How to find the original price before a discount in Excel
Formula (Excel and Google Sheets)
=B2/(1-C2)Divide the sale price by 1 minus the discount: =B2/(1-C2). A $60 price after 25% off was $80.
- Result on the example
- one result per row in
D2, filled down toD6 - Works in
- Every current version
- Google Sheets
- Same formula
See it work
The formula is already in D2, filled down to D6. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.
How it works
After a 25% discount you pay 75% of the original, so sale price = original × 0.75. Dividing the sale price by 1-C2 undoes that: 60 / 0.75 = 80.
=B2/(1-C2)Result80
B2$60.00The value in B2.
C225%The value in C2.
1-C20.75The - operator subtracts.
B2/(1-C280The / operator divides.
In Google Sheets
The same formula works in Google Sheets: =B2/(1-C2). We ran it in Google Sheets mode on the same data and it returns the same results.
Other ways to do it
Each one was run on the same example sheet.
| Formula | Result | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| =B2*(1+C2) | $75.00, $164.34, $43.20…Different result | Adds the discount back on top, a common mistake. Gives $75 for the jacket instead of $80, because 25% of 60 is less than 25% of 80. |
Common mistakes
- Adding the percentage back (
B2*(1+C2)) is wrong: the discount was a percentage of the original, not of the sale price. - A discount of 100% makes the formula divide by zero. Nothing can be worked back from a free item.
Try it yourself
Same data, empty answer cell. Your formula is graded instantly, then re-checked on changed data, so a typed-in number won't pass.
Find the original price before a discount
D2, work out the original price from the sale price and the discount, then fill down to D6.Questions
How do I find the original price before a price increase?
Divide by 1 plus the increase: =B2/(1+C2).
How do I find how much was taken off?
Subtract: =D2-B2, or =B2/(1-C2)*C2 in one step.
Checked by running on 2026-10-30: every formula and result on this page was calculated by the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine, in both Excel and Google Sheets modes.