When you buy something from a shop, the receipt that you are issued will state the tax amount before tax has been added on and the total after it is included. However, if you don’t have a receipt and you want to work out how much tax you have made from the total, then knowing how to deduct the tax is a very handy skill to have up your sleeve.
First of all, you need to find out what percentage of tax you have been charged. This will depend on your geographic location because different states tend to charge different tax amounts for example, some areas have a 6% tax whereas others have 7%. In the United Kingdom, the current tax (VAT) stands at 20% whereas it used to be 17.5%. It can also depend on what you are buying for example; cigarettes and tobacco usually have a higher percentage of tax whereas the tax on food and groceries tends to be slightly lower.
Then you need to convert the percentage into a decimal number. If you are unsure how to do this it is really simple and quick to do. Simply move the decimal point two places to the left, and then add it to one! For example, if you are being taxed 8% there is an ‘invisible’ decimal point after the eight (8.0%). Move the decimal point to places to the right so it becomes 0.08, then add this to 1 to give you 1.08. Exactly the same, if you were being taxed 6%, your end decimal number would be 1.06.
You will probably need a calculator for this step unless you are extremely good at doing difficult sums in your head! Divide the amount that you paid by the number that you got in the previous step and then round it to the nearest one hundredth to get the dollar figure. Your answer is how much the item you bought originally cost.
First of all, you need to find out what percentage of tax you have been charged. This will depend on your geographic location because different states tend to charge different tax amounts for example, some areas have a 6% tax whereas others have 7%. In the United Kingdom, the current tax (VAT) stands at 20% whereas it used to be 17.5%. It can also depend on what you are buying for example; cigarettes and tobacco usually have a higher percentage of tax whereas the tax on food and groceries tends to be slightly lower.
Then you need to convert the percentage into a decimal number. If you are unsure how to do this it is really simple and quick to do. Simply move the decimal point two places to the left, and then add it to one! For example, if you are being taxed 8% there is an ‘invisible’ decimal point after the eight (8.0%). Move the decimal point to places to the right so it becomes 0.08, then add this to 1 to give you 1.08. Exactly the same, if you were being taxed 6%, your end decimal number would be 1.06.
You will probably need a calculator for this step unless you are extremely good at doing difficult sums in your head! Divide the amount that you paid by the number that you got in the previous step and then round it to the nearest one hundredth to get the dollar figure. Your answer is how much the item you bought originally cost.
