Financial · Live
See the real price,
instantly.
Calculate any sale price in seconds. Enter an original price and discount percentage, find out what percent off an item really is, back-calculate the original from a sale price, or stack two discounts to reveal the true effective savings, with optional sales-tax included.
Inputs
Your discount
Enter original price + discount %
Stacked discount
OptionalExtra % off the already-discounted price (e.g., coupon on a sale item).
Sales tax
OptionalApplied to the discounted price.
- Original
- $100.00
- Savings
- $25.00
- Sale price
- $75.00
Sale price
25% off
You save $25.00 on $100.00
Saved
25%
Reference
Common discounts on $100.00
| Discount | Sale price | You save |
|---|---|---|
| 5% off | $95.00 | $5.00 |
| 10% off | $90.00 | $10.00 |
| 15% off | $85.00 | $15.00 |
| 20% off | $80.00 | $20.00 |
| 25% off | $75.00 | $25.00 |
| 30% off | $70.00 | $30.00 |
| 35% off | $65.00 | $35.00 |
| 40% off | $60.00 | $40.00 |
| 45% off | $55.00 | $45.00 |
| 50% off | $50.00 | $50.00 |
| 60% off | $40.00 | $60.00 |
| 70% off | $30.00 | $70.00 |
| 75% off | $25.00 | $75.00 |
| 80% off | $20.00 | $80.00 |
Discount guide
How to calculate a discount, four ways.
A discount is a reduction from the full retail price, expressed either as a fixed dollar amount or as a percentage of the original price. The relationship between original price, discount percentage, and sale price is simple, but retail tags, online listings, and receipts often present only one or two of the three values, leaving shoppers to do the arithmetic mentally or skip it entirely. This calculator handles all four common cases instantly.
Method 1: Percent off → sale price
This is the most common scenario. A tag reads "$199: 30% off." The formula is:
For $199 at 30% off: $199 × 0.70 = $139.30. You save $59.70. A quick mental shortcut: multiply the original by the remaining fraction (100% − discount%) instead of subtracting. It's one multiplication instead of two steps.
Method 2: Dollar amount off → discount percentage
You have a $20 off coupon on a $80 item. What percent is that?
$20 ÷ $80 = 0.25 → 25% off. Sale price: $60. This mode is useful when retailers advertise flat dollar discounts rather than percentage reductions. You can judge whether the deal is actually competitive.
Method 3: Find the original price
A shirt is on sale for $42 after a 30% discount. What was the original price? Many people guess $42 + 30% of $42 = $54.60, which is wrong. The correct approach:
$42 ÷ 0.70 = $60. The error arises because adding 30% back to the sale price applies 30% to the smaller number. The correct method divides by the complement (1 minus the discount fraction), which reverses the original reduction.
This calculation matters when you suspect a retailer inflated the "original" price to make a modest discount look larger than it is , a common practice called price anchoring.
Method 4: What percentage off is this?
You're comparing two prices for the same item at different stores: $95 vs. the usual $130. How much percent off is that?
($130 − $95) ÷ $130 × 100 = 26.9% off. This is handy when comparing "deal quality" across items with different price points — a $5 saving on a $10 item (50% off) is a much better deal than $5 on a $100 item (5% off).
Stacked discounts: the math people get wrong
Stacked discounts — a store sale followed by an additional coupon — do not add. Two 20%-off discounts are not 40% off:
With p₁ = 20% and p₂ = 20%: (1 − 0.80 × 0.80) × 100 = 36% effective discount, not 40%. The second discount applies to the already-reduced price, so its dollar value is smaller. Here's a table for common combinations:
| First discount | Second discount | Effective total |
|---|---|---|
| 20% | 10% | 28% |
| 25% | 15% | 36.25% |
| 30% | 20% | 44% |
| 40% | 20% | 52% |
| 50% | 30% | 65% |
| 20% | 20% | 36% |
Sales tax on discounted prices
In most U.S. states, sales tax is computed on the sale price after any discounts — not on the original retail price. (A few states tax the pre-discount price or voucher discounts differently, but this is the exception.) This matters because a higher discount reduces the taxable base and therefore the tax you pay.
Example: $199 jacket, 30% off, 8.5% sales tax.
- Sale price:
$199 × 0.70 = $139.30 - Tax:
$139.30 × 0.085 = $11.84 - You pay:
$151.14
If tax were on the original: $199 × 0.085 = $16.92. The difference, $5.08, is the tax you avoid by having the discount applied first.
Common discount benchmarks
Retailers use specific discount tiers as psychological anchors. Here's what they actually mean in dollars for a $100 item:
- 10% off: $90. Common as a "loyalty reward" or email coupon.
- 20% off: $80. Typical weekend sale.
- 25% off: $75. One-quarter off; easy mental math.
- 30% off: $70. "Mid-season sale" territory.
- 40% off: $60. Signals end-of-season or excess inventory.
- 50% off: $50. Half price; a strong deal signal.
- 70%+ off: Clearance territory. Often used to liquidate remaining stock rather than as genuine value.
Deep discounts (50%+) from the "original" price should prompt scepticism — the original may be a manufactured anchor rather than a price at which the item actually sold. Compare the sale price to other retailers' everyday price before deciding if the deal is real.
Discount vs. cashback vs. rebate
A discount reduces the price at checkout — you pay less immediately. A cashback charge full price and refunds a portion later (credit card rewards, rebate programmes). A rebate requires a post-purchase claim and may have a significant processing delay. For comparison purposes, discounts are always the most valuable because the savings are certain and immediate. Cashback and rebates carry redemption risk and time-value costs.
Disclaimer
Results are calculated on the values you enter and are for reference only. Tax rules vary by jurisdiction and item category. Always verify final prices and tax amounts at checkout.