VAT / Sales Tax Calculator
Quickly add VAT to a net (ex-tax) amount or reverse a tax-inclusive (gross) price into net and VAT. Includes common European rate presets including Portugal 23% / 13% / 6%.
Written and maintained by Ricardo Rodrigues · Last updated · What changed
Who this calculator is for
This page adds a tax rate to a net amount, or pulls a tax rate back out of a gross amount. It is for quotes, receipts, and the moment someone multiplies a tax-inclusive price by the rate and gets a number that cannot be the tax. The presets remember commonly cited rates, including Portugal’s often-mentioned mainland 23%, 13%, and 6%, plus a few other European standards and an illustrative US-like 8%. A preset is not a ruling. Islands, reduced categories, and exemptions exist. Confirm the rate, then calculate.
Freelancers writing a net day-rate, shoppers staring at a gross shelf price, and students learning why “23% of the gross” is the wrong extraction all use the same two formulas. The page will not decide which direction your document is in. The direction control is that decision.
VAT / Sales Tax Calculator
Add tax to a net amount or extract tax from a gross (tax-inclusive) price
Direction
Common rates
Result
123.00
Net 100.00 + VAT 23.00 = Gross 123.00
Gross = net × (1 + rate/100)
Net
100.00
VAT
23.00
Gross
123.00
Step-by-step for your numbers
- VAT = net × rate = 100.00 × 23% = 23.00.
- Gross = net + VAT = 100.00 + 23.00 = 123.00.
- To reverse it later, divide the gross by 1 + rate — do not subtract 23% of the gross.
Comparison table
| Country / region | Standard | Reduced rates | VAT share of a gross price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal (mainland) | 23% | 13%, 6% | 18.7% |
| Portugal (Madeira) | 22% | 12%, 4% | 18.03% |
| Portugal (Azores) | 16% | 9%, 4% | 13.79% |
| Spain | 21% | 10%, 4% | 17.36% |
| France | 20% | 10%, 5.5%, 2.1% | 16.67% |
| Germany | 19% | 7% | 15.97% |
| Italy | 22% | 10%, 5%, 4% | 18.03% |
| Ireland | 23% | 13.5%, 9%, 4.8% | 18.7% |
| Netherlands | 21% | 9% | 17.36% |
| United Kingdom | 20% | 5%, 0% | 16.67% |
Which rate applies depends on the product or service and on place-of-supply rules. Always confirm with the tax authority before invoicing.
About this vat / tax
Add mode starts from a net price: gross = net × (1 + rate/100). Extract mode starts from a gross price: net = gross / (1 + rate/100). At 23%, €100 net becomes €123 gross, and €123 gross becomes €100 net. Taking 23% of the €123 (€28.29) is a third, wrong operation, and this page’s extract mode exists so you do not have to remember the division under pressure.
Presets are memory aids for commonly quoted rates, including Portugal’s often-cited mainland 23%, 13%, and 6%. They are not a ruling on which rate your supply actually takes, and island rates differ. Confirm the rate, then calculate.
How to use each field
- Add VAT (net → gross)
- The amount you type is before tax. Gross = net × (1 + rate/100). At 23%, 100 net becomes 123 gross, and the VAT line is 23. Use this when a quote is ex-VAT and the client will be charged tax on top.
- Extract VAT (gross → net)
- The amount you type is the price including tax, the amount someone actually pays. Net = gross ÷ (1 + rate/100). At 23%, 123 gross becomes 100 net, VAT 23. Use this on a shelf price or a receipt total that already includes the tax.
- Net amount or gross amount
- The label flips with the direction so you do not pour a gross price into an add formula. The dollar sign is a label; a euro amount uses the same arithmetic. Type the figure that matches the label, not the figure you wish you had.
- Tax / VAT rate and the presets
- The rate box is the authority. Presets only fill it: PT standard 23, PT intermediate 13, PT reduced 6, ES 21, DE 19, FR 20, UK 20, an 8% example, and 0%. Portugal’s Azores and Madeira do not use the mainland standard rate. If you are not sure, do not let a button choose for you. Zero percent is a real calculation: gross equals net, tax is zero.
When to use this calculator
- You are writing a quote from a net day-rate and you know the VAT rate that applies.
- A shelf price or a receipt total includes VAT and you want the tax and the net split out.
- You want to show both numbers to someone who thought the rate could be multiplied either way.
Worked examples
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Add 23% VAT to $100 net | VAT $23 · Gross $123 |
| Extract 23% from $123 gross | Net $100 · VAT $23 |
| Add 20% VAT to $50 | VAT $10 · Gross $60 |
Walkthroughs
A Portuguese mainland quote at the standard rate
A designer bills €750 net and believes the supply takes the mainland standard rate of 23%. Direction Add, amount 750, rate 23. VAT is 172.50. Gross is 922.50. The invoice should show those three numbers if the rate is right. If the client is a business in another EU country and the supply is treated as a reverse charge, the rate may be zero on your invoice and the client accounts for tax instead. This page can show the zero, and it cannot tell you whether the reverse charge applies.
The client forwards a paid total of €922.50 and asks what was net. Direction Extract, amount 922.50, rate 23. You should get 750 and 172.50 back. If you instead take 23% of 922.50 you get about 212.18, and the “net” you would infer by subtraction is about 710.32, which is a fictional invoice.
A UK shelf price and a US-style added tax
A UK shelf price of £24 at 20% is a gross price if the tag is what you pay. Extract: net = 24 / 1.20 = 20, VAT = 4. A US register that shows $20 and then adds 8% at the till is the other direction: net 20, add 8%, tax 1.60, pay 21.60. The preset labeled “US example” is 8% because rates vary by state and city; it is not the rate at a particular checkout. The sales-tax-versus-VAT guide is about that difference in habits. The arithmetic of adding is the same multiplication either way.
Formula
| Goal | Formula |
|---|---|
| Add VAT | gross = net × (1 + rate/100) |
| Extract VAT | net = gross ÷ (1 + rate/100) |
Adding multiplies by one plus the rate. Extracting divides by that same factor. They are inverses. Start at 100, add 23%, land on 123, extract 23%, land on 100. The tax inside a gross price is not the rate times the gross. It is rate / (100 + rate) of the gross. At 23% that fraction is 23/123 ≈ 18.70%. So 23% of €123 is about €28.29, and that number is not the VAT in the €123. The extract mode exists so you do not have to remember 23/123 under pressure.
A discount usually changes the amount on which VAT is charged. Take 10% off a €100 net price first (pay €90 net), then add 23% (gross €110.70). Adding 23% to €100 and then taking 10% off the gross gives €110.70 as well only because both operations are multiplications and they commute. A fixed voucher can break that comfort: €10 off before tax is not the same euros as €10 off after tax. If the terms are ambiguous, run both orders and see how many euros the ambiguity is worth.
Line rounding is why a one-line calculator and a 40-line invoice disagree by a cent. Three nets of €10.10 at 23% can round differently per line than on the sum. Allow a cent before you call the shop wrong. This page rounds its display; it does not reproduce a particular invoicing system’s rounding rule.
Mistakes this page will not catch for you
Extracting by multiplying the gross by the rate
The VAT inside a gross price is rate / (100 + rate) of that price, about 18.7% of the gross at a 23% VAT rate, not 23% of the gross. Multiply only when you are adding tax to a net amount.
Rounding each line, then also rounding the total
Three lines of €10.10 at 23% can disagree by a cent depending on whether VAT is rounded per line or on the sum. A one-line calculator will not reproduce a 40-line invoice to the cent. Allow a cent before you call the shop wrong.
Using a reduced rate because the product feels essential
Food, books, and renovations sometimes take a reduced rate and sometimes do not, and the lists differ by country. The 13% and 6% buttons are reminders that Portugal quotes more than one rate. They are not a classification of your product. When the rate is the point of the question, look it up. Then type it.
FAQ
- How do I add VAT to a price?
- Gross = net × (1 + rate/100). Example: $100 + 23% VAT = $123.
- How do I remove VAT from a gross price?
- Net = gross ÷ (1 + rate/100). VAT = gross − net. Example: $123 including 23% VAT → net $100.
- Is this the same math as US sales tax?
- Adding a rate on top of a net price is the same multiplication. Whether the tag you saw was already inclusive is not the same. If the tag is the amount you pay, extract. If the tag is before tax, add.
- Should the discount go before VAT?
- Usually the discount changes the amount on which VAT is charged. Apply a percent-off to the net, then add VAT. A fixed voucher’s order depends on the terms; run both if the terms are ambiguous and see how many euros the ambiguity is worth.
- Are the Portugal presets the current legal rates?
- They are the mainland rates people have cited for years: 23%, 13%, and 6%. Law can change, and the Azores and Madeira have their own rates. Treat the button as a way to fill the box, then confirm against an official source if you are issuing an invoice.
- Is US sales tax the same math?
- Adding a rate on top of a net price is the same multiplication. The habit is different: US tags are often before tax, and European shelf prices often already include VAT. If the number in your hand is what you pay, extract. If it is what the tag said before the till, add.
- What if the receipt has several rates?
- Split the receipt. Run each net at its own rate and add the VAT lines yourself. One blended rate is a summary you might compute afterward. It is not a safe thing to type into a single box if you need the tax authority’s lines.
Guides that go with this calculator
- How to Calculate VATAdd VAT to a net price or remove it from a gross price, with European rate examples, a gross-versus-net table, and the mistakes that overstate tax.
- Sales Tax versus VATThe shared arithmetic of adding a tax rate, and the practical difference between a US-style add-on and a VAT-inclusive price tag.
- How to Calculate DiscountsSale price, amount saved, and successive percent-off deals, including why 20% then 10% is not 30% off and how coupons change the order.
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