VAT, markup and margin

Add or strip South African VAT at 15%, and see the difference between a markup on cost and a margin on the selling price.

✓ Free, no sign-up ✓ Works on your phone, standing at the problem ✓ The formula and the assumptions are always shown

IT CIVILS  ·  IT ADMIN BUSTER
1 Enter the job

VAT, markup and margin

Worked out at itcivils.com/free/calculators/  ·  Free construction calculators for site teams.
Check every quantity against your own specification and your supplier's own figures before ordering.

A worked example

This is the job the page opens with, already worked out. Change any figure above and the answer changes with it.

The job

Amount
1 000 R
That amount is
Excluding VAT, add it on
VAT rate
15 %
Markup on cost
20 %

The answer

1 150R  ·  Including VAT

Excluding VAT
1 000 R
VAT at 15%
150 R
Including VAT
1 150 R
Sell at 20% markup on cost
1 200 R
That is a margin of
16.67 %
Selling price including VAT
1 380 R

The working

To strip VAT, divide by 1.15, do not take 15% off.
A 20% markup on cost is a 16.7% margin on the selling price.

What it assumes

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On the job

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Why these are free, and what they assume

These come from ten years on site: first in contracting on production and civil works, then in consulting doing construction monitoring for consultants appointed by the City of Cape Town. Working a quantity out twice, because the first answer was on a piece of board that blew away, is a thing that happens to everybody.

Every calculator shows the formula it used and the assumptions it made, because a number with no working behind it is worth nothing on site. Where a figure varies by material or supplier, it is an input you can change rather than something hidden. Check the answers against your own specification and your supplier's own figures before you order. These help you work faster, they do not replace your own judgement.

If they save you time, the paid IT Admin Buster packs cover the admin side: progress report templates, daily diaries, inspection checklists and the wording banks that go with them.