CalcOak

Discount Calculator: find the final price after stacked discounts and tax, or the % off between two prices

Quick:

Final price

–

You save

–

How to use this discount calculator

Type the ticket price, then enter the first discount and choose whether it is a percentage or a fixed amount off. The quick buttons set the most common percentages with one tap. If the store is running a second promotion, such as "extra 20% off clearance" or a $5 coupon at the till, put it in the discount 2 box; it is applied to the price left after the first discount, which is how shops actually calculate it. Add your local sales tax rate if you want the amount you will really pay, and change the quantity when you are buying more than one of the same item.

The results show the price after each step, the money saved, the effective combined percentage off, the tax and the final price. Suppose a $100 coat is 30% off and the sign says take a further 20% off at checkout. The first discount brings it to $70, the second removes $14 from that $70, so you pay $56. That is a 44% saving, not 50%. The same rule means "50% off plus 50% off" leaves you paying a quarter of the price, a 75% discount rather than a free coat. If you already know both prices and want the percentage, switch to the reverse mode: $80 marked down to $60 comes out as 25% off.

Why use this rather than guessing

Sale signs are written to look generous. Stacked percentages sound like they add together, "up to" hides the typical markdown, and a fixed dollar amount can be worth more or less than a percentage depending on the price. Ten dollars off a $60 pair of shoes beats 10% off; on a $250 jacket the percentage wins by $15. Entering each offer and comparing the final price takes seconds and removes the arithmetic from the aisle.

Tax is the other place receipts surprise people. Most US states and VAT and GST systems tax the amount you pay after store discounts, but a few states tax the pre-coupon price, and manufacturer coupons are often treated as payment rather than a price reduction. This calculator uses the common after-discount rule, so if your receipt is higher than predicted you know it is the tax rule, not the discount, that differs. Nothing you type leaves your browser, and the page keeps working with no signal once it has loaded.

Further reading

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate a percentage discount?+

Multiply the original price by the percentage and divide by 100 to get the amount saved, then subtract it from the original price. For a $79.99 item at 25% off, the saving is 79.99 × 0.25 = $20.00 and the sale price is $59.99. The calculator does this for you and also handles a second discount and sales tax.

Why is 30% off plus an extra 20% off not 50% off?+

Because the second discount is taken from the already reduced price, not from the original. A $100 item at 30% off is $70; taking 20% off $70 removes $14, not $20, leaving $56. That is a combined 44% off. Stacked discounts always add up to less than the sum of their percentages.

Is sales tax charged on the original price or the discounted price?+

In most US states and for VAT and GST in most countries, tax is charged on the amount you actually pay after store discounts and coupons. Manufacturer coupons are sometimes treated differently, and some states tax the pre-coupon price. This tool applies tax to the discounted price, which matches the common case; if your receipt differs, your local rule is the exception.

How do I find the percentage off when I only know the two prices?+

Switch to the "What % off is that?" mode, enter the original price and the sale price, and the tool reports the discount as a percentage and as an amount. For example, a jacket marked down from $80 to $60 is 25% off, because the $20 saving is a quarter of $80.

Which is better, $10 off or 10% off?+

It depends on the price. Ten percent off is worth more than $10 off only when the item costs more than $100; below that, the fixed amount wins. Enter each offer as discount 1 in turn and compare the final price rather than trusting which one sounds bigger.

Related tools