Discount & Sales Tax Calculator
Work out the final price after a percentage or fixed discount plus sales tax. See how much you save, the tax added, the per-item cost for multiple quantities, and whether tax applies before or after the discount.
Discount
Apply tax on
Subtotal
100.00
You save (20%)
−20.00
Sales tax
+6.40
Final total
86.40
How the final price is built
The calculation runs in three steps: start from the subtotal (price × quantity), subtract the discount to get the discounted price, then add sales tax on top. The order matters — applying tax to the discounted amount produces a lower total than taxing the original price.
A percentage discount scales with the subtotal, while a fixed-amount discount is a flat reduction (capped at the subtotal so the price never goes negative). The “you save” figure always reflects the real money taken off before tax.
When is tax applied before vs. after?
- On the discounted price (most common): in the US and most regions, sales tax is charged on what you actually pay, so store and manufacturer discounts reduce the taxable amount.
- On the original price: some manufacturer coupons or rebates are taxed on the pre-discount price by law in certain states. Use this mode when a receipt taxes the full ticket price.
- Tax-inclusive regions: where VAT/GST is already in the shelf price, set the tax rate to 0 and treat the entered price as the final pre-discount amount.
Worked example
Item $100 × 2 = $200.00 subtotal
20% off → discount $40.00, discounted price $160.00
8% tax on $160.00 → $12.80
Final total $172.80 ($86.40 per item)
Reading the effective discount
The percentage shown next to “you save” is the effective discount — the savings as a share of the subtotal. With a fixed-amount coupon this tells you the real percentage off, which is often more useful than the headline dollar figure when comparing deals.
Note: results are estimates for general use. Actual receipts may differ due to rounding rules, item-level tax exemptions, shipping, and stacked promotions handled differently by each retailer.