Free Sales Tax Calculator: Add Tax or Take It Out
Add sales tax to a price, or, if you have a total that already includes tax (like a receipt or a cash sale where tax was built in), work backward to the price before tax and the tax amount.
It runs in your browser. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere. The numbers filled in below are a made-up example; change them to yours.
How the math works
- Adding tax: tax = price × rate; total = price + tax.
- Taking tax out: price before tax = total ÷ (1 + rate); tax = total − price before tax.
- Amounts are rounded to the cent. Stores and states can round a little differently, so a receipt may be off by a cent.
Example (made up): an $80 item at an 8.25% rate has $6.60 in tax, for $86.60 in all. Going the other way, a $54.13 total that includes 8.25% tax is $50.00 before tax plus $4.13 in tax.
Your rate depends on your state, county and city, and some items are taxed differently or not at all. Whether you need to collect sales tax as a seller depends on your state's rules. Check your state's tax agency site for your rate. This is an estimate, not tax advice.
Keep sales tax separate in your books
The Small Business Bookkeeping Spreadsheet ($12) lets you log each sale or expense once, and your profit and loss, dashboard and deductible-expense summary fill in automatically. Works in Excel and Google Sheets.
Get the spreadsheet on Gumroad – $12
This template is also in the Self-Employed & Small Business Bundle (what's inside): all 9 business tools for $29 (about $80 if bought one by one).
We make this template, so take that into account. The calculator above is free to use either way.
Related free guides
- How to Record Cash and Card Sales in Your Books
- How to Organize Business Receipts (Simple System)
- Weekly Bookkeeping Routine for a Small Business (20 Minutes)
- How Much to Set Aside for Side Hustle Taxes
More free tools: all calculators.
See all Cedar & Ledger templates