Reverse Sales Tax Calculator
Find the price before sales tax from a receipt total, and the tax included in it.
About the Reverse Sales Tax Calculator
Enter the total you paid and the tax rate. The calculator splits the total into the price before tax and the tax itself, which is useful for expense claims, bookkeeping and comparing prices across regions.
Divide the total by 1 plus the rate to get the pre-tax price. Multiplying the total by the rate overstates the tax, because the tax was charged on the smaller pre-tax amount.
The formula
Price = total ÷ (1 + rate); tax = total − price
Worked example
A receipt for 108.25 at 8.25% sales tax
- 108.25 ÷ 1.0825 = 100.00 before tax
- Tax: 8.25
- In India, ₹1,180 including 18% GST is ₹1,000 plus ₹180 of GST
Things to keep in mind
- Assumes one rate on the whole total; receipts mixing taxed and untaxed items need splitting first.
Questions people ask
How do I find the rate from two numbers?
Rate = (total ÷ price − 1) × 100.
Do US prices include tax?
Usually not; tax is added at checkout.
Why not just take 8.25% of the total?
That gives 8.93 here, too much, because the tax was worked out on 100, not on 108.25.