VAT calculator
Add VAT to a price or take it out, at French, Spanish, UK or any other rates.
About this calculator
This VAT calculator converts a price without VAT into a price with VAT, and back again. Choose whether your price already includes VAT, pick a country and a rate, and it shows the VAT amount and both prices.
The main rates for France (20%, 10%, 5.5% and 2.1%), Spain (21%, 10% and 4%) and the United Kingdom (20%, 5% and 0%) are built in. For any other country, or a rate that is not listed, choose another rate and type it in.
A table under the result shows the same price at every rate of the country you chose, which helps when you are not sure which rate applies or want to compare them.
How it works
Adding VAT multiplies the price by 1 + the rate. Taking it out divides the price by the same number, so at 20% the price before VAT is the price ÷ 1.2. The VAT is the difference between the two prices.
Last reviewed:
Worked example
- Your price: Excludes VAT
- Price: $100
- VAT rate: 20% standard rate
Price including VAT: $120.00 (VAT amount: $20.00)
Common questions
How do I take VAT out of a price?
Divide the price including VAT by 1 + the rate. At 20%, divide by 1.2: a price of 120 is 100 before VAT, and the VAT is 20. Taking 20% off the price including VAT gives the wrong answer, because the 20% was worked out on the lower price.
How do I add VAT to a price?
Multiply the price before VAT by 1 + the rate. At 20%, multiply by 1.2: a price of 100 becomes 120. At 21%, multiply by 1.21. At 5.5%, multiply by 1.055.
What are the VAT rates in France?
Mainland France has a standard rate of 20%, an intermediate rate of 10% (for example restaurants, passenger transport and some home improvement work), a reduced rate of 5.5% (most food, books and energy-saving work) and a special rate of 2.1% (for example reimbursed medicines and newspapers). Corsica and the overseas departments have their own rates.
What are the VAT rates in Spain?
Spain has a general rate of 21%, a reduced rate of 10% and a super-reduced rate of 4% on basic goods such as bread, milk, books and medicines. A 0% rate applies to a few operations. The Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla use different taxes in place of VAT.
What are the VAT rates in the United Kingdom?
The standard rate is 20% and covers most goods and services. A reduced rate of 5% applies to some, such as home energy and children's car seats, and a zero rate applies to most food and children's clothes. Some things, such as postage stamps, are exempt.
What is the difference between a net and a gross price?
The net price is the price before VAT, which a business keeps. The gross price is what the customer pays, VAT included. In France these are called HT (hors taxes) and TTC (toutes taxes comprises).
Sources and further reading
The story behind it
Where the idea came from: Value added tax was devised by the French tax official Maurice Lauré and introduced in France in 1954.
Earlier sales taxes were charged again at every stage of production, so the tax piled up on itself. Lauré's idea was to let each business deduct the tax it had already paid, so that only the value it added was taxed. The idea spread quickly, and more than 170 countries now have a VAT or a similar tax.
Why you can trust this calculator
- It runs in your browser. Nothing you type into it is sent anywhere.
- The method is explained on this page, so you can check it yourself.
- Free to use, with no sign-up.
- Results are estimates, not financial advice.
- Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll look into it.
After 15 years as a mathematics educator, I built CalculStore to give students, teachers, professionals and anyone working with numbers simple, reliable tools.
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