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Reverse HST Calculator (Find the Price Before Tax)

Enter an amount to see the tax.

This calculator gives an estimate for general information only and is not tax, legal or accounting advice. Rates shown are general rates; some goods and services are zero-rated, exempt, or taxed differently, and rounding can differ by a cent. Confirm with the Canada Revenue Agency, Revenu Québec or your provincial tax authority, or a qualified professional.

How to take tax out of a total

A reverse calculation starts from the amount you paid and works back to the price before tax. The formula is pre-tax price = total ÷ (1 + rate). Write the rate as a decimal added to 1. For 13% HST, divide by 1.13.

Take $113.00 in Ontario. Divide by 1.13 and you get $100.00. The HST is the difference, $13.00. At 15%, divide by 1.15. At 14%, divide by 1.14. At 5% GST only, divide by 1.05.

This helps when a receipt shows one total and your books need two numbers: the expense before tax, and the tax itself. If you are registered, the tax inside that total may be an input tax credit. The calculator does not tell you whether a particular receipt qualifies.

This page opens in reverse mode with Ontario selected. Change the province if the purchase was somewhere else. Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan need two tax lines. Both are worked out on the pre-tax price, not on each other. A leftover cent, when there is one, is placed on the largest tax line so the lines still add up to the total you entered.

Questions

How do I remove 13% HST from a total?

Divide the total by 1.13. On $113.00 that is $100.00 before tax and $13.00 HST.

How do I remove 15% HST?

Divide the total by 1.15. New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island use 15%.

What is the formula for reverse GST?

Divide the total by 1.05 when the only tax is 5% GST. The difference between the total and that result is the GST.

Why is my answer off by a cent?

Cash registers round each tax line to the nearest cent, and a combined rate such as 14.975% does not always land on a clean cent. This calculator adjusts the largest tax line by one cent when needed so the breakdown matches the total you typed.

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