Calculate the final sale price and total savings after applying one or two successive discounts.
This calculator computes the final sale price and your total savings after one or two successive percentage discounts are applied to an original price. It is useful for shoppers checking sale prices, businesses calculating promotional pricing, and anyone verifying that a "stacked" discount (e.g., 20% off, then an additional 10% off the already-discounted price) adds up to the advertised saving.
Each discount is applied successively to the running price. Two discounts of X% and Y% do not equal (X + Y)% off — the second discount is applied to the already-reduced price, not the original, so the combined effect is slightly less than the sum of the individual percentages.
Formula: Price after first discount = Original Price × (1 − First Discount ÷ 100). Price after second discount = Price after first discount × (1 − Second Discount ÷ 100). Total saving = Original Price − Final Price. Effective total discount % = Total Saving ÷ Original Price × 100.
Example: An item originally priced at A$100 with a 20% discount: price after first discount = A$80, saving = A$20. If an additional 10% discount is also applied to the A$80: final price = A$80 × 0.90 = A$72, total saving = A$28. Effective total discount = 28% — not 30%, because the 10% second discount is applied to A$80, not A$100.
Australian consumer protection law — administered by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) — imposes requirements on how businesses advertise discounts and sale prices. A business cannot advertise a "was/now" price or a percentage discount unless the "was" (original) price is genuine — retailers have been fined and publicly named by the ACCC for advertising inflated "original" prices or creating fictitious "reference prices" to make discounts appear larger than they are. For online purchases, the ACL applies equally to Australian and overseas sellers selling to Australian consumers, though enforcement against offshore sellers is more difficult. The ACL also prohibits "drip pricing" — advertising a price and then adding unavoidable charges (such as fees or surcharges) later in the checkout process, without disclosing them upfront. For businesses setting promotional discounts: consider the impact on your gross margin using our Margin Calculator alongside this calculator, to ensure discounts do not erode margin below acceptable levels. A 50% discount on a product with a 60% gross margin still leaves a 10% margin on the sale; a 50% discount on a product with only a 40% gross margin would result in a loss on each unit sold.
Yes — under Australian Consumer Law, retail prices displayed to consumers must be GST-inclusive (the total price the consumer will pay). This means the "original price" you enter into this calculator for a retail purchase already includes the 10% GST component. The discount is therefore applied to the GST-inclusive price. If you want to know the cost before GST (for business or accounting purposes), divide the final discounted price by 1.1.
No. Two successive discounts of 20% and 10% produce an effective discount of 28%, not 30% — because the second 10% is applied to the already-reduced price (after the 20% discount), not the original. The general formula for a combined effective discount from two successive discounts of X% and Y% is: Effective Discount = 1 − (1 − X/100) × (1 − Y/100). For X=20 and Y=10: 1 − 0.80 × 0.90 = 1 − 0.72 = 28%.
The ACCC has issued guidance stating that a "was" price (used to imply a discount in a "was A\$X, now A\$Y" format) must be a genuine previous selling price — not an inflated "recommended retail price" that was never actually charged for a significant period. Retailers who set artificially high "original" prices to make a discount look larger than it is may be in breach of the misleading and deceptive conduct provisions of the Australian Consumer Law and face significant penalties. The ACCC regularly investigates and acts on complaints about fake discounting.
To reverse-calculate the original price: Original Price = Discounted Price ÷ (1 − Discount % ÷ 100). For example, if an item is A\$80 after a 20% discount: Original Price = A\$80 ÷ 0.80 = A\$100. This is useful for verifying that an advertised "was" price is consistent with the "now" price and discount percentage shown.
Drip pricing is the practice of advertising a low headline price and then adding unavoidable fees or surcharges (such as booking fees, service charges, or credit card surcharges) during the checkout process, increasing the total price the consumer actually pays. The ACCC considers drip pricing to be potentially misleading under the Australian Consumer Law if the additional charges are mandatory and were not disclosed upfront in the advertised price. From 2016, the ACCC has actively targeted drip pricing in sectors including airlines, ticketing, and accommodation.
Yes — trade discounts (discounts offered to resellers, wholesalers, or trade customers off the retail price) can be modelled by entering the retail price as the original price and the trade discount percentage as the first discount. If there is also a prompt payment discount (for early payment) or a volume discount, enter this as the second discount. The final price and effective total discount shown will represent the trade customer's net price and saving.
Disclaimer: The information and figures provided on this page are for educational and illustrative purposes only. This calculator computes discounted prices based on the inputs provided and does not account for GST, promotional terms, stock availability, or retailer-specific conditions. Always verify final prices with the retailer or seller. Businesses setting promotional prices should ensure compliance with Australian Consumer Law requirements regarding genuine comparison prices and transparent pricing disclosures.