Find the sale price and how much you save. Enter the original price, the discount, and any sales tax.
Usage Tip
To check a sale fast: 25% off means you pay three-quarters; 50% off is half; 75% off is a quarter. If the math is hard to do in your head, the deal may be dressed up to look bigger than it is.
Sale price = price − amount saved
With tax = sale price × (1 + tax%)
Stacked coupons apply one after another, not added together — 20% then 10% off is not 30% off.
When discounts stack, each applies to the running total, so the combined discount is less than the sum — 20% then 20% is 36% off, not 40%.
Sales tax is normally charged on the post-discount price, which is in your favor.
Dollar-off vs. percent-off. A flat $10-off coupon is worth more than a 10% coupon on anything under $100, and worth less above it — do the percent math before assuming the bigger-sounding number wins. Retailers often let you combine one of each type, so check whether a store allows stacking a percent-off storewide sale with a fixed-value coupon before checkout.
Watch the “original” price. Some discounts are measured against an inflated list price that few people actually paid, which makes the percentage off look larger than the real savings. It is worth comparing the sale price itself, not just the percentage, against other sellers or the item’s recent price history before deciding whether it is actually a deal.
Buy-one-get-one math. A “buy one, get one 50% off” deal is really 25% off the pair, not 50% off everything — multiply it out before comparing against a flat storewide percentage discount.