VAT on £500
Add or remove VAT at 20%, 5%, 0% on £500, with the net, VAT and gross figures.
Adding 20% VAT to £500 gives £600.00, of which £100.00 is VAT. Removing 20% VAT from £500 gives £416.67 net, with £83.33 of VAT inside the price. At the 5% reduced rate the VAT is £25.00 when added and £23.81 when removed; at 0% nothing changes.
£500 at every VAT rate
| Calculation | Net | VAT | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add 20% | £500.00 | £100.00 | £600.00 |
| Remove 20% | £416.67 | £83.33 | £500.00 |
| Add 5% | £500.00 | £25.00 | £525.00 |
| Remove 5% | £476.19 | £23.81 | £500.00 |
| Add 0% | £500.00 | £0.00 | £500.00 |
| Remove 0% | £500.00 | £0.00 | £500.00 |
What £500 looks like with and without VAT
£500 sits in the range of a typical supplier invoice, a software subscription paid annually, or a day of someone else's time. If you receive an invoice for £500 plus VAT, the total to pay is £600.00 and the £100.00 of VAT goes in box 4 of your return as input tax, provided the supplier is VAT registered and the invoice shows their number.
If instead £500 is the amount that already includes VAT, the net is £416.67 and the VAT element is £83.33. That split matters for your bookkeeping: the net goes to the expense category and the VAT to your VAT control account. At 5% the VAT inside £500 would be only £23.81, which is why energy bills for a home office show a much smaller tax line than a trade supplier does.
For your own sales, charging £500 net means invoicing £600.00 at the standard rate. Many freelancers price in round net figures and let the VAT sit on top, so the customer sees £500 as the fee and £100.00 as tax they can usually reclaim if they are registered themselves. If your customers are consumers who cannot reclaim, the £600.00 is what they compare against competitors, so it pays to decide which number you are quoting.
Source: GOV.UK: VAT Flat Rate Scheme; GOV.UK: VAT thresholds. Last updated .
Frequently asked questions
- How much is £500 plus VAT?
- £500 plus 20% VAT is £600.00. The VAT element is £100.00. At the 5% reduced rate the total is £525.00, and at 0% it stays at £500.
- How much VAT is included in £500?
- If £500 already includes 20% VAT, the VAT inside it is £83.33 and the net amount is £416.67. You divide by 1.2 to find the net, then subtract to find the VAT.
- What is £500 minus VAT?
- £500 minus 20% VAT is £416.67. That assumes the £500 was a VAT inclusive price. If £500 was already the net price, there is no VAT to take off.
Cite this page: “VAT on £500”, SoleKit, https://solekit.co.uk/vat-calculator/500