VAT Calculator: Add It, Remove It, or Work Back From the Tax
Value added tax and its cousins (GST in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, and the GST and HST family in Canada) all share one piece of arithmetic: a percentage charged on the price before tax. The questions people actually ask come in four directions. What is the total once tax is added? What was the price before tax, given a total that already includes it? What rate connects a net and a gross figure on an old invoice? And what net and gross sit behind a tax amount quoted on its own? This calculator answers all four, for one rate at a time, with preset rates for 20 countries that were checked against official government sources on 31 Oct 2026.
Pick a country preset and the rate fills in, along with the local tax name, the official source the rate was checked against, and any scope note that matters (a region that uses different rates, a category that recently moved, a class of supply that is a note rather than a rate). The rate stays editable after a preset fills it, so a rate from an invoice can be typed over it. And nothing you type is ever rewritten by the tool: the numbers in the boxes stay exactly as you entered them.
The four formulas
- Add tax. Tax equals net times rate divided by 100. Gross equals net plus tax.
- Remove tax. Net equals gross divided by (1 plus rate divided by 100). Tax equals gross minus net, which is the same as gross times rate divided by (100 plus rate).
- Find the rate. Rate equals (gross divided by net, minus 1) times 100.
- From the tax amount. Net equals tax times 100 divided by rate. Gross equals net plus tax.
Amounts are computed exactly and rounded half-up to the nearest cent once, at display. The worked line under every result shows the derivation with the unrounded figure, so an invoice line can be reconciled to the cent.
Removing tax is not subtracting the rate
The most common VAT mistake is taking a tax-inclusive price and subtracting the rate percentage of it. At 20%, the tax inside a price of 120 is 20, which is one sixth of the price, not 20% of it (20% of 120 would be 24). The tax share of a gross price is always rate divided by (100 plus rate): one sixth at 20%, one eleventh of an Australian price at 10%, three twenty-thirds of a New Zealand price at 15%, nine one-hundred-and-ninths of a Singapore price at 9%. Remove mode divides by 1 plus the rate, which is the only direction that lands back on the true net.
Canada: one country, three tax setups
Canada has no single sales tax rate. Alberta and the three territories charge only the federal GST of 5%. Five provinces charge one blended HST, administered by the Canada Revenue Agency: 13% in Ontario, 14% in Nova Scotia (it fell from 15% on 1 Apr 2025), and 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. Four provinces charge GST plus a separate provincial tax, and the calculator shows the two components as separate amounts because they are remitted to different authorities: British Columbia GST 5% plus PST 7%, Saskatchewan GST 5% plus PST 6%, Manitoba GST 5% plus RST 7%, and Quebec GST 5% plus QST 9.975%.
In every dual-tax province, both taxes are charged on the same pre-tax price. Neither is charged on the other. Quebec is the case to watch: QST has applied to the price before GST since 1 Jan 2013, so a C$1,000 sale in Quebec carries C$50.00 of GST and C$99.75 of QST, a total of C$1,149.75. Charging QST on the GST-inclusive price instead would give C$1,154.74, which has been wrong since 2013. Which province applies follows the place-of-supply rules, generally where goods are delivered or a service is supplied.
Rates used in the presets
Every preset below was verified against the official source named, on 31 Oct 2026. Zero-rated and exempt classes are described in the notes, not offered as rates: a statutory 0% class is a scope note, not a chip, which is why the United Kingdom shows two rates here and the GST countries show one each.
| Country | Tax | Rates | Official source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | USt | 20%, 13%, 10%, 4.9% | BMF; UStG §10 | 4.9% staple foods since 1 Jul 2026 |
| Belgium | TVA | 21%, 12%, 6% | Royal Decree No. 20; Commission table | Accommodation and camping at 12% since 1 Mar 2026 |
| Germany | MwSt | 19%, 7% | Commission table (BMF) | Restaurant and catering services (food) at 7% from 1 Jan 2026, permanently; drinks stay at 19% |
| Denmark | moms | 25% | Commission table | Single rate, no reduced tiers |
| Spain | IVA | 21%, 10%, 4% | Commission table | Mainland and Balearics; Canary Islands levy IGIC, Ceuta and Melilla levy IPSI |
| Finland | ALV | 25.5%, 13.5%, 10% | Vero | Reduced tier 14% to 13.5% on 1 Jan 2026; Åland behind a tax border, Finnish rates apply |
| France | TVA | 20%, 10%, 5.5%, 2.1% | Commission table | Corsica and overseas territories have special rates |
| Ireland | VAT | 23%, 13.5%, 9%, 4.8% | Revenue Ireland | 9% for hospitality services from 1 Jul 2026; 4.8% is the livestock rate, not the farmers flat-rate addition |
| Italy | IVA | 22%, 10%, 5%, 4% | Camera dei Deputati dossier; DPR 633/1972 | Standard 22% since 1 Oct 2013; 5% since 1 Jan 2016 |
| Luxembourg | TVA | 17%, 14%, 8%, 3% | Commission table; Loi du 12 février 1979 | Standard 17% restored 1 Jan 2024 |
| Netherlands | btw | 21%, 9% | Belastingdienst | Accommodation at 21% since 1 Jan 2026 |
| Portugal | IVA | 23%, 13%, 6% | Autoridade Tributária, CIVA art. 18 | Mainland; Azores 16%, 9%, 4% and Madeira 22%, 12%, 4% are regional notes |
| Sweden | moms | 25%, 12%, 6% | Commission table | |
| United Kingdom | VAT | 20%, 5% | HMRC, GOV.UK | 0% zero-rated goods and exempt supplies are scope classes |
| Switzerland | VAT | 8.1%, 2.6%, 3.8% | Federal Tax Administration (ESTV) | Since 1 Jan 2024; 3.8% is the accommodation rate |
| Norway | MVA | 25%, 15%, 12% | Skatteetaten | 15% foodstuffs; 12% transport, cinema and room letting |
| Singapore | GST | 9% | IRAS | Since 1 Jan 2024; exports zero-rated, financial services exempt |
| Australia | GST | 10% | Australian Taxation Office | Since 1 Jul 2000; GST-free and input-taxed are classes |
| New Zealand | GST | 15% | Inland Revenue | Since 1 Oct 2010; exports zero-rated, financial services exempt |
| Canada | GST / HST / PST / RST / QST | GST 5%; HST 13%, 14%, 15%; PST 7% and 6%; RST 7%; QST 9.975% | Canada Revenue Agency; Revenu Québec; provincial finance ministries | 13 province and territory presets in the selector above; dual taxes never compound |
Frequently asked questions
How do I add VAT to a price?
Multiply the price before tax by the rate, then add the result on. At 20%, a net price of 100 carries 20 of tax and a total of 120. The Add tax mode of this calculator does exactly that, for any preset or typed rate.
How do I take VAT off a price that already includes it?
Divide the tax-inclusive price by 1 plus the rate as a decimal. At 19%, a price of 119 divides by 1.19 and gives a net of 100 with 19 of tax. Do not subtract the rate percentage of the gross price instead: the tax inside a gross price is rate divided by (100 plus rate) of it, one sixth at 20%, not 20%.
Why does Quebec not charge QST on top of the GST-inclusive price?
Because since 1 Jan 2013, Quebec charges QST on the price before GST. On a C$1,000 sale, GST is C$50.00 and QST is C$99.75, for a total of C$1,149.75. The compounded figure of C$1,154.74 charges QST on the GST itself and has been wrong since 2013. The same rule, both taxes on the pre-tax price, holds for PST in British Columbia and Saskatchewan and for RST in Manitoba.
What share of a tax-inclusive price is the tax?
The share is rate divided by (100 plus rate). At 20% it is one sixth of the price. At 10% in Australia it is one eleventh, at 15% in New Zealand it is three twenty-thirds, and at 9% in Singapore it is nine one-hundred-and-ninths. The Remove tax mode shows the share for the rate you are using.
Are the preset rates official, and how current are they?
Each preset was checked against the official source named beside it, including tax authority and government pages, on 31 Oct 2026. Dated changes already in force are built in: Finland's reduced rate at 13.5%, Dutch accommodation at 21%, Austria's 4.9% food rate, Ireland's 9% hospitality rate from Jul 2026, and Nova Scotia HST at 14%. Tax law changes over time, so confirm the rate with the authority before filing anything that depends on it.
Related calculators: Percentage Calculator, Inflation Calculator, and Salary Calculator.
A VAT figure is only as good as the rate behind it and the direction it was worked in. Check the direction first, then the rate, then the rounding, and the number on the invoice will reconcile.
Disclaimer: this page explains consumption tax arithmetic for education only and is not tax, legal or accounting advice. Rates and rules change; confirm the current rate and its scope with the tax authority for anything you file or invoice.
Further reading: the European Commission publishes the member state rate table at europa.eu/youreurope, and the Canada Revenue Agency publishes its GST and HST chart at canada.ca.