How do I take GST out of a total?

Divide by one plus the rate. At 10 per cent divide by 1.1; in Australia dividing the total by eleven gives the GST directly.

What is the GST rate in Australia?

Ten per cent on most goods and services. Basic food, most health care and most education are GST free.

Why does Canada have more than one rate?

Five per cent is the federal GST. Some provinces harmonise theirs into a single higher rate, some charge a separate provincial sales tax on top, and Quebec runs its own QST alongside.

Is GST the same as VAT?

In everything the arithmetic touches, yes. The names, rates, thresholds and filing rules differ by country.

Does this calculator handle Indian CGST and SGST?

It gives you the total tax at the slab you pick. Within a state that total is split half into CGST and half into SGST; between states the same total is charged as one IGST line.

GST Calculator

GST for Australia, Canada, India and Singapore. Every result shows its working, so you can check it before you put it on a document.

GST is VAT with a different name, mostly

Goods and services tax works the way VAT does: it is added at each stage, businesses reclaim what they paid on their own costs, and the final consumer carries it.

The differences are in the rates, the thresholds and the paperwork rather than the arithmetic. Adding is a multiplication by one plus the rate; taking it back out is a division by the same figure.

The rates in the list

Australia: 10 per cent, applied to most goods and services.
New Zealand: 15 per cent, with very few exceptions, which is why it is often described as the cleanest GST in the world.
Singapore: 9 per cent, raised from 8 per cent at the start of 2024.
Canada, federal: 5 per cent.
Canada, Ontario: 13 per cent, being the harmonised sales tax that replaces GST there.
India: 18 per cent standard, with a 5 per cent reduced rate offered here as well.

Rates move. If a figure here disagrees with the tax authority's own page, the tax authority is right.

Canada is not one rate, and that catches people out

The federal GST of 5 per cent applies everywhere. What sits on top of it depends on the province.

Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island use a harmonised sales tax instead, a single combined rate. Ontario's is 13 per cent; the Atlantic provinces are higher.

British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba charge a separate provincial sales tax alongside the 5 per cent GST, and it is not always charged on the same things. Quebec charges QST alongside GST at just under 10 per cent.

If you are in a province with a separate provincial tax, use the 5 per cent federal option here and add the provincial part as its own line.

The Australian shortcut worth knowing

Because Australian GST is exactly 10 per cent, the tax inside a GST inclusive price is the total divided by eleven.

A total of 110.00 contains 10.00 of GST. This is the same answer as dividing by 1.1 and subtracting, and it is quicker to do in your head at a counter.

A tax invoice in Australia has to show the words tax invoice, the seller's ABN, the date, a description of what was sold, and the GST amount or a statement that the total includes GST.

When you have to register

Every country sets a turnover threshold above which registration stops being optional, and most set a lower or zero threshold for non residents selling in.

The figures change with budgets, so check the current threshold with the Australian Taxation Office, Inland Revenue, the Canada Revenue Agency or IRAS rather than relying on a number in an article.

Registering voluntarily below the threshold is usually allowed. It lets you reclaim the tax on your costs and it obliges you to charge and file.

Questions

How do I take GST out of a total?: Divide by one plus the rate. At 10 per cent divide by 1.1; in Australia dividing the total by eleven gives the GST directly.
What is the GST rate in Australia?: Ten per cent on most goods and services. Basic food, most health care and most education are GST free.
Why does Canada have more than one rate?: Five per cent is the federal GST. Some provinces harmonise theirs into a single higher rate, some charge a separate provincial sales tax on top, and Quebec runs its own QST alongside.
Is GST the same as VAT?: In everything the arithmetic touches, yes. The names, rates, thresholds and filing rules differ by country.
Does this calculator handle Indian CGST and SGST?: It gives you the total tax at the slab you pick. Within a state that total is split half into CGST and half into SGST; between states the same total is charged as one IGST line.