Reverse Sales Tax Calculator
Got a tax-inclusive price? Work backwards to find the pre-tax amount and the sales tax — at any state-and-local rate.
Remove Sales Tax
Removing 7% sales tax from $107.00 leaves $100.00 net — the sales tax portion is $7.00.
Results update as you type.
Formula
Reversing sales tax from a tax-inclusive total is a single division:
net = gross / (1 + rate / 100).
The sales-tax portion is whatever's left:
vat = gross − net. Switching to the Add tab
works the opposite direction:
gross = net × (1 + rate / 100).
When this calculator helps
Use this tool when you have a tax-inclusive total and need to pull the sales tax back out of it. That usually means working from a single 'out the door' figure — a verbally quoted price, a vending or all-in total, or a bookkeeping entry where only the gross was recorded — and needing the pre-tax amount and the tax stated separately for your records.
It is worth knowing up front that reverse calculation comes up less often in the US than it does in VAT countries. American retailers almost always display the pre-tax shelf price and add tax at checkout, so most receipts already break out the subtotal, the tax and the total for you. Where this calculator earns its place is the cases where that split is missing and you have to recover it from the gross.
How to read your result
From the tax-inclusive total you enter, the calculator returns two numbers: the pre-tax amount (the price of the goods before tax) and the sales tax portion (the tax added on top). Together they sum back to the gross total. For accounting, the pre-tax amount is what you book as the expense or sale and the tax is recorded against your sales-tax liability or expense.
The reason you divide by one plus the rate, rather than just taking the rate off the total, is that sales tax is figured on the pre-tax price, not on the tax-inclusive total. At a 7% rate the total is 107% of the pre-tax price, so the pre-tax amount is the total divided by 1.07. Taking 7% straight off the gross would overstate the tax, because it applies the rate to a larger base than the one the tax was actually calculated on.
A worked example
Say someone quotes you $214 all-in for a job and you know the combined sales tax rate is 7%. Divide $214 by 1.07 to get a pre-tax price of $200. The sales tax is the difference, $14. So your records show $200 for the goods or service and $14 of sales tax. By contrast, taking 7% of $214 would give $14.98 — slightly too high — which is the error the divide-by-1.07 approach prevents.
Common mistakes to avoid
Reverse sales-tax slips usually trace back to the wrong rate or the wrong arithmetic. Run through these before you trust a figure.
- Subtracting the rate as a percentage of the gross instead of dividing by one plus the rate, which overstates the tax.
- Using a state base rate when the actual sale also carried county or city tax — the combined rate is what matters.
- Assuming a total is tax-inclusive when the receipt actually already lists the tax separately, so no reverse calculation is needed.
- Applying one rate to a basket that mixes taxable and tax-exempt items, such as groceries that are exempt in many states.
US sales tax notes
There is no value-added tax in the United States. Instead, sales tax is levied at the point of sale and varies enormously — most states impose a statewide rate, and counties and cities frequently add their own on top, so the combined rate at a given address can range from zero in a handful of states to well over 9% in some localities. The rate that applies depends on where the sale takes place, not where the buyer lives.
Because rates are set locally and what is taxable differs by state — groceries, prescriptions and clothing are treated very differently from one state to the next — there is no single national figure to plug in. Look up the combined state-and-local rate for the specific jurisdiction, and for anything beyond the basic maths consult the relevant state revenue department or a tax professional.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I find the pre-tax price from a tax-inclusive total?▾
Divide the gross by (1 + rate/100). At a 7% rate, divide by 1.07; at 8.875% (NYC), divide by 1.08875. The sales tax is the difference between gross and pre-tax. For example, a $107 tax-inclusive total at 7% has a $100 pre-tax price and $7 of sales tax.
Why isn't the sales tax just 7% of the gross?▾
Because sales tax is calculated on the pre-tax price, not the post-tax total. 7% of $107 is $7.49, but $99.51 + $7.49 ≠ $107 at a 7% rate (you'd actually need a 7.5% rate for that). The correct pre-tax price for a $107 gross at 7% is $100.00, with $7.00 of tax.
When is a US receipt tax-inclusive vs tax-exclusive?▾
Almost never tax-inclusive. US retailers virtually always show the pre-tax shelf price and add tax at checkout — meaning the receipt typically lists the pre-tax subtotal, the tax, and the total separately. The reverse-tax calculation is more useful for working from a verbally quoted total (e.g. 'that'll be $107 out the door') back to the pre-tax breakdown for accounting.
Does this work for use tax or excise tax?▾
If those taxes are a flat percentage applied on top of the pre-tax amount, yes — enter the rate in the rate field. Use tax (owed by the buyer when sales tax wasn't collected at purchase) typically uses the same rate as sales tax. Excise tax on specific goods (alcohol, fuel, tobacco) often uses per-unit rates rather than percentages, in which case this calculator doesn't apply directly.
What if I don't know the exact rate?▾
Look up the combined state-and-local rate for the city or county where the sale happened. State revenue departments publish lookup tables; the Tax Foundation maintains a national reference. If you're working from a receipt, the rate is usually inferable: divide the tax by the pre-tax subtotal and you have the effective rate for that purchase.