VAT Calculator UK

Add VAT to a net price or take it back out of a gross price at the UK rates: 20% standard, 5% reduced or 0%, or any custom rate. Below the calculator you will find what each rate covers, the formulas for working VAT out by hand, and what to do once the numbers feed into a VAT return.

What do you want to do?

Net means before VAT; gross means the price with VAT already included.

VAT rate

Most goods and services use the 20% standard rate.

Net amount (£)

The price before VAT is added.

Your result

£120.00

Gross amount, including VAT at 20%

Net amount (before VAT)	£100.00
VAT at 20%	£20.00
Gross amount (with VAT)	£120.00

£100.00 × 1.20 = £120.00 — the VAT on top is £20.00. Amounts are rounded to the nearest penny.

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UK VAT rates: what falls in each one

Rate	Charged on	Examples
Standard — 20%	Most goods and services	Adult clothing, electronics, furniture, restaurant meals eaten in, professional and trade services
Reduced — 5%	A short list of essentials and energy measures	Home energy (gas and electricity), energy-saving materials and installations, children's car seats, some health and welfare products
Zero — 0%	Necessities the law keeps tax-free	Most food, children's clothes, books and newspapers, passenger transport, prescriptions dispensed by a chemist
Exempt	No VAT charged — and none reclaimable on related costs	Insurance, most finance, health services by registered professionals, education, postage stamps

Zero-rated and exempt are easy to confuse, but they are very different for a business. A zero-rated sale is still a taxable sale at 0%, so the business can reclaim VAT on its costs. An exempt sale is outside the VAT system: no VAT is charged, and VAT on costs that relate to it generally cannot be reclaimed.

How to calculate VAT manually

To add VAT, multiply the net amount by 1 plus the rate as a decimal: at 20%, net × 1.2. A net price of £100.00 becomes £120.00, of which £20.00 is VAT. At the 5% reduced rate, multiply by 1.05 instead.

To remove VAT from a price that already includes it, divide by the same factor: at 20%, gross ÷ 1.2. A receipt for £240.00 contains £40.00 of VAT and a net price of £200.00. The shortcut is the VAT fraction: at 20% the VAT inside a gross price is exactly 1/6 of it, and at 5% it is 1/21.

If you are working out what you owe HMRC for a period, the same maths runs over your totals: VAT charged on sales (output tax) minus VAT you paid on business purchases (input tax) is the amount on the return.

After the calculation: VAT records and returns

A single calculation is only the start. If your taxable turnover passes £90,000 in any rolling 12 months you must register for VAT, charge it on your sales, keep VAT records and file returns — usually every quarter. Under Making Tax Digital for VAT, those records have to be kept digitally and the return sent through compatible accounting software; HMRC no longer accepts returns typed into its old online form. Good software keeps the VAT on every invoice as you go, so the quarterly return is a check rather than a reconstruction.

For keeping those digital records and filing the return itself, Zoho Books records the VAT on every invoice as you raise it and files MTD VAT returns from the same figures, so the quarterly return is ready when the deadline comes.

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Selling your time rather than goods? The payroll side of a growing business has its own maths — the employer cost calculator shows what a salary really costs on top of the headline pay.

Frequently asked questions

How do I add 20% VAT to a price?

Multiply the net price by 1.2. The answer is the gross price including VAT, and the difference between the two is the VAT itself. For example, £100 × 1.2 = £120, so the VAT on £100 at 20% is £20.

How do I remove VAT from a price?

Divide the gross price by 1.2 to get back to the net price at the 20% rate. For example, £240 ÷ 1.2 = £200 net, which means £40 of the £240 is VAT. At the 5% reduced rate, divide by 1.05 instead.

What is the VAT fraction at 20%?

At the 20% standard rate, the VAT inside a VAT-inclusive price is 1/6 of the total. So on a £120 receipt, the VAT is £120 ÷ 6 = £20. At the 5% reduced rate the fraction is 1/21 of the gross price.

What are the UK VAT rates?

There are three rates: 20% standard, which covers most goods and services; 5% reduced, for things such as domestic energy and energy-saving materials; and 0% zero-rated, for most food, children's clothes, books and newspapers, and passenger transport. Some supplies, such as insurance and health services, are exempt — that is not the same as 0%, because exempt businesses cannot reclaim VAT on their costs.

When does a business have to register for VAT?

You must register when your VAT-taxable turnover passes £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period, or you expect it to pass £90,000 in the next 30 days alone. You can also register voluntarily below the threshold, which lets you reclaim VAT on your costs.

Is a calculator enough to do my VAT return?

A calculator gives you the VAT on a single price. A VAT return needs every sale and purchase recorded through the quarter, and under Making Tax Digital for VAT those records must be kept digitally and the return filed through compatible software — HMRC no longer accepts returns typed into its old online form.

This calculator is a guide to the arithmetic, not tax advice. VAT treatment depends on exactly what is being supplied — if a sale could fall between rates, check the GOV.UK VAT guidance or ask an accountant before you invoice.