Skip to content
Daily Dose of Utilities

Discount Calculator: Sale Price and Percent Off

To find a sale price, multiply the original price by the percent off and subtract it: 25% off $80 is $80 × 0.25 = $20 off, so you pay $60.

$
%
%
%

Sale price

$60.00

You save

$20.00

Show the math

  1. 1

    Take 25% off

    $80.00 × 25% = $20.00 off → $80.00 − $20.00 = $60.00

    Or in one go: $80.00 × (1 − 0.25) = $60.00.

    = $60.00

Read the steps as text
  1. Take 25% off. $80.00 × 25% = $20.00 off → $80.00 − $20.00 = $60.00 Or in one go: $80.00 × (1 − 0.25) = $60.00.
  2. Total saved. $80.00 − $60.00 = $20.00 (25% of the original)

How a discount is worked out

A percent off is a percentage of the original price. Turn the percentage into a decimal (25% is 0.25), multiply it by the price to get the amount off, then subtract that from the price. You can do it in one step too: paying 75% of the price after 25% off means $80 × 0.75 = $60.

To go the other way and find what percent off a sale really is, subtract the sale price from the original to get the amount saved, then divide by the original price and multiply by 100. A $60 sale price on an $80 item is $20 ÷ $80 × 100 = 25% off.

Why stacked discounts don't add up

"Take an extra 10% off sale prices" applies the second discount to the already reduced price, not the original. So 20% off and then an extra 10% off a $100 item is $100 → $80 → $72, a total discount of 28%, not 30%. The calculator shows the combined percentage so you can compare deals fairly.

Sales tax, if you add it, is charged on the price you actually pay after all discounts. At 8% tax, the $72 item above comes to $77.76 at the register.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate 20% off?
Multiply the price by 0.20 to get the discount, then subtract it. Or multiply the price by 0.80 to get the sale price directly: 20% off $50 is $50 × 0.80 = $40.
Is 20% off then 10% off the same as 30% off?
No, it's 28% off. The second discount is taken from the lower sale price, so it saves less than 10% of the original price.
How do I find the percent off from the sale price?
Divide the amount saved by the original price and multiply by 100. From $80 down to $60 saves $20, and $20 ÷ $80 × 100 = 25% off.
Is sales tax charged before or after the discount?
After. In the US, sales tax is calculated on the discounted price you pay, though manufacturer coupons can be an exception in some states.

Related tools