VAT Calculator Online

VAT Calculator — Add or Remove VAT Online

Add VAT to a net price, remove VAT from a gross price, or reverse-calculate the VAT amount from any total. The XConvert VAT Calculator runs entirely client-side — no sign-up, no upload, no data ever leaves your browser. Pick a country preset or type your own rate, and the gross, net, and VAT components update instantly.

Most invoicing mistakes come from mixing up gross and net or applying the wrong rate to cross-border sales. This tool keeps the math simple so you can focus on the pricing decisions: standard rate vs. reduced rate, VAT-inclusive vs. VAT-exclusive quoting, and whether the transaction even falls inside scope.

How to Calculate VAT with XConvert (4 Steps)

1. Pick a Country or Custom Rate: Select a preset (UK 20%, Germany 19%, France 20%, Ireland 23%, Netherlands 21%, Spain 21%, Italy 22%, Poland 23%, Sweden 25%, Hungary 27%, Luxembourg 17%) or type a custom percentage. Reduced rates (e.g., UK 5%, Ireland 9%/13.5%) and zero rates are supported — just enter the number.
2. Choose Add VAT or Remove VAT: Pick "Add VAT" to gross-up a net price (multiply by 1 + rate), or "Remove VAT" to back out VAT from a gross total (divide by 1 + rate). Reverse calculation handles the "what was the original net?" case for receipts and expense claims.
3. Enter the Amount: Type your net or gross figure. The calculator shows all three values — net, VAT, and gross — together, so you can paste any one of them into an invoice line, quote, or expense report.
4. Copy the Result: Click any value to copy it. Currency symbol is cosmetic — the math works the same whether you're in GBP, EUR, USD, or any other currency, since VAT is always a percentage of the net amount.

The tool also handles reverse-charge scenarios in the documentation below: if you're a B2B buyer self-accounting for VAT on an EU service import, you can calculate both the input and output VAT side at the same rate.

How VAT Math Actually Works

VAT (Value Added Tax) is a percentage applied to the net price. The gross is what the customer pays; the VAT amount is what the seller remits to the tax authority.

• Add VAT: gross = net × (1 + rate). At UK 20%, £100 net × 1.20 = £120 gross, with £20 VAT.
• Remove VAT: net = gross ÷ (1 + rate). At UK 20%, £120 gross ÷ 1.20 = £100 net, leaving £20 VAT.
• Find the VAT inside a gross: vat = gross − (gross ÷ (1 + rate)). At UK 20%, £120 − (£120 ÷ 1.20) = £20.

The common mistake is multiplying the gross by 20% to "remove" VAT — that gives £24 on a £120 total, which is wrong by £4. VAT must be removed by division, not multiplication, because the 20% was added to the net, not the gross.

Standard VAT Rates by Country (2026)

Tax Foundation, January 2026 data. EU minimum standard rate is 15% by directive; the EU-wide average is 21.9%.

Country	Standard	Common Reduced	Notes
United Kingdom	20%	5%, 0%	£90,000 registration threshold (2026/27)
Germany	19%	7%	Lowest of the large EU economies
France	20%	10%, 5.5%, 2.1%	Multiple reduced rates by product class
Ireland	23%	13.5%, 9%, 4.8%	9% applies to gas/electricity until end-2025
Netherlands	21%	9%	Reduced rate on food, books, medicines
Spain	21%	10%, 4%	"Super-reduced" 4% on essentials
Italy	22%	10%, 5%, 4%
Belgium	21%	12%, 6%
Poland	23%	8%, 5%
Austria	20%	13%, 10%
Portugal	23%	13%, 6%	Lower rates apply on Madeira and Azores
Greece	24%	13%, 6%
Sweden	25%	12%, 6%
Denmark	25%	(none)	No reduced rates — flat 25% on most goods
Finland	25.5%	14%, 10%	Raised from 24% in September 2024
Hungary	27%	18%, 5%	Highest standard rate in the EU
Luxembourg	17%	14%, 8%, 3%	Lowest in the EU

VAT vs Sales Tax vs GST

Property	VAT (EU, UK)	Sales Tax (US)	GST (Australia, Canada, India, NZ)
Where collected	Every stage of the supply chain	Only at the final retail sale	Usually every stage (multi-stage)
Input tax credit	Yes — businesses reclaim VAT paid on inputs	No — paid by end consumer only	Yes (in most GST systems)
Typical rate	17%–27% in EU; 20% UK	0%–~10% combined state + local	5% Canada / 10% Australia / 18% India (standard slab)
Price tags	Usually inclusive of VAT	Usually exclusive of sales tax	Mixed by country
Cross-border B2B	Reverse-charge mechanism	Generally no equivalent	Some GST systems use reverse-charge
Threshold	EU country-by-country (£90K UK, varies elsewhere)	State-by-state economic nexus rules	Country-specific (e.g., AUD 75,000 in Australia)

The single biggest behavioral difference: VAT is embedded in the price you see on the shelf in Europe, whereas US sales tax is added at the register. A €120 product in Germany already contains €19.16 of VAT; a $100 product in California has $7.25–$10.75 of sales tax added on top depending on the city.

Common Use Cases

1. Invoicing B2B Clients — When you quote a net price (say £1,000) but need to issue a VAT invoice, "Add VAT" at 20% gives the £1,200 gross total and the £200 VAT line your client will reclaim. Pair with a structured export by pasting the results into the CSV to JSON Converter when feeding invoice data into accounting APIs.
2. Reverse-Engineering an Expense Receipt — Receipts in the EU show a VAT-inclusive total. To claim back the VAT on a business expense (e.g., €240 hotel bill, Germany 19%), use "Remove VAT" to find €201.68 net and €38.32 VAT. That €38.32 is what goes on your input-VAT claim.
3. Cross-Border E-Commerce (EU OSS) — Once your cross-border B2C sales to other EU countries exceed €10,000 net per calendar year, you must apply the buyer's country VAT rate, not your own. Use the country presets to charge 19% to German buyers, 25% to Swedish buyers, etc., and file a single OSS quarterly return instead of registering in each country.
4. Reverse-Charge B2B Services — When a UK consultant invoices a German business client, the consultant zero-rates the invoice and the German client self-accounts for 19% German VAT on both the input and output side. The calculator gives you that 19% figure on the invoice net to enter in the German VAT return.
5. Setting Display Prices — Online stores selling to EU consumers must show VAT-inclusive prices by law. Use "Add VAT" to convert your wholesale net cost into the gross consumer price, ensuring shelf prices match what customers actually pay at checkout.
6. Quoting Tax-Inclusive Bundles — Marketing pages often advertise "£600 all-in" packages. Use "Remove VAT" to confirm the net component (£500 at UK 20%) before reporting revenue, since revenue is recognized net of VAT, not gross.

Reduced and Zero-Rated Items (UK Example)

UK VAT has three rate bands. Other EU countries follow similar patterns but with different items in each band.

Band	Rate	Examples
Standard	20%	Most goods, services, electronics, clothing for adults, restaurant meals
Reduced	5%	Domestic gas and electricity, children's car seats, energy-saving materials, mobility aids for the elderly, nicotine patches
Zero	0%	Most groceries (excl. hot takeaway), children's clothing and footwear, books and newspapers (including e-books since May 2020), public transport, prescription medicines, exports outside the UK
Exempt	n/a	Financial services, insurance, postal services, education, healthcare — outside VAT scope entirely

The difference between zero-rated and exempt matters for businesses: zero-rated businesses can still reclaim input VAT on their costs; fully exempt businesses cannot. A bookshop charging 0% VAT on books still recovers VAT on its rent and stationery; a private tutor providing exempt education does not.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between VAT-inclusive and VAT-exclusive?

VAT-exclusive (the "net" price) is the amount before VAT is added. VAT-inclusive (the "gross" price) is what the customer pays — net plus the VAT component. Most EU consumer prices are quoted gross (VAT-inclusive); B2B quotes and US-style listings are usually net (VAT-exclusive). When in doubt, the invoice should show both lines plus the VAT amount and rate separately.

How do I calculate the VAT from a gross total?

Divide the gross by 1 + rate, then subtract the result from the gross. For a £120 receipt at UK 20%: £120 ÷ 1.20 = £100 net, and £120 − £100 = £20 VAT. A common error is multiplying the gross by 20% directly, which gives £24 — that's wrong because the original VAT was 20% of the net (£100), not of the gross (£120).

What are reduced and zero VAT rates?

Reduced rates apply to goods governments want to tax more lightly — typically food, books, children's items, energy, and medicines. Zero rate (0%) is technically still inside VAT scope, so businesses can reclaim input VAT on their costs. Exempt supplies (financial services, insurance, healthcare) are outside VAT entirely — no VAT charged, no input VAT recoverable. The XConvert calculator accepts any custom rate including 0 and the various reduced bands (5%, 9%, 13.5%, etc.).

What's the difference between VAT, sales tax, and GST?

VAT is collected at every stage of the supply chain, with businesses reclaiming VAT paid on inputs — so only the value added at each step is taxed. US sales tax is collected only on the final retail sale, paid entirely by the consumer, with no input credit. GST (Australia, Canada, India, NZ, etc.) is usually a VAT-style multi-stage tax with input credits, just under a different name. The math the calculator does is identical for VAT and GST — just substitute your country's rate.

What is reverse-charge VAT and when does it apply?

Reverse-charge shifts the obligation to account for VAT from the seller to the buyer. It applies mainly to (1) cross-border B2B services within the EU, (2) certain domestic supplies prone to fraud (construction, mobile phones, scrap metal in some jurisdictions), and (3) imports of services from non-EU suppliers. The buyer self-charges both the input VAT and output VAT on their own VAT return at the same rate — net cash effect is zero, but the transaction is properly recorded.

What VAT rate do I charge for cross-border EU sales to consumers?

Below €10,000 net total cross-border B2C sales per calendar year (across all EU countries combined), you keep charging your home country's VAT rate. Above €10,000 you must either register for VAT in each destination country or use the One-Stop Shop (OSS) and charge each buyer their own country's rate — 19% for German buyers, 25% for Swedish buyers, etc. — then file one quarterly OSS return covering all EU sales.

When do I have to register for VAT in the UK?

The UK VAT registration threshold is £90,000 of taxable turnover on a rolling 12-month basis (2026/27 tax year, unchanged since April 2024). HMRC checks the previous 12 months at the end of every month, and you have 30 days to register once you cross the threshold. The deregistration threshold is £88,000. Voluntary registration below the threshold is also allowed and is often worthwhile if your customers are VAT-registered businesses who can reclaim what you charge.

Does the calculator handle currencies other than GBP and EUR?

Yes — VAT is always a percentage of the net amount, so the currency is cosmetic. Enter the number in USD, AED, JPY, ZAR, INR, or any other currency and the math works identically. Just remember that the rate to apply is determined by the supply rules in the country of taxation, not by the invoice currency.

Why is the VAT-inclusive price not exactly 20% more than the net?

It is — by 20% of the net, not 20% of the gross. £100 net + 20% VAT = £120 gross. But going the other direction, the £20 VAT is only about 16.67% of the £120 gross (because the gross has the larger denominator). This is why "Remove VAT" requires dividing by 1.20, not multiplying the gross by 20%.

Do my browser calculations leak data anywhere?

No. The VAT Calculator runs entirely client-side in JavaScript. No amounts, rates, or country choices are transmitted to any server. You can open browser DevTools → Network tab and confirm zero outbound requests when you press calculate. This makes it safe for sensitive pricing data you wouldn't paste into a hosted spreadsheet.

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