Reverse VAT Calculator

Accurately extract VAT from gross amounts in seconds. Designed for UK businesses and freelancers.

CALCULATOR DETAILS

£
UK Standard (20%)
%

Calculation Summary

Net Amount

£

0.00

Excluding Tax

VAT Amount

£

0.00

Tax Portion

How to Calculate Reverse VAT

A simple breakdown of the math used to separate tax from your total.

1

Identify Rate

Confirm the VAT percentage applied. For most UK goods, this is 20%.

2

Divide Total

Divide your gross amount by 1.20 (1 + Rate/100).

3

Get Result

The answer is your Net Amount. The rest is the tax you pay.

Everything You Need to Know About Reverse VAT

What is Reverse Charge VAT?

Normally, when you buy goods or services, you pay VAT to the supplier, and they pay it to HMRC. Reverse Charge VAT flips this process. Instead of paying VAT to the supplier, you (the buyer) account for the VAT on your own VAT return. You effectively charge yourself VAT and then reclaim it in the same return (assuming you are fully taxable), making it a cash-neutral transaction.

Why Use a Reverse VAT Calculator?

A Reverse VAT Calculator is an essential tool for instantly determining the Net (pre-tax) amount from a Gross (total) figure. This is particularly useful when:

  • You have a receipt that only shows the total price and need to record the VAT separately.
  • You are a construction contractor dealing with the Domestic Reverse Charge (CIS) scheme.
  • You are pricing services and need to know how much money you actually keep after tax.

The Domestic Reverse Charge (Construction)

In the UK, the VAT domestic reverse charge for building and construction services prevents "missing trader" fraud. If you buy construction services that are reported under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), you generally do not pay VAT to the sub-contractor. Instead, you declare the VAT as output tax on your own return. Our calculator helps you quickly identify the specific VAT portion that needs to be withheld and reported.

"Accuracy is key in accounting. Manually dividing by 1.2 is easy, but using a tool ensures you don't make rounding errors when dealing with large volumes of invoices."

Frequently Asked Questions

To calculate the Net amount from the Gross, divide the Gross by 1 + (VAT Rate / 100). For UK standard rate (20%), divide by 1.20.

It is essential when you have a total price (Gross) but need to record the pre-tax price (Net) and the VAT amount separately for tax returns or accounting software.

Yes. If you are a contractor receiving a service under the Domestic Reverse Charge, you can use this tool to calculate the VAT amount you need to pay to HMRC instead of to the sub-contractor.

Yes! While this page defaults to UK 20%, you can use the region switcher in the top right menu to select Germany, France, Italy, and more, or manually enter any custom rate.

No. The Net Amount is simply the price of the goods before tax. Profit is what remains after you subtract your costs (materials, labor, overheads) from that Net Amount.