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Reverse Sales Tax CalculatorPre-Tax Price from a Tax-Inclusive Total

What does this come to under the current IRS rules?

Pre-tax price and the tax included in a total, from the state and local sales tax rates.

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  • Nothing stored or sent
  • Free, no sign-up
Your figures
Example figuresIllustrative only. Type over them with your own.
Pre-tax price
$998
Total divided by one plus the combined rate
Sales tax included
$87
Combined rate
8.75%
Drawn to one scale
Pre-tax price$998
Sales tax included$87
State tax$62
Local tax$25
All results
MeasureResult
Pre-tax price$998
Sales tax included$87
Combined rate8.75%
State tax$62
Local tax$25
How this was worked out
Work shownrecomputed as you type
Pre-tax price = total / (1 + state rate + local rate)
Tax = total - pre-tax price

Illustrative arithmetic on the figures you enter. Check the result against your firm's methodology before relying on it.

The formulas

  • Pre-tax price = total / (1 + state rate + local rate)
  • Tax = total - pre-tax price

How it works

When a receipt shows only the total, divide by one plus the combined rate to find the price before tax. Subtracting the combined rate as a percent of the total is wrong, because the tax was charged on the pre-tax price, not on the total.

This is useful for backing tax out of a card payment, checking a vendor invoice or splitting tax from revenue in your books. Rates differ by address and product, and some items are exempt or taxed at a different rate, so enter the rate that applied to the sale. Rounding on each line item can differ by a cent from the single total.

Illustrative figures only. Check the result against your firm's methodology before relying on it.

Common questions

Why not subtract the percent from the total?

Tax is charged on the pre-tax price, so the tax is a smaller share of the total than the rate.

Are the state and local rates added?

Yes, enter both and the tool adds them. Where a jurisdiction compounds one rate on another, enter the combined rate in the state field and leave local blank.

Does it work for VAT?

The arithmetic is the same for any tax-inclusive price.

Formulas on this page are the standard definitions.

Runs in your browser. The figures you type are not sent to CORAA or stored. Check the result against your firm's methodology before relying on it.

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