Discount Calculator

Find the sale price and how much you save in a sale.

You pay

You save

Price after discount

Tax added

Effective discount

Working out a sale price

Multiply the original price by the discount percentage to find the saving, then subtract it. Any sales tax is normally charged on the reduced price, not the original.

Sale price = Original × (1 − discount%)

Stacked offers (for example “25% off, then an extra 20% off”) do not add up to 45% off — they multiply: 0.75 × 0.80 = 0.60, which is 40% off overall.

Worked example

An $80 item at 25% off saves $20, leaving a sale price of $60. Add 8% sales tax on that $60 and you pay $64.80 at the register.

Telling a real bargain from a fake one

A headline percentage only means something against an honest original price. Before celebrating a saving, it helps to know the usual selling price and to compare the cost per unit, which makes different pack sizes directly comparable.

Quick things to remember

Discounts stack by multiplying. 25% off then 20% off is 40% off overall, not 45%.
Tax usually applies after the discount, on the lower price you actually pay.
A bigger percentage off a higher price is not always cheaper — check the final figure.

Frequently asked questions

Is tax applied before or after the discount?

Almost always after. You are taxed on the discounted price you actually pay, which is what this calculator does by default.

How do I combine two discounts?

Apply them in sequence by multiplying. 25% off and then an extra 20% off is 0.75 multiplied by 0.80, which equals 0.60 — a 40% total reduction, not 45%.

What does the effective discount mean?

It is the overall percentage off the original price after the discount and any tax are taken into account, which is handy for comparing competing offers.

How do I find the original price from a sale price?

Divide the sale price by (1 minus the discount as a decimal). A $60 item marked 25% off was originally 60 divided by 0.75, which is $80.