How do I enter a discount?

As a negative amount at the rate of the item it belongs to. A basket discount printed without an item applies to every rate: split it across the rates in proportion to each rate’s gross and enter one negative line per rate.

What if an item’s rate can’t be read?

Don’t fall back to a default rate; ask for it. A wrong default can inflate the VAT many times over.

Is the VAT on this receipt deductible?

That’s a separate question from the arithmetic and depends on the country, the document and the expense. For Türkiye, see the Receipt or invoice tool.

VAT breakdown calculator

Enter the items on a receipt with their VAT rates. You get gross, VAT and net for each rate, a check against the VAT total printed on the receipt and a suggested booking. Simple mode adds or removes VAT from one amount.

CountriesTürkiye · Germany · UK · France
MethodVAT from gross, per rate
Tolerance1 minor unit

Receipt items · GBP

Item	Rate	Amount	Remove item

Discounts as negative amounts, e.g. -10.00

Printed VAT totalOptional, used for the check

Printed totalOptional, used for the check

By rate

Rate	Gross	VAT	Net
0%	3.05	0.00	3.05
20%	8.70	1.45	7.25
Total	11.75	1.45	10.30

Reconciled. Totals match the receipt: £11.75 and VAT £1.45.

Suggested booking

Account	Debit	Credit
Expense account	10.30
Input VAT 20%	1.45
Due to employee		11.75

For information only. Not tax or legal advice; check with your accountant.

Spotted a wrong rate or result?

Method

How it’s calculated

01Each item carries its own rate. A discount is entered as a negative amount at the rate of the item it belongs to.
02Items are totalled per rate. The gross of a rate can’t go below zero: a discount can’t exceed its items.
03VAT = gross × rate ÷ (100 + rate), rounded half up. Net is gross minus VAT, so only one side is rounded.
04If you enter the VAT total printed on the receipt, it’s compared with the calculated VAT. A difference of up to one cent or kuruş is rounding: tills often round line by line.
05With the printed VAT total switched on, the receipt’s figure wins and the rounding difference goes to the largest share.

Türkiye example (printed TOPKDV 49.61)
 1%   67.50 × 1/101   = 0.668… → 0.67
10%   89.90 × 10/110  = 8.172… → 8.17
20%  244.65 × 20/120  = 40.775 → 40.78
                        total 49.62
Printed                 49.61   diff 0.01
→ the till rounds VAT line by line

Rates and sources

Values used

Country	Rates	Where the reduced rates apply	Effective	Source
Türkiye	0% · 1% · 10% · 20%	0%: VAT-exempt items; 1%: basic food; 10%: processed food, restaurants; 20%: standard	Jul 10, 2023	KDVK 28 · CBK 7346
Germany	0% · 7% · 19%	0%: solar panels; 7%: food, books, restaurant meals (from 2026; drinks in restaurants stay at 19%); 19%: standard	Jan 1, 2026	UStG § 12
United Kingdom	0% · 5% · 20%	0%: most food, books, children’s clothes; 5%: domestic energy; 20%: standard	Jan 4, 2011	VATA 1994 s.2 · Sch. 7A, 8
France	2.1% · 5.5% · 10% · 20%	2.1%: medicines, press; 5.5%: food; 10%: restaurants, transport; 20%: standard	Jan 1, 2014	CGI art. 278 – 281 nonies

Only the rates themselves are calculated here; which rate an item takes is printed on the receipt. The effective date is the last change to the rate set. When a rate changes, the tool adds it with its date.

Questions

The calculation follows the receipt: what’s printed is kept, only the missing side is derived.

Tills often round VAT line by line; the amount calculated from each rate’s total can differ by one cent or kuruş. Up to one minor unit is rounding, and the receipt’s figure is used.

Related tools

All tools

Expense report templateExcel and Google Sheets. VAT by rate, any currency, mileage and per diem tabs.Per diem (harcırah)Private-sector tax exemption, 2026 brackets and the payroll effect.Receipt or invoice?Can it be expensed, is the VAT deductible, what the document must show.

RevoSpend does this breakdown on every receipt.

Snap the receipt; VAT per rate is read from it, checked against the printed total and sent to accounting as one line per rate and split.

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