How do I add GST or VAT to a price?

Multiply the tax-exclusive price by the tax rate to get the tax amount, then add it back to the price. For a 1,000 net price at 10 percent, the tax is 100 and the gross price is 1,100. Written as a single step, the gross price equals the net price multiplied by one plus the rate.

How do I work out the VAT already included in a price?

Divide the tax-inclusive price by one plus the rate to recover the net amount, then subtract that net figure from the gross to get the tax. At 20 percent VAT, a 120 shelf price contains 100 of goods and 20 of VAT. Taking 20 percent of the gross instead would overstate the tax.

Why is 20 percent VAT only 16.67 percent of the total price?

A tax rate is always applied to the net amount, never to the gross. At 20 percent, every 100 of net becomes 120 of gross, so the 20 of tax is 20 divided by 120, or 16.67 percent of that gross figure. The higher the rate, the wider the gap between these two percentages.

What is the difference between GST and VAT?

They are the same mechanism under two different names: a tax charged at each stage of supply, where registered businesses reclaim the tax paid on their inputs. Australia, India, Canada, New Zealand and Singapore call it GST, while the UK, the EU and most of Africa call it VAT. The arithmetic is identical.

GST and VAT Calculator

Add indirect tax to a net price, or pull the tax back out of a price that already includes it.

Add Tax or Remove Tax, Either Direction

Tell the calculator whether your amount already contains tax, choose a rate, and read the net, tax and gross figures side by side.

How Should Your Amount Be Read?

Amount and Rate

Amount per Unit ($) Price of one unit, read according to the mode above

Quantity (units) Use 1 for a single amount or invoice line

Tax Rate (% of net) Editable — standard rates differ by country and by product

Quick-select the common standard rates, or type any rate you need.

First Component Share (% of tax) Leave at 100 for a single tax. Set 50 to split India-style GST into CGST and SGST.

Results

Gross Amount (incl. tax)

$0.00

What the buyer pays in total

Net Amount (excl. tax)

$0.00

The value of the goods or services alone

Tax Amount

$0.00

Collected on behalf of the tax authority

Tax as % of Gross

0.00%

A rate on net is always a smaller slice of the total

Where the Gross Price Goes

Net 0% Tax 0%

Line Breakdown

Amount entered per unit $0.00

Quantity 1

Net amount (excl. tax) $0.00

Tax rate applied 0.00%

Tax component 1 (e.g. CGST) $0.00

Tax component 2 (e.g. SGST) $0.00

Total tax $0.00

Gross per unit (incl. tax) $0.00

                    Gross amount payable
                    $0.00
                

The Same Amount Read Both Ways

Reading of your amount	Net (excl. tax)	Tax	Gross (incl. tax)
Tax-exclusive — add tax on top	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Tax-inclusive — extract tax	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

The highlighted row is the reading you selected.

The Two Formulas

Tax-exclusive: tax = net × rate | gross = net × (1 + rate)
Tax-inclusive: net = gross ÷ (1 + rate) | tax = gross − net

Assumptions Behind These Numbers

The rate you enter is applied to the full amount as a single band — reduced, zero-rated and exempt categories are not detected automatically. Figures are computed at full precision and rounded to two decimals only for display, so an invoice that rounds each line separately may differ by a cent. Withholding, reverse-charge and margin schemes are not modelled. Verify current rates and rounding rules with your tax authority or accountant.

Standard GST and VAT Rates by Country

Country or region	Local name	Standard rate	Common reduced or special rates
Australia	GST	10%	0% on basic food, health, education
Canada	GST (plus PST or HST)	5% federal	Combined HST 13% to 15% in some provinces
France	TVA	20%	10%, 5.5%, 2.1%
Germany	Umsatzsteuer	19%	7% on food, books, transport
India	GST	18%	5% merit rate, 40% on luxury and sin goods
Indonesia	PPN	12%	Effective 11% for most goods, 0% on exports
Ireland	VAT	23%	13.5%, 9%, 4.8%, 0%
Japan	Consumption tax	10%	8% on food and non-alcoholic drink
Malaysia	SST	10% sales	6% to 8% service tax by category
Mexico	IVA	16%	8% northern border zone, 0% food and medicine
Netherlands	BTW	21%	9% on food, books, medicine
New Zealand	GST	15%	0% on exports and financial services
Nigeria	VAT	7.5%	0% on basic food, books, medical goods
Philippines	VAT	12%	0% on exports, exemption below a turnover threshold
Saudi Arabia	VAT	15%	0% on exports and qualifying medicines
Singapore	GST	9%	0% on exports and international services
South Africa	VAT	15%	0% on a listed basket of basic foods
Switzerland	MWST	8.1%	3.8% lodging, 2.6% essentials
Thailand	VAT	7%	0% on exports
United Arab Emirates	VAT	5%	0% on exports, some education and healthcare
United Kingdom	VAT	20%	5% on domestic fuel, 0% on food and children's clothes

These are the headline standard rates. Almost every country charges a lower rate on food, medicine, books, transport or housing, and a zero rate on exports, so check the category of your specific goods before quoting a price. Rates change with each budget — verify current figures with your tax authority.

Understanding GST and VAT

Exclusive and Inclusive Prices

Business-to-business quotes are normally stated tax-exclusive, because the buyer reclaims the tax and only cares about the net cost. Consumer prices are normally stated tax-inclusive, and in most countries displaying a tax-exclusive price to a consumer is illegal. Mixing the two conventions is the most common source of quoting errors: adding 20% to a price that already includes 20% overcharges by a fifth.

Zero-Rated Is Not Exempt

Standard-rated: tax charged at the headline rate, input tax reclaimable
Reduced-rated: a lower positive rate on essentials such as food or fuel
Zero-rated: 0% charged, but the seller still reclaims tax paid on inputs
Exempt: no tax charged and no input tax reclaimable, so the tax becomes a real cost to the seller

Rounding on Invoices

Tax is usually calculated per line and rounded to the smallest currency unit, then the lines are summed. Rounding the invoice total instead can produce a different answer by a cent or two, which is why accounting systems and tax authorities specify one method. Keep the unrounded figure in your workings and round only at the point you print the document.

Taxes Made of Several Parts

Some systems split one headline rate across governments. An 18% intra-state supply in India is 9% CGST plus 9% SGST, while an inter-state supply is a single 18% IGST. In Canada, 5% federal GST sits alongside provincial sales tax or is merged into a combined HST. The total the customer pays is the same, but the components must be shown separately on the invoice.

Add Tax or Remove Tax, Either Direction

How Should Your Amount Be Read?

Amount and Rate

Results

Where the Gross Price Goes

Line Breakdown

The Same Amount Read Both Ways

The Two Formulas

Assumptions Behind These Numbers

Standard GST and VAT Rates by Country

Understanding GST and VAT

Exclusive and Inclusive Prices

Zero-Rated Is Not Exempt

Rounding on Invoices

Taxes Made of Several Parts

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