Reverse Sales Tax Calculator

Find the pre-tax price from a tax-included total

Total price (tax included)

Quick state base-rate preset (optional)

Tax rate (%)

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you calculate the pre-tax price from a total? ▼

Divide the tax-included total by (1 + tax rate as a decimal). For example, a $107.25 total at a 7.25% tax rate gives $107.25 ÷ 1.0725 = $100.00 pre-tax, with $7.25 in tax.

Why isn't there one fixed sales tax rate? ▼

Sales tax in the US combines a state rate with additional county and city rates that vary by exact location — even two addresses in the same city can sometimes fall under different local tax districts. Enter your exact combined rate (shown on your receipt) for a precise result, or use the state base-rate presets as a rough starting point.

Which states have no state sales tax? ▼

Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon have no statewide sales tax. Alaska does allow local municipalities to charge their own sales tax, so a purchase there may still include tax depending on the city.

Is this the same as calculating sales tax forward? ▼

No — a regular sales tax calculator adds tax to a known pre-tax price. This calculator works backward: you already have the final total (e.g., from a receipt or a rounded price), and it extracts what portion was tax and what the original price was before tax.

Reverse sales tax formula

Pre-tax price = total price ÷ (1 + tax rate)

Sales tax = total price − pre-tax price

Example

A receipt shows $107.25 with a 7.25% tax rate: 107.25 ÷ 1.0725 = $100.00 before tax, and $7.25 of tax. At 8.25%, a total of $54.12 means a price of $50.00 and $4.12 of tax.

The common mistake

Subtracting the tax percentage from the total does not work: $107.25 − 7.25% = $99.47, which is $0.53 too low. The tax was charged on the pre-tax price, not on the total, so you have to divide. The same applies to any "remove a percentage that was added" problem, such as a tip or a markup.

Use the combined rate

Most purchases are taxed by the state and by a county, city or special district, so the rate on your receipt is usually higher than the state base rate. For example, Texas charges 6.25% statewide, but local taxes can bring the total to 8.25%; California's 7.25% base can exceed 10% in some cities. The presets above contain state base rates only. For the exact figure, use the rate printed on the receipt or look up the address with your state's tax agency.

State base sales tax rates (selection)

State	State rate	State	State rate
California	7.25%	New Jersey	6.625%
Indiana	7%	Michigan	6%
Washington	6.5%	Florida	6%
Texas	6.25%	Arizona	5.6%
Illinois	6.25%	North Carolina	4.75%
Pennsylvania	6%	New York	4%

Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon have no statewide sales tax, though some Alaska and Montana localities charge their own.

When you need it

Splitting tax out of a receipt for expense reports or bookkeeping.
Business owners who quote tax-inclusive prices and need to report taxable sales.
Checking that the right rate was charged.

Rounding to the cent can make the result differ by a penny from the store's figure. For percentages off a price, use the discount calculator; for other percentage problems, the percentage calculator or the percent change calculator.