Free VAT Calculator UK
Published: 9 November 2026 · Updated: 9 November 2026
A £120 price including 20% UK VAT contains £20 of VAT on a £100 net price. The UK charges VAT at three rates — 20% standard, 5% reduced and 0% zero-rated — and this calculator adds or removes any of them, shows the VAT fraction, and flags the £90,000 registration threshold. Enter your price below.
UK VAT is 20% on most goods and services, 5% on a short reduced list, and 0% on essentials like most food and books. To remove VAT, divide the price by 1.20 (20%) or 1.05 (5%); to add it, multiply by 1.20 or 1.05. You must register for VAT once your taxable turnover passes £90,000 in a rolling 12 months.
Researched by MixKhazana Team · Last updated 9 November 2026 · Data: HMRC VAT rates guidance + VAT Notice 700 (2026)
How to use
- Enter the amount in pounds.
- Choose Remove VAT if the price already includes VAT, or Add VAT if it does not.
- Pick the VAT rate — 20% for most things, 5% for the reduced list, 0% for zero-rated goods.
- Click Calculate My UK VAT for the net price, the VAT amount and the gross price.
How it works
VAT is a tax on the value added at each step of a sale, and the UK runs it at three rates. The standard rate of 20% covers most goods and services — adult clothing, electronics, restaurant meals, professional services — and it has applied since 4 January 2011, which makes it one of the longest unchanged headline VAT rates in Europe. The reduced rate of 5% covers a short list set by law: domestic gas and heating fuel, children's car seats, mobility aids for people over 60, and nicotine patches. The zero rate of 0% covers most food, children's clothes, books and newspapers, public transport and sanitary products. A zero-rated sale is still a taxable sale at 0%, so the seller can reclaim the VAT on its own costs; an exempt sale, such as most financial services, sits outside VAT entirely and carries no reclaim. If you also use our France VAT calculator, you will see the same add-and-remove logic with French rates of 20%, 10%, 5.5% and 2.1% — the maths is universal, only the rates change.
The two directions use simple formulas. Adding VAT: gross = net × (1 + rate), so £100 net at 20% becomes £120. Removing VAT: net = gross ÷ (1 + rate), so £120 including VAT at 20% is £100 net. The shortcut professionals use is the VAT fraction: at 20% the VAT inside a gross price is 1/6 of it (£120 × 1/6 = £20), and at 5% it is 1/21 (£105 × 1/21 = £5). Retailers use the fraction to pull the VAT out of a till total without knowing the net price first — and the calculator shows it for every result.
One statistic worth knowing: the compulsory VAT registration threshold is £90,000 of taxable turnover in a rolling 12 months, set by HMRC and unchanged since 1 April 2024. Below that, registration is voluntary — many small sellers register early anyway, because it lets them reclaim the VAT on their own purchases. HMRC's own guidance puts it plainly: once your taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in a rolling 12-month period, you must register — the threshold is the trigger this calculator flags.
Worked example
Priya sells handmade candles online from Manchester. In November 2026 she prices a gift set at £120 including VAT:
- Her candles are standard-rated, so the rate is 20%
- Net price: £120 ÷ 1.20 = £100.00
- VAT inside the price: £120 × 1/6 = £20.00 (the VAT fraction)
- If she sold the same set net at £100, the till price would be £100 × 1.20 = £120.00
- At the 5% rate the same £120 gross would be £114.29 net with £5.71 VAT
- Her turnover is £60,000 a year, so she is below the £90,000 threshold and registration is voluntary for now
Try your own numbers in the widget — switch the mode to Add VAT and the rate to 5% to see how a reduced-rate product changes the split.
Figures used here
| Figure | 2026 value |
|---|---|
| Standard rate | 20% (since 4 Jan 2011) |
| Reduced rate | 5% (domestic gas, car seats…) |
| Zero rate | 0% (most food, books, children's clothes) |
| VAT fraction at 20% / 5% | 1/6 / 1/21 of the gross price |
| Registration threshold | £90,000 rolling 12-month turnover |
| GB domestic electricity (temporary) | 0% until 30 June 2027, then 5% |
Frequently asked questions
What is the current UK VAT rate in 2026?
The standard UK VAT rate is 20% in 2026, and it has applied since 4 January 2011. A reduced rate of 5% covers a short list of goods such as domestic gas and children's car seats, and a zero rate of 0% covers most food, books, newspapers and children's clothes. HMRC publishes the rate for each product in its VAT rates guidance.
How do I remove VAT from a price that includes it?
Divide the VAT-inclusive price by 1.20 for the 20% rate: a £120 price including VAT is £100 net plus £20 VAT. For the 5% rate divide by 1.05, so £105 including VAT is £100 net plus £5 VAT. The calculator above does this for you — choose 'Remove VAT' and enter the price you paid.
How do I add VAT to a net price?
Multiply the net price by 1.20 for the 20% rate: £100 net becomes £120 including VAT, of which £20 is VAT. For the 5% rate multiply by 1.05, so £100 net becomes £105 including VAT. Choose 'Add VAT' in the calculator and it shows the gross price, the net price and the VAT amount separately.
What is the UK VAT registration threshold?
You must register for VAT with HMRC once your taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in a rolling 12-month period. Below that threshold registration is voluntary. The threshold is set by HMRC and has been £90,000 since 1 April 2024.
What is the difference between zero-rated and exempt?
A zero-rated sale is taxable, but at 0% — so a business can still reclaim the VAT it paid on its own costs. An exempt sale, such as most financial services or residential rents, is not taxable at all, and the business cannot reclaim related input VAT. The calculator treats zero-rated items at 0%; exempt supplies simply sit outside VAT.
What is the VAT fraction, and why does it matter?
The VAT fraction is the slice of a VAT-inclusive price that is VAT: 1/6 at the 20% rate and 1/21 at the 5% rate. So on a £120 receipt at 20%, the VAT is £120 × 1/6 = £20. Retailers use the fraction to work out the VAT inside a till total without knowing the net price first.
Is domestic electricity charged at 0% or 5% VAT?
Domestic electricity in Great Britain is temporarily zero-rated at 0% from 1 October 2026 until 30 June 2027, under a cost-of-living measure extended by the Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026, with 5% returning on 1 July 2027. Domestic gas stays at the reduced rate of 5%, and domestic electricity in Northern Ireland is also 5%. Use the 0% rate in the calculator for GB household electricity in this window.