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VAT Calculator

Use this VAT calculator to quickly add or remove Value Added Tax from any amount. You can also adjust the rate setting to calculate historical VAT rates (such as 15% or 17.5%) for older accounting records or reduced-rate items. For more details on UK VAT rates and history, see below.

Amount
 Add VAT       Subtract VAT
VAT Amount

What is VAT?

Value Added Tax (VAT) is a consumption tax added to the purchase price of most goods and services in the UK.

The standard UK VAT rate in 2026 is 20%. This rate has been in place since 4 January 2011, following a temporary reduction to 15% during the 2008 financial crisis and a brief return to 17.5% in 2010. UK Gov website source


How to Calculate VAT (at 20%)

Adding VAT to a Net Amount:
To calculate the total price including VAT, multiply your net amount by 1.2.
Formula: Net Price × 1.2 = Gross Price (Inc. VAT)

Removing VAT from a Gross Amount:
To work backwards and find the original price before VAT was added, divide your VAT-inclusive amount by 1.2.
Formula: Gross Price ÷ 1.2 = Net Price (Excl. VAT)

Finding the VAT Amount on a Gross Price:
If you have a total price that already includes 20% VAT and just want to know how much tax was paid, divide the total by 6 (do not multiply by 0.2, as this calculates 20% of the gross total rather than 20% of the original net price).
Formula: Gross Price ÷ 6 = VAT Amount


Historical UK VAT Rates

1977 - 1979: 8% (plus higher rate of 12.5%)
1979 - 1991: 15%
1991 - 2008: 17.5%
2008 - 2010: 15%
2010 - 2011: 17.5%
2011 - 2026: 20%

Insurance Premium Tax (IPT)

This calculator also includes a toggle for calculating standard (12%) and higher rate (20%) Insurance Premium Tax. IPT is a specific tax levied on general insurance premiums in the UK. More about IPT


Random VAT Facts
1. VAT was introduced as a European replacement for the old purchase tax. This was charged at differing rates according to the luxury of an item.

2. The interpretation of tax law on food has lead to some very high profile court cases including the famous 'pastygate' affair and also the Jaffa Cakes brand taking matters to a tribunal to argue that they should be classified as a 'chocolate covered cake' (0% VAT) as opposed to a 'chocolate covered buscuit' (20% VAT)

3. Donations to charity, MOT testing and National Insurance contributions are all outside the scope of VAT.

4. Frenchman Maurice Lauré was the first to introduce VAT on the 10th April 1954 however the idea was not his, German Dr. Wilhelm von Siemens dreamed up the concept in 1918. It avoids drawing comparison with a sales tax by only taxing the value added at each stage of production.

5. There are currently three rates of value added tax: standard (20%), reduced (5%) and zero (0%). Examples of zero VAT items include: meat, prescription medicines and aircraft sales!

6. VAT (Value Added Tax) was first introduced in France in 1954 and made its first appearance in the UK on 1st April 1973.

7. VAT is a requirement of EU membership. From December 2015 no country is permitted to charge a VAT rate below 15%.

8. Hungary residents suffer the worlds highest VAT rates with 27%. Croatia, Denmark, Norway and Sweden all closely follow with a 25% tax on sales. Our United States cousins enjoy much lower sales taxes, between 0-11.75%.