How do I calculate a sale price from a discount?

Multiply the original price by the discount rate to get the amount off, then subtract it: sale price = original price − (original price × discount %). A $80 item at 20% off: $80 × 0.20 = $16 off, for a $64 sale price. Use "Find sale price" mode and this happens automatically.

Why doesn't 20% off plus 10% off equal 30% off?

Because the second discount applies to the already-discounted price, not the original one. $80 at 20% off is $64; taking another 10% off that $64 (not the original $80) leaves $57.60 — a 28% effective discount, not 30%. Stacked percentage discounts are always sequential, never additive, and the gap between the two grows as the discounts get bigger.

How do I figure out what percent off a sale actually is?

Subtract the sale price from the original price to get the amount saved, then divide by the original price: discount % = (original − sale) ÷ original. A $80 item marked down to $60 saved $20, which is 25% off — use "Find discount %" mode to skip the manual math.

How do I find the original price if I only know the sale price and discount?

Divide the sale price by (1 − the discount as a decimal): original price = sale price ÷ (1 − discount %). A $60 sale price after 25% off works out to $60 ÷ 0.75 = $80 original — use "Find original price" mode. This is the same reverse-percentage math used to undo a tax or a tip.

Should sales tax be calculated before or after the discount?

After — nearly every U.S. jurisdiction taxes the actual price you pay, not the pre-discount sticker price. This calculator applies its optional tax rate to the final discounted price, matching how registers actually ring it up. For tax math on its own, use the dedicated Sales Tax Calculator linked below.

Can I use dollar-amount discounts and percentage discounts together?

Yes — each row in "Find sale price" mode can be set to either % or $ off, and they're applied in the order you enter them, each on the price remaining after the one before it. A $10-off coupon applied before a 20% sale discounts a smaller base than applying it after, so order can change the final total slightly.

Why might a "was" price on a sale tag be misleading?

Retailers sometimes set an inflated "original" price specifically so the sale percentage looks larger — a practice regulators in several countries actively restrict. If a price seems deeply discounted, it's worth checking whether that item has actually sold at the "original" price recently before treating the percentage off as the real value of the deal.

AI Insights

Discount / Sale Price Calculator

Find a sale price from one or more stacked discounts, work out what percent off a deal really is, or find the original price from a sale price.

Last updated August 17, 2026

Original price

Discounts (applied in order)

Add sales tax after discount

Sale price

$64.00

You save $16.00 (20% off)

Step	Price before	Off	Price after
20% off	$80.00	−$16.00	$64.00

A mid-range price cut on an everyday purchase is a great time to double-check store return policies before you buy. Items in this price tier often carry restocking fees or store-credit-only restrictions that can quietly cancel out your savings if the product doesn't work out. Knowing the fine print helps ensure the deal stays as good as it looks on screen.

AI-generated insight

How to use the discount calculator

1
Pick a mode: Find sale price if you know the original price and discount, Find discount % if you know both prices, or Find original price if you know the sale price and the discount.
2
Enter your prices and discount — in "Find sale price" mode, tap a preset percentage or type your own, in $ or %.
3
Stack another discount for a second coupon or markdown, and optionally add sales tax, applied after all discounts.
4
Your sale price, amount saved, and a step-by-step breakdown update instantly as you adjust any field.

Why stacked discounts don't add up

Each discount applies to the price left after the one before it — not to the original price.

Two percentage discounts stack sequentially, not additively. A 20% discount followed by a 10% discount doesn't total 30% off — the second discount applies to the smaller, already-reduced price. The gap between the "looks like" total and the real total grows as the discounts get bigger, which is exactly why store coupon stacking rarely feels as generous as the individual percentages suggest.

Worked example: an $80 item with 20% off, then an extra 10% off. First discount: $80 × 0.20 = $16 off, landing at $64. Second discount: $64 × 0.10 = $6.40 off, landing at $57.60 — a 28% effective discount, not the 30% you'd get by simply adding 20% + 10%.

The three directions explained

Mode	You know	You get
Find sale price	Original price + discount(s)	Sale price, amount saved
Find discount %	Original price + sale price	The real percent off
Find original price	Sale price + discount %	What it cost before the discount

Need to add tax on its own, or work a tax-included total backward to a pre-tax price? Our Sales Tax Calculator runs the same forward/reverse logic for tax instead of discounts.

Running the sale as a seller, not shopping one? Our Margin / Markup Calculator → checks how much of your margin a discount actually eats into.

Need a different percentage calculation — percent change, tips, or finding a whole from a part? Try the Percentage Calculator →

Frequently asked questions

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