Sales Tax Reverse Calculator
Extract the original pre-tax price and tax amount from a total that already includes sales tax or VAT.
The receipt total including sales tax
Your local sales tax or VAT rate
Enter a total amount and tax rate, then click Calculate to extract the pre-tax price.
How Reverse Sales Tax Calculation Works
What is a Reverse Sales Tax Calculation?
A reverse sales tax calculation lets you extract the original pre-tax price and the tax amount from a total that already includes sales tax. This is useful when you have a receipt showing only the final amount and need to know how much went to tax.
When Would You Use This?
You’d use a reverse sales tax calculator when reconciling receipts for expense reports, bookkeeping, or tax filings where you need to separate the tax from the total. It’s also handy for comparing pre-tax prices across states with different tax rates, or for backing out VAT from inclusive pricing used in many countries outside the US.
The Formula
The math is straightforward:
- Pre-tax Price = Total Amount ÷ (1 + Tax Rate ÷ 100)
- Tax Amount = Total Amount − Pre-tax Price
For example, if you paid $86.40 and the local tax rate is 8%:
- Pre-tax Price = $86.40 ÷ 1.08 = $80.00
- Tax Amount = $86.40 − $80.00 = $6.40
This calculator also supports adding multiple line items so you can process an entire receipt at once and see the combined pre-tax total and total tax paid.