VAT Calculator Ireland
Add VAT to a price, or take it back out. Revenue gets their cut either way, the feckers.
- Price without VAT
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- VAT at 23%
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- Price with VAT
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Type a price to see the sum.
Value Added Tax??
No value added there, lads.
More like…
- Very Annoying Tax
- Viciously Added Tax
- Very Acceptable Theft
How VAT is calculated
VAT (value-added tax) is charged on the selling price of a product or service. A VAT-registered business has to know which rate applies to what it sells, and its invoices show, among other things:
- the price without VAT (the net price)
- the VAT rate
- the amount of VAT
- the total price with VAT
Adding VAT to a net price
Multiply the price without VAT by 1 plus the rate. At the standard rate of 23%:
€100.00 × 1.23 = €123.00
Taking VAT out of a total
Divide the price with VAT by 1 plus the rate. The difference between the two prices is the VAT that was included.
€123.00 ÷ 1.23 = €100.00, so the VAT was €23.00
A common mistake is to take 23% off the total. That gives €94.71 from €123.00, which is wrong: the VAT is 23% of the net price, not of the total.
The sums at every Irish rate
| Rate | Multiply or divide by | VAT on €100 net | VAT in €100 total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23% | 1.23 | €23.00 | €18.70 |
| 13.5% | 1.135 | €13.50 | €11.89 |
| 9% | 1.09 | €9.00 | €8.26 |
| 4.8% | 1.048 | €4.80 | €4.58 |
Irish VAT rates
Ireland has a standard rate, three reduced rates and a zero rate. Which one applies depends on what is being sold, and the lines between them can be fine: a hot takeaway meal is 9%, while the can of drink sold with it is 23%.
| Rate | Name | Applies to, for example |
|---|---|---|
| 23% | Standard rate | Most goods and services that are not listed under another rate: adult clothes and shoes, electronics, alcohol, soft drinks, professional services. |
| 13.5% | Reduced rate | Hotel and guesthouse stays, building work, cleaning and maintenance, heating oil and coal, short-term car hire. |
| 9% | Second reduced rate | Restaurant, café and hot takeaway food, hairdressing, electricity and gas, newspapers, sports facilities. |
| 4.8% | Livestock rate | Livestock, greyhounds and the hire of horses. |
| 0% | Zero rate | Exports, most food from a shop, printed books, children’s clothes and shoes, oral medicine. |
These are the rates from 1 July 2026. Rates can change on Budget day, so for anything you are unsure of, check Revenue’s VAT rates search. If you need a rate that isn’t listed, pick Other in the calculator and type it in.
More about VAT
VAT is a tax on spending. Every EU country charges it, and the business selling to you collects it and passes it on to the tax authority, in Ireland Revenue.
It is charged at every step on the way to the shop, not only at the till. A business pays VAT on what it buys from its suppliers and charges VAT on what it sells. In its VAT return, usually every two months in Ireland, it pays Revenue the VAT it charged minus the VAT it paid. So businesses mostly get back the VAT they pay, and the full cost lands on the final customer.
Every VAT-registered business has a VAT number, and it has to appear on its invoices. You can check an EU VAT number on the European Commission’s VIES service.
Because everyone pays the same rate on the same item, VAT takes a bigger share of a smaller income. That is one reason essentials like most food, children’s clothes and medicine are zero-rated or taxed at a reduced rate.
When you buy something in another EU country, you pay that country’s VAT and nothing more when you bring it home. Goods from outside the EU, including online orders, can come with Irish VAT and customs duty to pay on arrival.
Shop prices in Ireland include VAT, so the VAT is rarely shown on its own. This calculator works it out either way: from a net price to the total, or from a total back to the net price and the VAT in it.
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