How to Find Percent Off: 3 Fast Methods (With Examples)
A store tag says 30% off a $70 jacket. What do you actually pay? Here are three ways to answer, from fastest to most exact.
Method 1: Multiply by what you keep
If 30% comes off, you pay 70%. Multiply the price by 0.70: $70 × 0.70 = $49. This one-step method is the fastest on a phone calculator.
Method 2: Find the savings, then subtract
Find 30% of $70: 0.30 × 70 = $21. Subtract: $70 − $21 = $49. Two steps, but you also learn how much you saved.
Method 3: How to do percentages off in your head
Move the decimal one place left to get 10%: $7.00. Multiply by 3 for 30%: $21. Subtract from $70 and you have $49. This works for any discount that is a multiple of 5 (use half of 10% for 5%).
Watch out: discounts do not add up
“30% off, plus an extra 20% at checkout” is not 50% off. You pay 0.70 × 0.80 = 0.56 of the price, which is a 44% total discount. On our $70 jacket that is $39.20, not $35.
Finding the percent off from two prices
If you know the original and sale prices, divide the drop by the original. $70 down to $49 is $21 ÷ $70 = 30% off. That is a percentage decrease, so the percentage decrease calculator handles it directly.
Don't forget sales tax
In most US states, tax is added after the discount. Our $70 jacket at 30% off costs $49 before tax. With an 8% sales tax, the total at the register is $49 × 1.08 = $52.92. If you are budgeting, add tax as the last step, not the first.
Quick reference for common discounts
These are worth memorizing because they come up constantly:
- 10% off: pay 90%. Move the decimal one place and subtract.
- 20% off: pay 80%. Double the 10% figure and subtract.
- 25% off: pay 75%. Take a quarter off.
- 33% off: pay about two thirds.
- 50% off: pay half.
When the math gets messy, such as 37% off $84.99, let the percent off calculator do it. It shows both the sale price and how much you keep in your pocket.
Try it with your own numbers.
Open the percent off calculator