Add VAT to a net price or take the VAT out of a total that already includes it. Pick Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt or the UK, or type any rate.
Choose Add VAT to put VAT on a net price, or Remove VAT to find the VAT inside a price that already includes it.
Total including VAT
1,050.00
VAT amount
50.00
Amount before VAT
1,000.00
VAT rate
5%
VAT = amount × rate ÷ 100. Total = amount + 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
Three common cases, all rounded to 2 decimals as they would appear on an invoice:
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 |
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.
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.
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.
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.
Multiply the net amount by 0.15 to get the VAT, then add it to the net amount. For 1,000 before VAT, the VAT is 150 and the total is 1,150.
Divide the total by 1 plus the rate. With 15% VAT, divide by 1.15: a total of 1,150 is 1,000 before VAT, so the VAT inside it is 150.
The UAE standard VAT rate is 5%, in force since 1 January 2018 and administered by the Federal Tax Authority. Some supplies are zero rated or exempt.
The Saudi standard VAT rate is 15% since 1 July 2020, when it rose from 5%. ZATCA administers it.
VAT is calculated on the net amount, so the VAT inside a total is rate ÷ (100 + rate) of it. At 15% that is 15 ÷ 115, about 13.04% of the total, not 15%.
Usually, yes. Import VAT is normally charged on the customs value, which in many countries includes freight and insurance to the border, plus any customs duty.