Calculate percentages: formulas and examples

Percent means "out of one hundred". 1 % is one hundredth of the whole. What matters is always knowing what the whole is: the base value.

Calculate the percentage value

Base value times percentage divided by 100. 19 % of 200 is 38.

Calculate the percentage rate

Partial value divided by base value times 100. 25 out of 200 is 12.5 %.

Markup and discount

Increase: value times (1 plus percentage divided by 100). 80 € plus 25 % is 100 €. Discount: value times (1 minus percentage divided by 100). 80 € minus 25 % is 60 €.

Typical mistakes

Plus 20 % and then minus 20 % does not give the starting value, but 96 instead of 100.
Percentage points and percent are not the same: from 10 % to 12 % is 2 percentage points, but an increase of 20 %.
When converting gross back to net, you must not simply subtract the VAT. Our VAT calculator does this correctly.

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