What is VAT? (We explain in chocolates)
Imagine that you came to the store and bought a large chocolate bar for 120 rubles. It seems that the store will take all this money for itself. But in reality this is not so! The store is obliged to give a piece of this amount to the state. This piece is called VAT - value added tax.
This is the so-called “indirect tax”. It is always paid by an ordinary buyer (it is already hidden inside the price on the price tag), and the seller simply acts as a courier: he takes your money and transfers the required part to the tax office.
⚡ Наглядный расчет НДС (20%)
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Why do you need to be able to count it?
An ordinary schoolchild or student in a store does not need this - the cash register will calculate everything itself. But if you are starting your own business, selling goods on marketplaces, or drawing up an agreement, it is vital for you to understand how much money will actually remain in your pocket, and how much will have to be given to the state. An error in calculations can cost you all your profits!
Two main tasks: Accrue and Allocate
There are only two situations that always arise in life. Either you needtoadd the tax to your net price (accrue), or you needtoget the tax from the already prepared check amount (allocate).
1. How to CALCULATE VAT (add on top)
Situation: You have made a beautiful wooden chair. You want to earn exactly 1000 net rubles from it. But the law says: add 20% tax to the price for the state. What price tag should I put on the chair?
How to calculate: To add 20%, you need to multiply your net amount by 1.20.
- 🧮 Formula: Net amount × 1.20 = Total price with tax.
- ✅ Example: 1000 rubles × 1.20 = 1200 rubles. (Your price tag is ready!).
2. How to ALLOCATE VAT (get it from the amount)
Situation: You sold a phone for 12,000 rubles. The money is already in your hands. But you remember that 20% of the state tax is hidden inside this amount. How to find out exactly how many rubles you need to pay to the tax office?
Many people make a grave mistake: they simply take 20% of 12,000. This is wrong! The tax was increased by the original amount, which we do not know. So we do the opposite.
- 🧮 Step 1: Total amount / 1.20 = Your net revenue.
- ✅ Example: 12,000 rubles / 1.20 = 10,000 rubles (this is your money).
- 🧮 Step 2: Total amount − Net revenue = Tax amount.
- ✅ Example: 12,000 − 10,000 = 2,000 rubles (this is the tax that needs to be paid).
Pivot table cheat sheet
| What needs to be done? | Simple formula (for 20%) | Example for 6000 rubles |
|---|---|---|
| Add from top | Amount × 1.20 | 6000 × 1.20 = 7200 RUR |
| Find net price (excluding VAT) | Amount / 1.20 | 6000 / 1.20 = 5000 rub. |
| Find out only the tax itself | Amount − (Amount / 1.20) | 6000 − 5000 = 1000 rub. |
Why is counting on a piece of paper a thing of the past?
The formulas above look simple when we count round numbers like 1000 or 6000 rubles. But in real life, the amounts in contracts and checks look different: for example, 147,532 rubles and 45 kopecks. If you start dividing this by a column or even on a regular push-button calculator, there is a huge risk of making just one digit wrong. And in business, such typos lead to serious fines from the tax office.
For your convenience and maximum speed, there are special online tools. Using a profile online calculator provides huge advantages:
- ⚡ Instant result. You just enter one number, and the program gives you the net price, the tax amount, and the final receipt in milliseconds.
- 🛡️ Zero risk of error. The computer cannot make mistakes when dividing by 1.20. Your accounting report will be perfect.
- ⚙️ Convenience. You don’t need to keep formulas in your head. Just press one button: “Select” or “Accrue.”