Add sales tax to a price or reverse it out of a total — US state rates and Canadian GST, HST, and PST
In plain terms: it either adds tax to a price (so you know the real amount you will pay at checkout) or removes tax from a tax-included total (so you can see how much of a receipt was actually tax). It works for US state and local sales tax rates and for Canadian GST, HST, and PST — enter a rate manually or pick a province preset. Everything runs in your browser, so nothing you type is uploaded or stored.
Sales tax calculator adds or removes tax from any price in seconds, whether you are figuring US state sales tax or Canadian GST, HST, and PST. Type in an amount, choose a rate — either manually or from the built-in province preset — pick whether you want to add tax to a pre-tax price or strip it out of a tax-inclusive total, and the calculator returns the pre-tax amount, the tax, and the total. Everything runs entirely in your browser, so none of the numbers you enter ever leave your device.
There are two everyday calculations, and this tool handles both. The first is adding tax, which you use when a price is quoted before tax and you want to know the final amount you will pay. The second is reverse sales tax, which you use when a price already includes tax and you need to work backward to the pre-tax figure — handy for receipts, expense reports, and bookkeeping.
To add tax, convert the rate to a decimal by dividing by 100, multiply it by the price to get the tax amount, then add the tax back to the price. On a $100 item at an 8% rate, the tax is $100 × 0.08 = $8 and the total is $108. To reverse tax, you divide the tax-inclusive total by one plus the rate as a decimal: $108 ÷ 1.08 = $100 pre-tax, which means $8 of the $108 was tax. A common mistake is to simply subtract 8% of the total, which produces the wrong answer because the tax was calculated on the smaller pre-tax base, not the larger total.
The United States has no national sales tax. Instead, sales tax is set at the state level, and most states allow counties and cities to add their own local rates on top. The rate you actually pay at the register is the combined total of the state rate plus any applicable county, city, and special-district rates. That is why two addresses in the same state can face noticeably different totals, and why online sellers now calculate tax based on the shipping destination.
Five states charge no statewide sales tax at all. A popular way to remember them is the acronym NOMAD: New Hampshire, Oregon, Montana, Alaska, and Delaware. Note that while Alaska has no statewide tax, some Alaskan localities levy their own local sales taxes, so "no state tax" does not always mean "no tax." In the remaining states, base rates commonly run from around 4% to 7%, and combined rates in some cities push past 10%.
US rate figures on this page come from the Tax Foundation’s State and Local Sales Tax Rates, Midyear 2026 table. The Tax Foundation is an independent research group, not a government source. Always confirm the current rate with your state’s department of revenue before you rely on a result.
Because US rates change frequently and depend on the exact locality, this calculator lets you enter any rate manually. Look up the current combined rate for the specific city or ZIP code where the sale takes place, type it into the Tax Rate field, and choose Add or Remove tax as needed. For businesses, the combined destination rate is usually what determines how much tax to collect.
Canada layers its sales tax differently from the US. Every province and territory pays the federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 5%. On top of that, provinces take one of three approaches. Some provinces charge a separate Provincial Sales Tax (PST) alongside the GST. Others have merged the federal and provincial portions into a single Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). Quebec runs its own provincial tax, the QST, in parallel with the GST.
The table below lists all thirteen provinces and territories with the federal and provincial portions and the combined rate a shopper actually pays. The province presets in the calculator above use exactly these combined rates, so selecting one fills the Tax Rate field automatically.
Last reviewed: October 2026
| Province / Territory | Tax Type | GST | PST / RST / QST | Combined Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | GST only | 5% | — | 5% |
| British Columbia | GST + PST | 5% | 7% | 12% |
| Manitoba | GST + RST | 5% | 7% | 12% |
| New Brunswick | HST | 5% | 10% | 15% |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | HST | 5% | 10% | 15% |
| Northwest Territories | GST only | 5% | — | 5% |
| Nova Scotia | HST | 5% | 9% | 14% |
| Nunavut | GST only | 5% | — | 5% |
| Ontario | HST | 5% | 8% | 13% |
| Prince Edward Island | HST | 5% | 10% | 15% |
| Quebec | GST + QST | 5% | 9.975% | 14.975% |
| Saskatchewan | GST + PST | 5% | 6% | 11% |
| Yukon | GST only | 5% | — | 5% |
A few patterns stand out. The lowest rate in the country is 5%, paid in Alberta and all three territories, where only the federal GST applies. The highest combined rate is the 15% HST charged in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island, with Quebec close behind at 14.975% once GST and QST are added together, and Nova Scotia at 14% HST. Ontario sits in the middle at 13%.
One practical note for Quebec and PST provinces: the way the provincial portion stacks on the federal portion has changed over the years. Today Quebec's QST is applied to the pre-GST price (not on top of the GST), so the combined effective rate works out to 14.975%. The presets here already fold everything into one combined percentage, so you do not need to worry about the stacking order — just select the province and calculate.
Some items, such as basic groceries, are zero-rated or exempt. Tax rules can change. Confirm with the Canada Revenue Agency or your provincial tax authority before filing.
Reverse sales tax answers the question "how much of this total was actually tax?" It is essential whenever you only know the final, tax-inclusive amount. The formula divides the total by one plus the rate as a decimal to recover the pre-tax price, and the difference between the two is the tax. For a $215 restaurant bill in an area with a 13% rate, the pre-tax amount is $215 ÷ 1.13 = $190.27, so $24.73 was tax.
This matters because you cannot simply take a percentage of the total. Subtracting 13% of $215 would give $27.95 of "tax," overstating it, because the real tax was charged on the smaller $190.27 base. The larger the rate, the bigger the error from doing it the wrong way. Set the calculator to Remove tax mode to get the correct pre-tax figure every time.
Prices come in two flavors, and knowing which you are looking at tells you whether to add or remove tax. Tax-exclusive pricing shows the amount before tax; the tax is added at checkout. This is the norm in the United States and Canada, where the shelf price and the amount you pay at the register are different. For tax-exclusive prices, use Add tax mode to find the final total.
Tax-inclusive pricing shows the final amount with tax already baked in, which is common in many other countries and for some services. If a price is advertised as "tax included," or you are working from a total on a receipt, use Remove tax mode to break out the pre-tax amount and the tax portion. Getting this distinction right is the single most common source of sales-tax mistakes, so always confirm which type of price you are starting from before you calculate.
Whether you are a shopper checking a receipt, a freelancer building an invoice, or a small business collecting tax across provinces, the workflow is the same. Enter the amount, set the correct rate (manually for US localities, or via the province preset for Canada), choose Add or Remove tax, and read off the breakdown. Because the tool is exact for any rate you enter, its accuracy comes down to using the right rate — and rates do change, so verify the current figure for your state, city, or province before relying on the result for filing or invoicing.
The breakdown gives you four numbers plus the rate. Which one is the "answer" depends on the mode you chose:
Beneath the breakdown, the calculator prints a short plain-language summary that restates your specific numbers — the tax amount, the total, and the effective rate for Add mode, or the pre-tax price and extracted tax for Remove mode.
The two modes are mirror images of each other. Here is one of each, using Ontario's 13% HST.
Adding tax. Suppose an item is priced at $80 before tax and you are shopping in Ontario at 13% HST:
Reversing tax. Now suppose you have a $113 total that already includes 13% HST and you want to know the pre-tax price:
Adding tax in Quebec. Suppose an item is priced at $100 before tax in Quebec, where the 5% GST and the 9.975% QST both apply:
The point of the number is a decision, not just a figure. Which mode you used points to what to do next:
A quick reference for the terms you will meet when working with sales tax:
Adding tax uses tax = price × (rate ÷ 100) and total = price + tax. Reversing tax uses preTax = total ÷ (1 + rate ÷ 100), with the tax being the difference between the total and the pre-tax figure. Both are exact for whatever rate you enter, so the accuracy of the result depends entirely on using the correct current rate. The Canadian province presets fold the federal GST and the provincial HST, PST, or QST into a single combined percentage; US rates must be entered manually because they vary by state, county, and city. All math runs in your browser and no inputs are stored or transmitted.
Rates and guidance last reviewed October 2026. Sales tax rates change and vary by locality — verify the current rate with the relevant tax authority before using a result for invoicing or filing. This tool is for information and education, not tax advice.
Working through prices and payments? These free, private calculators pair naturally with sales tax math:
To add sales tax to a price, convert the tax rate to a decimal by dividing it by 100, multiply that by the price to get the tax amount, then add the tax to the price for the total. For example, on a $100 item at an 8% rate, the tax is $100 × 0.08 = $8, and the total is $108. Set this calculator to Add tax mode, enter the amount and the rate, and it does both steps for you and shows the pre-tax amount, the sales tax, and the final total.
To remove sales tax from a tax-inclusive total, divide the total by 1 plus the tax rate as a decimal. For an $108 total at an 8% rate, the pre-tax price is $108 ÷ 1.08 = $100, so the tax was $8. Do not simply subtract 8% of the total, which gives the wrong answer. Set this calculator to Remove tax mode, enter the tax-inclusive amount and the rate, and it returns the pre-tax price and the exact tax that was included.
GST is Canada's federal Goods and Services Tax, currently 5%, and it applies across the whole country. PST is a Provincial Sales Tax charged separately by some provinces on top of GST. HST, the Harmonized Sales Tax, combines the federal and provincial portions into a single rate used in provinces such as Ontario and the Atlantic provinces. Quebec runs its own provincial tax called QST alongside GST. This calculator's province presets already combine the federal and provincial portions into one working rate.
The lowest rate is 5%, found in Alberta and the three territories (Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon), where only the 5% federal GST applies with no provincial tax. The highest combined rate is 15% HST, charged in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. Quebec is close behind at 14.975% once GST and QST are combined, and Nova Scotia charges 14% HST. Ontario sits in the middle at 13% HST.
Nova Scotia charges 14% HST in 2026. The rate dropped from 15% to 14% on April 1, 2025. HST combines the 5% federal GST and the provincial portion into one rate, so shoppers pay 14% on most taxable purchases. Select Nova Scotia in this calculator to apply the 14% rate automatically.
No. There is no national sales tax in the United States, and five states charge no statewide sales tax at all: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon (a handy way to remember them is NOMAD). In the other states, the rate you actually pay is the state rate plus any county and city rates, so the combined rate can be well above the base state figure. Because rates vary so much by locality, always confirm the exact combined rate for your address.
QST is the Quebec Sales Tax, the province's own sales tax charged in addition to the federal 5% GST. The QST rate is 9.975%, so the combined rate a shopper pays in Quebec is 14.975%. Unlike the harmonized provinces, Quebec administers its own tax through Revenu Québec rather than folding it into a single HST. In this calculator the Quebec preset already adds GST and QST together to give the 14.975% combined rate.
In most cases sales tax is calculated on the price after store discounts and coupons are applied, so a discount lowers both the price and the tax. Manufacturer rebates are sometimes treated differently and may be taxed on the pre-rebate price, depending on the jurisdiction. Shipping charges may or may not be taxable depending on local rules. To match your receipt, enter the final discounted price into this calculator and apply your local rate to that amount.
The math is exact for whatever rate you enter — both adding and reversing tax use the standard formulas. The accuracy of the result therefore depends on using the correct rate. US combined rates change often and vary by state, county, and city, and Canadian rates can be adjusted by governments over time. The province presets here reflect commonly cited combined rates but should be verified against current official figures before use in invoicing or filing. This tool provides estimates for informational purposes and is not tax advice.
To back sales tax out of a tax-inclusive total, divide the total by 1 plus the rate written as a decimal — do not subtract the rate from the total. For a $113 total that already includes 13% tax, the pre-tax price is $113 ÷ 1.13 = $100, so $13 was tax. Subtracting 13% of $113 would give $14.69, which is wrong, because the tax was charged on the smaller $100 base rather than the full total. Set this calculator to Remove tax mode, enter the tax-included amount and the rate, and it returns the pre-tax price and the exact tax that was included.
There is no national sales tax in the United States, so the rate is set locally rather than nationally. Each state chooses its own base rate, and most states let counties, cities, and special districts add their own rates on top, so the combined rate you actually pay depends on the exact address of the sale. That is why two nearby towns can charge different totals and why online sellers calculate tax by shipping destination. Five states — Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon — charge no statewide sales tax at all, though some Alaskan localities levy their own. Always confirm the current combined rate for the specific city or ZIP code before relying on a figure.
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