Percent Off Calculator
Take a percentage off a price and see both what you save and what you pay. Or work backwards from a sale price to the discount.
Take a percentage off
You save
$20.00
You pay this share
75%
You pay
$60.00
80 × 0.75
Discount calculator — find the discount from two prices
You can see both prices on the tag but not the percentage.
Work the discount out backwards
You save
$20.00
Discount
25%
(80 − 60) ÷ 80 × 100
The quick way to take a percentage off
Do not work out the discount and then subtract it. Multiply once by what is left:
Final price = Price × (1 − Discount ÷ 100)
For 25% off, you pay 75%, so multiply by 0.75. One step, no subtraction, far less room for a slip.
Worked example — 25% off $80
100 − 25 = 75, so you pay 75%
80 × 0.75 = 60
You pay $60 and save $20.
Working backwards from a sale price
Discount = (Original − Sale) ÷ Original × 100
From $80 down to $60: the gap is $20, and 20 ÷ 80 × 100 = 25% off.
Stacked discounts do not add up
This is the one that costs shoppers money. "20% off, then another 10% off at the till" is not 30% off.
- After 20% off you pay 0.8 of the price.
- Another 10% off that leaves 0.9 of the remainder.
- 0.8 × 0.9 = 0.72, so you pay 72% — a 28% discount.
Stacked discounts multiply. The order does not matter, but the total is always less than the sum of the two.
Doing it in your head
- 50% off is half. 25% off is half, then half again off the original.
- 10% off is the decimal point moved one place left. 20% is that doubled, 5% is half of it, and 15% is 10% plus 5%.
- 33% off is close enough to a third for a shelf-edge estimate.
Where sales tax fits
Tax is charged on what you actually pay, so the discount comes off first. A $80 item at 25% off with 8% sales tax costs 60 × 1.08 = $64.80.
Common questions
- How do I take a percentage off a price?
- Multiply the price by 1 minus the discount as a decimal. For 25% off $80: 80 × 0.75 = $60. You save $20.
- How do I work out the discount from a sale price?
- Subtract the sale price from the original, divide by the original, then multiply by 100. From $80 down to $60: 20 ÷ 80 × 100 = 25% off.
- Do two discounts of 20% and 10% add up to 30% off?
- No. Stacked discounts multiply rather than add. 20% then 10% off leaves 0.8 × 0.9 = 0.72 of the price, which is 28% off, not 30%.
- Is sales tax added before or after the discount?
- After. The discount comes off the ticket price first, and tax is charged on what you actually pay.
- What does 'up to 70% off' really mean?
- It means at least one item is 70% off. It says nothing about the rest. Work out the discount on the specific item you want.