VAT Calculator: Add or Remove VAT

To add VAT, multiply the net amount by the VAT rate and add the result: at 15%, 1,000 becomes 1,000 + 150 = 1,150. To remove VAT from a total, divide the total by 1 plus the rate: 1,150 ÷ 1.15 = 1,000 before VAT, so the VAT inside it is 150. The calculator above does both for any rate.

Add VAT: VAT = net amount × rate ÷ 100, and total = net amount + VAT

Remove VAT: net amount = total ÷ (1 + rate ÷ 100), and VAT = total − net amount

Worked examples

Three common cases, all rounded to 2 decimals as they would appear on an invoice:

• Saudi Arabia, adding 15%: a service priced at SAR 2,400 before VAT. VAT = 2,400 × 0.15 = 360, so the invoice total is SAR 2,760.
• UAE, removing 5%: a receipt shows AED 525 including VAT. Net = 525 ÷ 1.05 = 500, so the VAT is AED 25.
• Bahrain, removing 10%: a total of BHD 88 including VAT. Net = 88 ÷ 1.10 = 80, so the VAT is BHD 8.

Why you cannot remove VAT by subtracting the rate

Subtracting 15% from a total that includes 15% VAT gives the wrong answer, because the VAT was calculated on the smaller net amount, not on the total. Take a total of 1,150: 15% of 1,150 is 172.50, but the real VAT inside it is 150. The safe shortcut is the VAT fraction, rate ÷ (100 + rate):

VAT rate	VAT fraction of a total	VAT inside a total of 1,000
5%	5 ÷ 105 = 1/21	47.62
10%	10 ÷ 110 = 1/11	90.91
14%	14 ÷ 114	122.81
15%	15 ÷ 115 = 3/23	130.43
20%	20 ÷ 120 = 1/6	166.67

Standard VAT rates in the calculator

The presets are each country's standard rate, checked against the tax authority on 13 October 2026. Some goods and services are zero rated or exempt, so check the rate for your item before you invoice.

Country	Standard rate	Since	Tax authority
Saudi Arabia	15%	1 July 2020 (5% from 2018)	ZATCA
United Arab Emirates	5%	1 January 2018	Federal Tax Authority
Bahrain	10%	1 January 2022 (5% from 2019)	National Bureau for Revenue
Oman	5%	16 April 2021	Tax Authority
Egypt	14%	1 July 2017 (VAT Law 67 of 2016)	Egyptian Tax Authority
United Kingdom	20%	4 January 2011	HMRC

For any other country, or a reduced rate such as the UK's 5%, choose "Custom rate" and type it in.

VAT on imports

Import VAT is charged on the customs value of the goods plus the customs duty, not on the supplier's price alone. In the Gulf states the customs value is usually the CIF value, so freight and insurance to the border are part of it. A registered importer can normally reclaim import VAT as input tax; an unregistered one cannot, so it becomes part of the landed cost. Under the DDP Incoterm the seller pays the import VAT, under DAP the buyer does.

VAT on invoices

A VAT registered seller shows the net amount, the rate, the VAT and the total on each tax invoice, together with its VAT number. Calculate the VAT on each line or on the invoice total, but use the same method every time, because rounding can make the two differ by a few cents. To prepare the invoice itself, start from the proforma invoice or commercial invoice generator.

When a business must register for VAT

A business must register once its taxable sales pass the mandatory threshold, and may register earlier from the voluntary one. In the Gulf the thresholds are set per country:

Country	Mandatory registration	Voluntary registration
Saudi Arabia	SAR 375,000 a year	SAR 187,500
United Arab Emirates	AED 375,000 a year	AED 187,500
Bahrain	BHD 37,500 a year	BHD 18,750
Oman	OMR 38,500 a year	OMR 19,250

Below the threshold an unregistered business charges no VAT and cannot reclaim the VAT it pays, so for its own costs the VAT is simply part of the price.