The calculation tools of Excel spreadsheets make them well-suited to calculating financial transactions and reports. With an Excel spreadsheet, you can even work out sales tax on a transaction, as well as the total cost of the transaction after tax. To use these features, you'll need to enter the correct formulas in the appropriate spreadsheet cells.
Step
Launch Excel and create a new document.
Step
Click Cell A1 and enter a name to describe the purchase price before tax, like "Sales Price."
Step
Click Cell B1 and enter a name to describe the tax rate in decimal form, like "Sales Tax Rate."
Step
Click Cell C1 and enter a name reflecting the actual tax cost, like "Sales Tax."
Step
Click Cell D1 and enter a name reflecting the total cost, like "Total."
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Step
Click Cell A2 and enter the purchase price before tax. For example, 100.
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Click Cell B2 and enter the tax rate as a decimal. For example, for 10-percent sales tax, enter 0.10.
Step
Click Cell C2 and enter the following formula:
\=A2*B2
Step
Click Cell D2 and enter the following formula:
\=A2+C2
