Question

Hello i was wondering if a sales tax is 6% and you spend $42 how much money will you spend on tax and how much money will you spend total

Answer 1

If $42 is the value before tax, then you can find how much you spend on tax as follows:

$\begin{gathered} \frac{42}{100\text{ \%}}=\frac{x}{6\text{ \%}} \\ \text{ Solve for x:} \\ x=\frac{42\times6\text{ \%}}{100\text{ \%}}=2.52 \end{gathered}$

Then you spend $2.52 on tax, and the total will be 42+2.52= $44.52.

But if 42 is the value including tax, then you can find how much you spend on tax as follows:

$\begin{gathered} \frac{42}{106\text{ \%}}=\frac{x}{6\text{ \%}} \\ \text{ Solve for x:} \\ x=\frac{42\times6\text{ \%}}{106\text{ \%}}=2.38 \end{gathered}$

Then you spend $2.38 on tax and for the sale: $42-$2.38=$39.62