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Discount Calculator

Find the sale price and how much you save from any percentage off — including stacked discounts and tax.

USD
%
%

Stacked — applied to the already-discounted price, not the original

%

Sales tax or VAT added to the discounted price

You save
$30.00
Effective discount
25%
Final price
$90.00
BreakdownAmount
Original price$120.00
Discount of 25%− $30.00
Final price$90.00

Working out sale prices and savings

A percentage discount is a simple multiplication: the price you pay is the original price times (1 − rate ÷ 100). Enter the ticket price and the advertised percentage and this calculator gives you the sale price, the cash you save, and — most usefully — the effective discount once any extra offers and tax are taken into account.

Why stacked discounts disappoint

Retailers often layer offers: a seasonal sale plus a members-only extra percentage at checkout. Those percentages multiply rather than add, because the second one is taken off a smaller number. 30% then 20% leaves you paying 0.70 × 0.80 = 0.56 of the original, a 44% discount — noticeably less than the 50% it appears to promise. Entering both rates here shows the real combined figure rather than the headline one.

Comparing offers fairly

The effective discount percentage is the number to compare across shops, because it normalises everything back to the original price. It is also the honest way to judge multi-buy deals, loyalty vouchers, and clearance stacks: convert whatever you would actually pay into a single percentage off the ticket price, then see which offer wins. Add your local sales tax or VAT rate if you want the true amount that leaves your wallet.

Frequently asked questions

+How do I calculate a percentage off a price?

Multiply the price by the discount divided by 100 to get the saving, then subtract it — or go straight to the answer by multiplying the price by (1 − rate ÷ 100). At 25% off, a 120 item costs 120 × 0.75 = 90, saving 30.

+Do two discounts add together?

No. A '30% off, then an extra 20% off at the till' offer is not 50% off. The second discount applies to the already-reduced price: 100 → 70 → 56, which is 44% off in total. Stacked discounts always come out smaller than the sum of the two rates.

+Is the tax applied before or after the discount?

After, in virtually every tax system. You are taxed on the price you actually pay, so the discount comes off first and the sales tax or VAT is charged on the reduced amount. That is the order this calculator uses.

+How do I check a '50% off, second item half price' style deal?

Work out the total you would pay and divide by the total ticket price to get the real discount. Two 40 items where the second is half price cost 40 + 20 = 60 against a 80 ticket — a 25% effective discount, which the 'effective discount' figure here is designed to expose.

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