Sales Tax & VAT Calculator
Add sales tax to wholesale quotes or reverse-engineer pre-tax base prices from customer receipts in one click.
Base price per unit before sales tax
(1 + rate), rather than multiplying by the tax percentage.Gross vs. Net Pricing and Cross-Border Tax Compliance
The Reverse Tax Math Trap
A common accounting mistake is subtracting 20% from a $120 gross price to find the net price ($120 - 20% = $96).
The true formula is: Net = Gross / (1 + Rate). For a $120 total with 20% VAT, 120 / 1.20 = $100.00 net, with exactly $20.00 tax.
US Sales Tax vs. European VAT
In the United States, sales tax is a single-stage tax levied only at final retail point-of-sale, typically excluded from price tags.
In Europe and Australia (VAT/GST), tax is collected at each value-add stage across the supply chain, and retail prices legally must include tax.
Digital Service Nexus Rules
Online SaaS, downloads, and consulting platforms must comply with South Dakota v. Wayfair economic nexus thresholds in the US ($100k sales or 200 transactions).
In the EU, the VAT One Stop Shop (OSS) requires taxing digital services based on the customer's residence country.