- 1Enter the Original Price ($) of the item.
- 2Set the Discount Percentage (%) using the number input or percentage slider.
- 3Optionally enter a Sales Tax rate (%) to calculate your final out-of-pocket price after tax.
- 4View your pre-tax sale price, tax amount, total dollar savings, and final price.
A discount reduces an item’s original retail price by a specified percentage. In THE CALC, optional sales tax is calculated on the discounted pre-tax sale price, yielding the total out-of-pocket final price.
Multiply original price by discount percentage divided by 100.
Savings = Original Price × (Discount % / 100)Subtract savings amount from original retail price.
Pre-Tax Sale Price = Original Price - Savings AmountAdd optional sales tax calculated on the discounted pre-tax sale price.
Final Price = Pre-Tax Sale Price + [ Pre-Tax Sale Price × (Sales Tax % / 100) ]Savings = $120 × 0.25 = $30 | Pre-Tax Sale Price = $90 | Tax = $90 × 0.08 = $7.20Savings = 120 × 0.25 = 30; Sale price = 120 − 30 = 90; Tax = 90 × 0.08 = 7.20; Final = 97.20Savings = 59.99 × 0.40 ≈ 24.00; Sale price = 59.99 − 24.00 ≈ 35.99- Pre-Tax Sales Tax Application: In THE CALC and standard retail accounting, sales tax applies to the discounted pre-tax sale price.
- Percentage vs Dollar Savings: Higher percentage discounts on low-cost items may yield smaller dollar savings than lower percentage discounts on expensive items.
- Stacked percentages are not additive: 20% off then another 10% off is 0.80 × 0.90 = 0.72 of the original, i.e. 28% off, not 30%.
How do I calculate a 20% discount manually?
Multiply the original price by 0.20 to get your dollar savings, then subtract that amount from the original price.
Is sales tax applied before or after the discount?
Sales tax is calculated on the discounted pre-tax sale price after deducting the savings amount.
Is the sales tax applied before or after the discount?
After. The discount is taken off the original price first, then the tax percentage is applied to the reduced (sale) price.
Is the sales tax field required?
No. Leave it at 0 for a discount-only calculation; the final price then equals the sale price.