What will this actually cost after the code?
A percentage off, a fixed amount off, and VAT on top do not combine the way most people expect. Put the numbers in and see the price you will actually be charged.
Filled in with the standard rate for Saudi Arabia. Change it if your item is zero-rated.
How the price is quoted
Displayed prices in Saudi Arabia already include VAT, so that is the default. Switch it if your price is quoted before tax.
How it works
- 1
Enter the price before any discount
The listed price, not the one already showing a strikethrough.
- 2
Add whichever codes you have
A percentage, a fixed amount, or both. Leave a field blank if it does not apply.
- 3
Add VAT if the listed price excludes it
15% in Saudi Arabia, 5% in the UAE, 14% in Egypt. Most consumer sites already include it, so check before you add it twice.
Why the two codes do not simply add up
The mistake is intuitive: a 20% code and a 50 SAR code feel like they should come to 70 off. They do not, because the percentage is taken from the original price and the fixed amount is taken from what survives it.
On a 500 SAR basket: 20% removes 100, leaving 400. The 50 SAR then removes 50, leaving 350. You saved 150, or 30%. That is more than either code alone, and less than the 70 the arithmetic in your head suggested.
Reverse the order and the answer changes: 500 minus 50 is 450, and 20% of that is 90, leaving 360. Ten riyals apart on a mid-sized basket, and the gap widens with the total. Most checkouts in this region apply the percentage first, which is the order this tool uses. It is the less generous of the two, so what you see here is a floor rather than a best case.
Where VAT lands
VAT is charged on what you actually pay, not on the shelf price. So the codes come off first and the tax goes on last. If the price you entered already includes VAT, as it does on most consumer sites in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, leave the VAT field blank, or you will be taxing yourself twice.
What this tool cannot tell you
Read this before you act on the number. Every one of these has a point past which it stops being reliable, and we would rather you knew where that point is.
We apply the percentage first
That is the order most MENA checkouts use, and it is also the order that produces the smaller saving, so the figure here is never rosier than the till. A store that applies them the other way round will charge you slightly less than we show.
Shipping and COD fees are not included
Those depend on the store and the market. The per-store shipping thresholds live on each store's own page.
Some codes cannot stack
Most merchants accept one code per order. This tool will happily add two; the checkout may not.
Common questions
Quick answers
- How do you combine a percentage discount and a fixed discount?
- Apply the percentage to the original price first, then subtract the fixed amount from the result. A 20% code and a 50 SAR code on a 500 SAR order gives 350, not 430.
- Is VAT calculated before or after a coupon?
- After. VAT applies to the amount actually paid, so the coupon reduces the taxable amount.
Where to buy
The stores people tend to open this one for.