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VAT Calculator

Add VAT to a price, or take it back out of one that already includes it. You get all three figures — price before VAT, the VAT itself, the total — each one explained, with the working. UK rates built in, or set your own rate and currency.

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£

What you charge before any tax is added.

VAT rate

Most goods and services

Loaded with an example. Type over any field.

Total including VAT

£120.00

£100.00 plus 20% VAT is £120.00. The £20.00 of VAT inside that total is collected, not earned.

Before VAT
£100.00
VAT 20%
£20.00
Inc. VAT
£120.00

Every part of the price

The bar is the total. It splits into the part the seller keeps and the part that is tax.

  • Price before VATYou entered thisthe goods or services on their own — what the seller keeps£100.0083.3% of total
  • VAT at 20%the tax on top — collected for the taxman, never the seller’s income£20.0016.7% of total
  • Total including VATwhat the customer actually pays, and what lands in the bank£120.00100% of total

VAT at 20% is 16.7% of the total — a smaller share, because the rate is charged on the price before VAT, not on the total. Shortcut: the VAT is 1/6 of the total, so £120.00 ÷ 6 = £20.00.

How that was worked out

Two steps, with your own numbers in them.

  1. Step 1 — Work out the VAT

    £100.00 × 20% = £20.00 VAT

    VAT is charged on the price before VAT, so that is the figure it is a percentage of.

  2. Step 2 — Add it to the price

    £100.00 + £20.00 = £120.00 including VAT

    The total is what the customer pays. The VAT inside it is not yours to keep.

Check it backwards: £120.00 ÷ 1.20 = £100.00 — back to where you started

Check this before you rely on it. A free everyday calculator, provided as a guide — not tax, accounting, financial or legal advice. The working is shown above so you can verify it against your own figures. See our terms of use.

How it works

STEP 1

Say which figure you have

Add VAT if your price has no tax on it yet. Remove VAT if you are holding a shop price, a receipt or an invoice total that already includes it. Getting this the wrong way round is the single most common VAT mistake, so the tool asks first.

STEP 2

Enter the amount and pick the rate

20% is the standard UK rate and covers most goods and services. 5% applies to things like home energy, and 0% to most food, books and children’s clothes. Anything else — another country, another tax — goes in under “Other”.

STEP 3

Read the breakdown, then the working

The bar shows how the total splits between the price and the tax. Under it, each of the three figures is named and priced, with the one you entered marked. The working then shows both steps with your own numbers, and a check that runs the sum backwards.

What this doesn't cover

Knowing where a calculator stops is what makes the rest of it trustworthy.

  • VAT schemesThe Flat Rate Scheme, Margin Scheme and Cash Accounting all change what you actually pay HMRC. This works out VAT on a single amount at a standard rate.
  • Reverse chargeConstruction services and some cross-border supplies shift the VAT obligation to the buyer. Those need different treatment entirely.
  • Partial exemptionIf your business makes both taxable and exempt supplies, only some input VAT is reclaimable. That calculation is not this one.
  • Whether you should be registeredRegistration depends on your turnover against the current threshold. This calculator assumes you already know which rate applies to you.
The guideHow to calculate VAT — adding it, and taking it offTo add 20% VAT, multiply the net price by 1.2. To remove it, divide the gross price by 1.2 — do not subtract 20%, because 20% of the larger number is not the same amount.Read it

Common questions

How do I remove VAT from a price?

Divide by 1.20, not subtract 20%. A £120 price including VAT is £120 ÷ 1.20 = £100 before VAT, with £20 of VAT. Subtracting 20% would give you £96, which is wrong by £4 — and the error grows with the price. The calculator shows both, so you can see the gap.

Why is subtracting 20% wrong?

Because the 20% was added to the smaller number, not the larger one. VAT of £20 is 20% of the £100 net price, but only about 16.7% of the £120 gross price. Dividing by 1.20 reverses the original addition exactly.

How much of a VAT-inclusive price is actually VAT?

At 20% it is one sixth of the total — divide by 6. On £120 that is £20. At 5% it is 1/21. The general form is rate ÷ (100 + rate), which is why the share on the total is always smaller than the rate itself. The breakdown on this page shows that share as a percentage for whatever rate you pick.

What is the current UK VAT rate?

The standard rate is 20% and has been since 4 January 2011. The reduced rate is 5% and the zero rate is 0%. Which one applies depends on what you are selling, not on your business.

What is the difference between zero-rated and exempt?

Zero-rated supplies are taxable at 0%, so you can still reclaim VAT on your costs. Exempt supplies are outside VAT altogether and you cannot reclaim. This calculator handles zero-rated; exempt items have no VAT to calculate.

Is the VAT mine to keep?

No. VAT you charge is collected on behalf of the tax authority and paid over on your return — it is never turnover and never profit. That is why the breakdown separates the price you keep from the tax you are holding.

Does this work for other countries?

The rate presets are UK. But the arithmetic is the same anywhere — pick "Other" and type your own rate, and the add and remove calculations work identically. You can also set a default rate, its name and your currency in Settings, in the header, and every page will use them.

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