UK VAT Calculator
Add VAT to a net price, or work out the VAT and net from a VAT-inclusive total.
Last updated: August 2026
Direction
Gross at 20% VAT
£120.00
Before VAT
Tax due
VAT included
How this is calculated
Net = £100.00 (your input)
VAT = Net × 20% = £20.00
Gross = Net + VAT = £120.00
Understanding UK VAT
UK VAT (Value Added Tax) has three rates depending on the goods or services:
Standard rate, 20%
Most goods and services. Unchanged since 4 January 2011.
Reduced rate, 5%
Domestic fuel, energy-saving materials, children's car seats, mobility aids for the over-60s.
Zero rate, 0%
Most food (not restaurant meals), children's clothes, books, newspapers, public transport.
You must register for VAT with HMRC once your VAT-taxable turnover exceeds £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period (since 1 April 2024). You can also register voluntarily below the threshold, which lets you reclaim input VAT and can look more established to business customers.
Once registered, you charge VAT on your taxable sales, can reclaim VAT on business purchases, and must file VAT returns (usually quarterly) under Making Tax Digital.
You can apply to deregister once turnover falls below the deregistration threshold of £88,000. The gap between the two figures exists so a business hovering around the threshold isn't forced to register and deregister repeatedly.
The Flat Rate Scheme
Businesses with VAT-taxable turnover of £150,000 or less (excluding VAT) can join the Flat Rate Scheme. You still charge customers the normal 20%, but you pay HMRC a single flat percentage of your gross turnover instead of accounting for VAT on every sale and purchase. The percentage depends on your trade sector, and there is a 1% discount in your first year of registration.
The trade-off: you generally cannot reclaim VAT on purchases, apart from capital assets over £2,000. "Limited cost" businesses, those spending very little on goods, must use a 16.5% rate, which usually makes the scheme not worth it. Run both numbers before joining.
UK VAT rates as published by HMRC. Standard rate 20% since 4 January 2011. Last updated: August 2026.
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Reviewed by
Alexandre Bernier, LLM (UK), CFP®, CIM®, PFP®. Financial planner with 18 years in banking and wealth management, holding a UK master of laws and the Canadian CFP®, CIM® and PFP® designations. Writes and reviews every calculator and article on FinanceToolz.
Last updated: August 2026. How figures are sourced, reviewed and corrected is set out in our editorial policy. This is general information, not regulated financial advice.
Sources
Every rate and threshold used by this calculator is taken from the official pages below. If a figure here disagrees with one of these, the official page is right, please tell us.