Going from a net amount to a gross one is easy. The other direction is where it goes wrong by hand — and it is the direction that comes up more often, because prices are usually agreed gross.
VAT calculator
Work out net, VAT and gross from either direction. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Enter an amount and a rate.
The rate is yours to choose. Which one applies depends on what you sell, to whom and where — the buttons above are common rates, not a recommendation for your case.
Turn this into an invoiceWhy working backwards is different
The common mistake is multiplying the gross amount by the rate. At 20 % on £1,200 gross that gives £240 of VAT, which is wrong: the tax is already inside the gross figure. The net is £1,000 and the VAT is £200.
So the calculation is net = gross ÷ (1 + rate), not gross × rate. On a single small invoice the difference is easy to miss; across a year of them it is not.
Which rate applies
This calculator deliberately does not decide that. Standard and reduced rates differ by country, some supplies are exempt or zero-rated, small-business schemes change the answer again, and cross-border B2B services are often reverse charged so you invoice no VAT at all. Which case you are in depends on what you sell, to whom, and where.
The presets are shortcuts for frequently used numbers, not a statement about your situation. If you are unsure which applies, that is a question for an accountant rather than for a calculator.
What it does and does not do
- Calculates net, VAT and gross in either direction
- Takes any rate between 0 and 100 per cent
- Runs entirely in your browser; nothing is transmitted
- Needs no account
- Does not tell you which rate applies to you
- Is not a salary calculator — that is a different calculation entirely
- Knows nothing about margin schemes or intra-EU supplies
- Stores nothing
Common questions
Because the tax is already included in the gross figure. The net is £1,000, 20 % of that is £200, and £1,000 + £200 is £1,200. Multiplying the gross figure charges the tax a second time.
Yes — type any rate into the field. The buttons are only shortcuts, and reduced rates vary widely between countries.
Then the rate is 0 and net and gross are the same. What matters more in that case is saying on the invoice *why* there is no VAT — see invoicing German clients from abroad for the reverse-charge version of this.
Yes — the free invoice generator does the same arithmetic on every line and produces a PDF, also without an account.
InkVoice does the tax arithmetic on every invoice, remembers your clients and tracks what has been paid — free for 5 clients and 10 invoices a month, no credit card.
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