Sales Tax Calculator

Sales tax calculator — free and private

Sales tax turns a clean price into an awkward one, and doing the percentage in your head is easy to fumble. This calculator handles it both ways: enter a price and a tax rate to see the tax and the final total, or start from a tax-included total and work backwards to the price before tax. You supply the rate that applies to you, and everything is worked out in your browser, so the numbers never leave your device.

It updates live as you type. Change the price, the rate, or the currency symbol, and the result moves with it — handy for pricing something, checking a receipt, or separating tax out of a total for bookkeeping.

How sales tax is calculated

Adding sales tax is a percentage of the price. Multiply the price by the rate to get the tax, then add it back on for the total. A $100 item at a 7.5% rate carries $7.50 of tax, for a $107.50 total. In formula terms, the total is the price times one plus the rate — here, 100 × 1.075 = 107.50. Because it's a straight percentage, a rate of 0% simply leaves the price unchanged, and a higher rate scales the tax up proportionally.

Sales tax is a plain percentage, so if you want to run a percentage on its own — a discount or a markup — the Percentage Calculator does that too, and for a tip on a restaurant bill there's a dedicated calculator — both entirely in your browser.

Reverse sales tax: finding the price before tax

Sometimes you have the final, tax-included price and need to know the pre-tax amount — for an expense report, an invoice, or to see how much of a total was actually tax. That's the reverse calculation, and it's not simply subtracting the rate from the total. Because the tax was added to the price (not to the total), you divide the total by one plus the rate.

For example, a $107.50 total at a 7.5% rate comes from 107.50 ÷ 1.075 = $100.00 before tax, leaving $7.50 of tax. This is the exact inverse of adding tax, so the two modes always agree: add 7.5% to 100 and you get 107.50; remove 7.5% from 107.50 and you get 100 back. Switch to "Remove tax" to run it this way.

Rates vary by region

There is no single sales tax rate, which is why this tool asks you to enter your own rather than guessing one. Rates differ from country to country and, in places like the United States, from state to state and even city to city, where state, county, and local taxes can stack on the same purchase. Some places apply different rates to different categories of goods, and some items are exempt. Rates also change over time as laws are updated.

Because of that, the reliable number is the current rate for your specific location and purchase — check your local tax authority or the receipt for the rate that actually applies. This calculator does the arithmetic accurately once you give it that rate; it doesn't decide what the rate should be, and nothing here is tax advice.

Common uses

People use a sales tax calculator to work out the final price of a purchase before paying, to set a shelf or invoice price that includes tax, to check that a receipt added the right amount, and to split the tax out of a total for accounting or reimbursement. The two modes cover both directions, so whether you have the pre-tax price or the tax-included total, you can get to the other figure in one step.

Works on your phone

The calculator is built mobile-first and runs in your phone's browser with nothing to install. The price and rate fields open the numeric keypad, you can switch between adding and removing tax with a tap, and you can pick a currency symbol — or none — to match where you are. The result appears right below without scrolling, and because everything is computed locally, it responds instantly.

Privacy: your numbers never leave your device

The price and rate you enter are used only to do the arithmetic in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored on a server, and there is no account to create. When you close the page the numbers are gone, because they were never sent anywhere in the first place.

Frequently asked questions

How is sales tax calculated?

Multiply the price by the tax rate to get the tax amount, then add it to the price for the total. A $100 item at 7.5% has $7.50 of tax and a $107.50 total.

How do I find the price before tax from a total?

Divide the tax-included total by one plus the rate — not by subtracting the rate. At 7.5%, a $107.50 total is 107.50 ÷ 1.075 = $100.00 before tax. Use the "Remove tax" mode to do this automatically.

Why do sales tax rates differ?

Rates are set by governments and vary by country, state, and even city, and they change over time. Some goods are taxed at special rates or exempt. Enter the current rate for your location — check your local tax authority for the exact figure.

Is my data uploaded to a server?

No. Everything runs in your browser — the numbers you enter never leave your device, and nothing is stored or sent anywhere.