whether 23% is calculated on the number they think it is.

The calculator works in two directions, which you choose at the top:

  • Add VAT (net → gross) — you know the net price (before tax) and the rate, and want the price including tax.
  • Remove VAT (gross → net) — you know the price you actually paid or invoiced (gross, tax included) and want to pull the tax back out of it. This is what’s usually called reverse VAT or calculating VAT backwards.

Whichever direction you use, you get all three figures back: the net amount, the VAT amount, and the gross amount — always so that net + VAT = gross, down to the cent. Alongside that is a ring chart showing what share of the gross price the tax actually makes up. Above the rate field you’ll find quick presets for several markets (Poland, the UK, Spain, Germany, France, Hungary) — picking one fills in the rate field, which you can always overwrite with your own number. The calculator is currency-agnostic — it works with plain numbers, so it fits any market or currency.

How to use the VAT calculator

  1. Choose what you’re calculating. “Add VAT” is the default — the most common case, where you have a net price from a quote or price list. Switch to “Remove VAT” if you already have a gross (tax-inclusive) price and want to break the tax out of it.
  2. Enter the amount. In “Add VAT” mode you enter the net amount; in “Remove VAT” mode you enter the gross amount.
  3. Set the rate. Pick a preset (e.g. “United Kingdom — 20%” or “France — 5.5%”) or type your own percentage — the field accepts decimals too.
  4. Read the result. Net, VAT and gross appear instantly, along with a chart showing the tax’s share of the total.

If you enter a rate of 0%, the calculator flags that a zero rate is normal (exports, exemptions) rather than an error. If you enter a rate above 30%, you’ll get a non-blocking warning to double-check the value, since that’s higher than the highest VAT rate anywhere in the EU (27%, Hungary).

How VAT is calculated: formula and example

Adding VAT to a net price is the simpler direction:

gross = net × (1 + rate ÷ 100)

A net price of 1,000 with a rate of 23%: 1,000 × 1.23 = 1,230. The tax itself is the difference: 1,230 − 1,000 = 230. The three figures always tie out: 1,000 (net) + 230 (VAT) = 1,230 (gross).

This follows directly from how “net” is defined under EU VAT rules: net is what the seller actually keeps, and the tax is calculated on top of it as a percentage — it isn’t baked into the base amount itself.

Reverse VAT: working backwards from a gross price

This is the direction where mistakes creep in. Given a gross price, you can’t just subtract a percentage (gross × (1 − rate ÷ 100)) — you have to divide by (1 + rate ÷ 100):

net = gross ÷ (1 + rate ÷ 100)

A gross price of 1,230 at a 23% rate: 1,230 ÷ 1.23 = 1,000. VAT is the difference: 1,230 − 1,000 = 230. That’s the exact inverse of the example above — which is why the same trio (1,000 / 230 / 1,230) shows up whichever direction you start from.

Here’s how the wrong method fails: if you calculated 1,230 × (1 − 0.23) = 1,230 × 0.77 = 947.10, that’s over 50 lower than the real net figure (1,000). The 23% rate is calculated on the net amount, not the gross one — so you divide, you don’t subtract a percentage from the total.

The same formula works at a reduced rate. A gross price of 270 at 8%: 270 ÷ 1.08 = 250 net, and VAT = 270 − 250 = 20.

VAT vs. sales tax: what’s the difference, and does this work for the US?

VAT (value-added tax) and US sales tax both add a percentage on top of a price, but they’re structured differently. VAT is collected at each stage of a supply chain and is baked into the price you see in most countries that use it (the UK, the EU, and most of the rest of the world); sales tax in the US is added at the final point of sale, is set by states and local jurisdictions rather than a federal rate, and typically isn’t shown in the shelf price. There’s no federal sales tax in the US at all — state rates range roughly from 0% to just over 7%, and five states (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon) charge none at the state level, though combined state-plus-local rates can pass 10% in some cities.

Looking for US sales tax? Enter your local rate — it works the same way. The arithmetic behind sales tax is identical to VAT: a percentage added on top of (or extracted from) a price. This calculator doesn’t look up rates by state or ZIP code — you enter the combined rate you already know, in either mode, and it does the same net/tax/gross math. A price of 250 with an 8% rate added: 250 × 1.08 = 270 total, with 20 of that being tax.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate VAT from a gross (total) price?

Divide the gross price by (1 + rate ÷ 100) to get the net amount, then subtract net from gross to get the VAT. For a gross price of 1,230 at 23%: 1,230 ÷ 1.23 = 1,000 net, so VAT = 1,230 − 1,000 = 230. Don’t calculate VAT as gross × rate (1,230 × 0.23 = 282.90) — that overstates the tax, because the rate applies to the net amount, not the gross one.

How do I add VAT to a net price?

Multiply the net price by (1 + rate ÷ 100). At 23% you multiply by 1.23, at 8% by 1.08, at 5.5% by 1.055. Example: a net price of 1,000 × 1.23 = 1,230 gross, with the VAT itself being 230. Switch the calculator to “Add VAT” mode, enter the net amount and rate, and it returns all three figures at once.

How do you calculate VAT backwards (reverse VAT)?

Divide the gross price by (1 + rate ÷ 100) — this is reverse VAT, or calculating VAT backwards from a tax-inclusive price. A gross price of 1,230 at 23%: 1,230 ÷ 1.23 = 1,000 net, and VAT = 1,230 − 1,000 = 230. This is the exact mirror of adding VAT forward, which is why the same three numbers appear either way. Use “Remove VAT” mode and enter the gross amount.

What’s the formula to remove VAT from a price?

net = gross ÷ (1 + rate ÷ 100). At a reduced rate of 8%, a gross price of 270 gives 270 ÷ 1.08 = 250 net, with VAT = 270 − 250 = 20. The common mistake is subtracting the rate instead of dividing (270 × 0.92 = 248.40, which is wrong) — dividing by (1 + rate ÷ 100) is the only version that ties back correctly to the original net figure.

Is VAT the same everywhere in the EU?

No. EU rules set a minimum standard rate of 15%, but each country sets its own rate above that, plus its own reduced rates for specific goods and services. Hungary has the highest standard rate in the EU at 27%, Luxembourg the lowest at 17%, and most countries also have one or more reduced rates (France, for example, has a standard 20% alongside reduced rates of 10%, 5.5% and 2.1%). A net price of 100 at Hungary’s 27%: gross = 100 × 1.27 = 127, VAT = 27 — same formula, just a different number typed into the rate field.

What’s the difference between VAT and sales tax?

VAT is charged at every stage of production and distribution and is usually included in the displayed price; US sales tax is charged only at the final sale, set by states and localities rather than nationally, and is usually added at checkout rather than shown upfront. There’s no federal sales tax in the US — combined state-plus-local rates vary roughly from 0% to over 10% depending on where you are. Mathematically, though, both work the same way once you know the rate: this calculator handles either.

How much is sales tax in the US, and does it vary by state?

Yes, significantly. There’s no federal sales tax; state-level rates run from 0% up to a little over 7%, five states charge no state sales tax at all (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon), and adding local city or county rates on top can push the combined total past 10% in some places. Because there are thousands of local tax jurisdictions in the US, there’s no single “US rate” to preset — enter whichever combined rate applies where you are.

How do I calculate sales tax if I already know the rate?

The same way you’d add VAT: multiply the price by (1 + rate ÷ 100). A price of 250 with an 8% combined sales tax: 250 × 1.08 = 270 total, and the tax itself is 270 − 250 = 20. Use “Add VAT” mode, enter the pre-tax amount, and type in your local combined rate — the math doesn’t care what the tax is called.

How do you work out just the VAT amount from a gross price (not the net)?

Calculate the net amount first (gross ÷ (1 + rate ÷ 100)), then subtract it from the gross — that difference is the VAT. For a gross price of 1,000 at a super-reduced rate of 2.1%: 1,000 ÷ 1.021 = 979.43 net, so VAT = 1,000 − 979.43 = 20.57. Skipping straight to gross × rate would give a different, incorrect number, because the rate is defined relative to the net amount.

Can I use this for a rate above 30%, like a high combined local sales tax?

Yes — the calculator accepts any rate and the formula works the same regardless. If you enter something above 30%, you’ll see a non-blocking note suggesting you double-check the value, since it’s higher than the highest standard VAT rate in the EU (27%). For example, a net price of 100 at 35%: gross = 100 × 1.35 = 135, VAT = 35 — the calculator still returns a correct result, it just flags the rate as unusually high.

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