Add or remove VAT
Value-added tax (VAT) is an indirect consumption tax levied on the sale of goods and services. The tax is ultimately paid by the end consumer; businesses simply collect it from customers and forward it to the tax authority. For the business itself, VAT is a pass-through item, not an expense.
VAT is charged at every stage of the supply chain, while businesses are allowed to deduct the VAT they themselves paid on inputs (input tax). The net effect is a tax on the added value at each step — hence the name.
With the VAT rate p in percent:
Gross = Net × (1 + p/100) Net = Gross / (1 + p/100) VAT = Gross - Net
Important: you cannot extract the VAT share of a gross price by simply taking p% of it — you must divide. At a 19% rate, VAT represents about 15.97% of the gross amount, not 19%.
| Country | Standard rate | Reduced rates |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 19% | 7% |
| Austria | 20% | 10%, 13% |
| Switzerland | 8.1% | 2.6%, 3.8% |
| France | 20% | 10%, 5.5%, 2.1% |
| Italy | 22% | 10%, 5%, 4% |
| Spain | 21% | 10%, 4% |
| Poland | 23% | 8%, 5% |
| Netherlands | 21% | 9% |
| United Kingdom | 20% | 5% |
| Sweden | 25% | 12%, 6% |
The exact mapping differs by country, but as a rough rule of thumb:
You buy an item for a gross price of 119 € at 19% VAT and want to know the net amount and VAT contained in it.
Net = 119 / (1 + 0.19) = 119 / 1.19 = 100.00 € VAT = 119 - 100.00 = 19.00 €
The other way around: net price 250 € + 7% reduced VAT:
Gross = 250 × (1 + 0.07) = 250 × 1.07 = 267.50 € VAT = 17.50 €
No. The entire calculation runs directly in your browser. No amounts are sent to a server, nothing is stored or logged.
It depends on the country, see the table above. Examples: Germany 19% / 7%, UK 20% / 5%, USA has no federal VAT but state sales tax of roughly 0–10%, Japan 10% / 8%.
The clean and standard approach is to apply the discount before VAT. VAT is then calculated on the discounted net amount and added to the final total. Invoice lines should show the discount and the resulting taxable base transparently.
Input VAT is the VAT a business itself pays to its suppliers when buying goods or services. If the business is VAT-registered, it can deduct this amount from the VAT it has collected from customers and either get a refund or pay only the difference. The net effect is that the business only pays VAT on the value it has added.
No. The calculator only shows the pure mathematical relation between net, gross and the VAT rate. The actual tax rate, special cases, reverse charge, small-business exemptions or cross-border supplies are a separate field — for binding decisions always consult your tax advisor or the relevant tax authority.
Value-added tax (in Germany Umsatzsteuer, colloquially Mehrwertsteuer) is an indirect tax on final consumption — even though it is technically levied at every step of the value chain. The principle is elegantly simple: every business adds 19% or 7% VAT on its output, remits it to the tax office, but can deduct the input VAT on its purchases. Each link in the chain therefore only pays VAT on its own value contribution. The end consumer, however, cannot deduct anything — the full tax sticks. The system is governed in Germany by the UStG, which implements the EU VAT Directive (2006/112/EC).
Practical example: a carpenter buys wood for 100 EUR net + 19 EUR VAT = 119 EUR gross. He builds a table and sells it for 300 EUR net + 57 EUR VAT = 357 EUR gross. He remits 57 minus 19 = 38 EUR to the tax office. If he had sold to another business, that buyer would deduct the 57 EUR as input VAT — in the end only the private consumer pays the full 57 EUR tax. From the government's view VAT is therefore extremely efficient: in 2024 it brings in about 320 billion EUR — the largest single line item in the German federal budget, ahead of income tax.
The reduced 7% rate in Germany applies to goods and services the legislator considers essential or worthy of promotion: food (except drinks), books, e-books, newspapers, local public transport under 50 km, theatre and museum tickets, and hotel nights. The borderlines are often quirky: a banana is taxed at 7%, a banana split at a restaurant at 19%. Toys 19%, audiobooks 7% — even if only audio. These edge cases drive endless debate and recurring political moves, e.g. the temporary cut to 5/16% during the Covid pandemic in 2020 or the time-limited 7% gastro rule from 2020 to 2023.
The examples below split into net, VAT and gross at various rates.
The calculator assumes a single rate per invoice. In reality many receipts mix rates — e.g. a supermarket basket with food (7%) and drinks or drugstore items (19%), or a restaurant bill with food and drinks. The calculator also does not handle special cases like exempt sales (medical services, education, postage), margin scheme on used goods, intra-community acquisitions, or reverse-charge cases. For business VAT returns this calculator is not sufficient — that requires full bookkeeping. On purchases from non-EU countries, import VAT and customs duties also apply. This page is informational and not tax advice; for binding questions consult a tax advisor or your local tax office.
Disclaimer: This calculator is for non-binding orientation only. For binding information, consult a qualified tax advisor or the responsible tax authority.