Reverse Sales Tax Calculator
Enter the final total you paid — tax included — and the calculator splits it back into the price before tax and the tax amount. Handy for receipts, expense claims and bookkeeping.
Price before tax
$99.28
Sales tax (9.03%)
$8.97
Total with tax
$108.25
California: state rate 7.25% + average local rate 1.78% ≈ 9.03% average combined, as of July 1, 2026. Your exact local rate may differ.
How the reverse calculation works
Price before tax = total ÷ (1 + rate ÷ 100), and the tax is what is left over: tax = total − price before tax.
Worked example: you paid $270.50 in total in Texas (average combined rate 8.20%). $270.50 ÷ 1.082 = $250.00 before tax, so $20.50 of what you paid was sales tax. Notice that simply subtracting 8.20% of $270.50 would give the wrong answer ($248.32), because the tax percentage was originally charged on the smaller before-tax price.
To add tax to a price instead, use the sales tax calculator.