What does the UK VAT Calculator do?
This UK VAT calculator adds VAT to a net price or extracts VAT from a gross price in pounds sterling. Net is the amount before VAT; gross includes VAT. The separate VAT amount reconciles the two. Choose a rate applicable to your supply rather than assuming every transaction uses the standard rate.
For a general purchase-tax calculation in another context, see the Sales Tax Calculator. This page also supports the inverse calculation: finding a VAT-exclusive price from an inclusive total. It is not a VAT return, an invoice generator or a decision about whether you must register or can reclaim tax.
How to add or remove VAT from a UK price
Select Add VAT when you know the net price, or Remove VAT when you know the gross price. Enter one nonnegative GBP amount with up to two decimal places, without commas or a currency symbol. Choose standard 20%, reduced 5%, zero 0% or a custom rate. Changing the operation reinterprets the amount as net or gross; it does not convert the input automatically.
- Confirm the transaction’s VAT treatment using current HMRC guidance.
- Choose whether the entered amount excludes or includes VAT.
- Calculate and review net, VAT, gross and the stated rounding method.
- Keep invoices and check the accounting rules that apply to your records.
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Optional bookkeeping notebooks (paid link) can record amounts beside their receipts. No purchase is required.
VAT formula: inclusive and exclusive prices
For a rate r%, Add VAT uses VAT = net × r / 100 and gross = net + VAT. Remove VAT uses net = gross / (1 + r / 100), then VAT = gross − net. At 20%, multiply net by 1.2 to include VAT or divide gross by 1.2 to exclude it. Subtracting 20% from a VAT-inclusive price is not the inverse operation.
Inputs are interpreted as exact decimal numbers. In Add mode, VAT is rounded half up to a penny and added to the entered net. In Remove mode, net is rounded half up to a penny, then VAT is the difference from the entered gross. This ensures displayed net + VAT = gross. It is a single-amount planning convention; invoice-line, transaction and accounting rounding policies can differ.
Optional uk bookkeeping books (paid link) may explain bookkeeping concepts; check publication dates against HMRC.
How to read the VAT breakdown diagram
The main result is gross including VAT in Add mode and net excluding VAT in Remove mode. The four detail cards always show net, VAT, gross and rate so the labels remain explicit. Monetary answers have two decimal places. An approximation symbol appears in worked division or multiplication when rounding is required.
The stacked bar represents the gross amount using proportions before penny rounding: gold is net and cyan is VAT. At 20% VAT, the cyan share is 20 / 120 = one sixth of gross, not one fifth. Tiny rounded amounts can therefore have a zero-penny displayed VAT component while the mathematical proportion remains visible; the chart labels explain this. A zero amount shows no filled proportions.
Keep source documents in optional receipt organizers (paid link). The Percentage Calculator can check an ordinary percentage separately.
Worked examples: add VAT, remove VAT and reduced rate
Add 20% VAT to £100.00: VAT = £100 × 20 / 100 = £20.00, and gross = £120.00. Remove 20% VAT from £120.00: net = £120 / 1.2 = £100.00 and VAT = £20.00. Both examples describe the same price relationship.
At 5%, adding VAT to £200 gives £10 VAT and a £210 gross total. Removing 5% from £483 gives £460 net and £23 VAT. At 0%, net equals gross and VAT is zero. Zero-rated supplies and exempt supplies have different tax treatment even when no VAT amount is charged.
A rounding example: removing 20% from £1.00 gives an unrounded net of £0.8333…; this calculator displays £0.83 net and £0.17 VAT. Optional desktop calculators (paid link) can check the same division.
UK VAT rates, rounding and important limitations
GOV.UK lists standard 20%, reduced 5% and zero 0% rates; reviewed on 5 November 2026. The applicable treatment depends on the goods, services and circumstances. This tool does not classify supplies, determine exempt status, assess registration or decide input-tax recovery. Custom rates are arithmetic entries, not a claim that a rate is legally applicable.
Supported amounts are £0 to £1,000,000,000,000, with at most two decimal places. Custom rates are 0–100% with up to four decimal places. Negative amounts, credits, multiple lines, mixed rates, discounts, VAT margin schemes, reverse charge, imports and partial exemption are outside this calculator’s scope.
Confirm business decisions against current HMRC guidance or an appropriately qualified adviser. Inputs stay in calculator memory and are not added to the URL or persistent storage; existing site analytics and ads follow the Privacy Policy.
UK VAT Calculator FAQs
Divide the gross amount by 1.2 to find net, then subtract net from gross to find VAT. Do not subtract 20% of gross.
Yes. Presets include 5% and 0%; a custom rate is also available. Confirm which treatment applies to your transaction.
No. These are different VAT treatments. This tool calculates amounts and does not classify the supply.
It uses half-up penny rounding. Add mode rounds VAT; Remove mode rounds net and obtains VAT by subtraction so the displayed amounts reconcile.
No. At a 20% rate applied to net, VAT is 20/120 of gross. The diagram uses proportions before penny rounding.
No. VAT registration, supply classification, invoices and recovery eligibility require the relevant HMRC rules; this is an arithmetic tool.
Sources and methodology
VAT guidance reviewed on 5 November 2026. Arithmetic independently implemented. Linked organizations do not endorse this tool; verify the current official guidance for your circumstances.