Sales Tax Calculator
Free sales tax calculator. Enter an amount and tax rate to add tax to a pre-tax price, or remove tax from a tax-inclusive total to recover the original price.
Add or remove sales tax from any amount and see the tax and final total instantly.
Sales Tax Calculator
Sales tax is a consumption tax added to the price of most goods and many services at the point of sale. This calculator works in both directions: it can add tax to a pre-tax price to find the total you’ll actually pay, or remove tax from a tax-inclusive total to recover the original price and the tax portion.
What is sales tax?
Sales tax is charged as a percentage of the sale price. In the United States there is no national sales tax — instead, states, counties, and cities each set their own rates, which stack into a single combined rate at checkout. A purchase in one city might be taxed at 6%, while a purchase a few miles away is taxed at 9.5%.
The core formula is simple:
- Total = Amount × (1 + Rate ÷ 100)
- Tax = Amount × (Rate ÷ 100)
To reverse it — to strip tax out of a receipt total — divide instead of multiply:
- Pre-tax = Total ÷ (1 + Rate ÷ 100)
How to use this calculator
- Choose a mode: Add tax to amount if you have a pre-tax price, or Remove tax from total if you have a tax-inclusive figure.
- Enter the amount — your pre-tax price or your tax-inclusive total, depending on the mode.
- Enter the sales tax rate as a percentage (use your combined state + local rate).
- Read off the total, the sales tax, and the pre-tax amount.
Examples
Adding tax. A laptop is priced at 8.25**, and the total is $108.25.
Removing tax. A receipt shows a 100**, so $8.25 of the total was tax.
Zero-tax states. In states with no sales tax, the rate is 0% and the total equals the price — the calculator simply passes the amount through.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate sales tax? Multiply the price by the rate as a decimal (8.25% → 0.0825) and add it to the price.
How do I remove sales tax from a total? Divide the total by 1 plus the rate as a decimal. Use the Remove tax mode to do this automatically.
Which rate should I use? Use the combined state, county, and city rate for the location where the sale happens.