VAT calculator
Add VAT to a price, or find the VAT hidden inside a total. Enter one number, get the net, the VAT and the gross laid out clearly, at 20%, 5%, or whatever rate you need. Handy at quoting time and again when you fill in your return. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.
The figures
Charge the customer
£1,200.00 total
- Net (before VAT)
- £1,000.00
- VAT at 20%
- £200.00
- Gross (total)
- £1,200.00
Put the net on the line items and show the VAT separately. The customer pays the gross, and the VAT is the taxman's, not yours.
Put VAT on every invoice automaticallyThis is a general guide, not tax, legal or financial advice. Rates checked July 2026. VAT rates are set by government and vary by country. Always confirm the current rates and rules with HMRC or your accountant before relying on a figure.
UK VAT, 2026
- Standard rate: 20% covers most trade work.
- Reduced rate: 5% applies to some energy-saving materials, and certain residential conversions and renovations.
- Registration threshold: £90,000 of taxable turnover in any rolling 12 months.
- Deregistration threshold: £88,000.
The trap: it's a rolling 12 months, not your tax year
The threshold is measured over any rolling 12-month period, not your accounting period. A run of good months from August to the following July can put you over even though neither tax year looks close on its own.
You must register within 30 days of the end of the month you went over. So check your last twelve months, every month. Not your last set of accounts.
SoloDesks puts VAT on the invoice correctly, itemised and totalled, so the number your client sees matches the number you meant. Start free.
Rates and thresholds as published on gov.uk, held at these levels from 1 April 2026. The reduced rate has specific conditions attached. Check with your accountant before applying it to a quote.
Last checked: 30 July 2026
Common questions
- How do I add VAT to a price?
- Multiply the net price by 1 plus the VAT rate. At the UK standard rate of 20%, a £1,000 net price becomes £1,200 gross: £1,000 × 1.2. The £200 is the VAT you collect and pass on to HMRC. Switch this calculator to 'Add VAT' to do it for any figure.
- How do I work out the VAT included in a total?
- You can't just take 20% off the gross, because that gives the wrong answer. To find the VAT inside a 20% gross figure, divide the total by 6 (or by 1.2 to get the net, then subtract). On a £1,200 gross total the VAT is £200 and the net is £1,000. The 'Remove VAT' mode does this for you at any rate.
- What is the UK VAT rate?
- The standard rate is 20% and applies to most goods and services. A reduced rate of 5% covers things like domestic energy and some home-energy-saving work, and some supplies are zero-rated. Ireland's standard rate is 23%. This calculator has presets for each, and you can type any rate.
- Do I have to charge VAT as a sole trader?
- Only once your taxable turnover passes the VAT registration threshold, or if you register voluntarily. Below it you don't add VAT at all. If you are registered, you must show VAT on your invoices, and SoloDesks adds it to every invoice automatically.
Next, in what you owe
Tax, VAT and CIS: the money that was never really yours to spend.
Tax set-aside calculator
How much of every payment is actually yours? Get a percentage to move to savings so the tax bill never ambushes you.
CIS deduction calculator
Working under CIS? See what the contractor holds back from your labour and what actually lands in your bank.
Pricing the job
Work out what the job should cost before you write the number down.
Getting paid
Raise it, send it, and chase it when it goes quiet.
All nine are on the free tools page, and none of them need an account.