About Us
Who We Are
VAT Calculator is run by a small team of people who spend their working lives around numbers, tax and the web. We started this site after watching friends and clients (freelancers, shop owners, market-stall traders) wrestle with the same simple question: how much VAT is actually in this price?
The answers were always out there, buried in HMRC manuals or scattered across European Commission pages. We built the calculators we wished existed: fast, free, and written in plain English. Our small team handles everything from the maths behind the tools to the design of the pages, and every calculator is tested against real figures before it goes live.
What You’ll Find Here
The heart of the site is a set of free calculators covering the VAT questions people ask most often:
- UK VAT calculator: add VAT to a net price or strip it out of a gross price in seconds.
- Business VAT calculator: work out your output and input VAT to see whether you owe HMRC or are due a refund.
- Import duty and VAT calculator: estimate the full landed cost of goods brought into the UK, including duty and import VAT.
- EU VAT calculator and EU VAT refund calculator: handle VAT across all 27 EU member states and estimate refunds on business expenses.
- UK VAT number checker: validate the format of a VAT registration number before you trade.
Alongside the tools, we publish plain-English guides that explain how VAT works in practice: registering for VAT, filing returns, reclaiming VAT on expenses, and selling across borders. No jargon, no assumed knowledge. Just clear explanations with worked examples.
How We Keep Our Figures Accurate
A calculator is only useful if you can trust the number it gives you. Every rate and formula on this site is checked against official sources before publication: HMRC guidance for UK VAT, and the European Commission’s published rates for EU member states.
When rates change
VAT rates move. The UK has held its standard rate at 20% since 2011, but thresholds, reduced rates and EU member state rates change more often. We review our rates and content regularly, and we correct mistakes as soon as they are reported. If you ever spot a figure that looks wrong, please tell us through the contact page. We would rather hear about it than leave it sitting.
What our calculators don’t do
Our tools are built for estimates and everyday calculations, not as a substitute for professional advice. Edge cases (partial exemption, the domestic reverse charge, margin schemes) need an accountant who knows your business. We say so on the relevant pages, and we mean it.
Why It’s Free
We believe basic tax maths should not sit behind a paywall or require an account. Running the site costs us time and hosting, which we cover through advertising. That keeps every calculator and guide free to use, with no sign-up and no limits. If the site has saved you time, the best thanks is telling someone else about it.