Calculate Number Before Percentage Increase

How to calculate the number before a percentage increase

To find the original number before a percentage increase, you can reverse the calculation. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to do it.

Step 1: Understand the Percentage Increase

Percentage increase tells you how much the original number has been increased by a certain percentage. For example, if a number increases by 20%, you know that the final number is 120% of the original.

Step 2: Gather Your Numbers

You need two numbers: the final number (after the increase) and the percentage of increase. For example:

After: 120 (the number after the increase)
Percentage Increase: 20%

Step 3: Convert the Percentage Increase to a Decimal

Add the percentage increase to 100 to get the percentage of the original number. Then convert that percentage into a decimal. For example:

Percentage after increase=100% + 20%=120%

As a decimal: 120%=1.20

Step 4: Calculate the Original Number

To find the original number, divide the final number by the decimal from Step 3:

Original Number=Final Number / Decimal

For this example: Original Number=120 / 1.20=100

Step 5: Verify Your Result

You can verify the calculation by checking if the original number plus the percentage increase gives you the final number:

Original Number + (20% of Original Number)=Final Number

100 + (20% of 100)=120

Let's Recap:

Understand the Percentage Increase: Know how much the number increased.
Gather Your Numbers: After the increase and the percentage increase.
Convert to Decimal: Add the percentage increase to 100 and convert to a decimal.
Calculate the Original Number: Divide the final number by the decimal.
Verify the Result: Check if adding the percentage increase to the original gives the final number.

Calculate number before percentage increase in Excel or Google Sheets

Formula is =A2/(1+B2/100), where A2 is the "After" number, and B2 is the "Percentage".

After: This column represents the number after the percentage increase.
Before: This column represents the number before the percentage increase.
%: This column displays the percentage by which the initial number was increased.

Popular Calculations to Find the Number Before Percentage Increase

1. Original Price Before Markup

Scenario: A product costs $120 after a 20% markup. What was the original price?

Calculation: Find the original price before a 20% increase.

Let X be the original price. The final price is 120% of the original price.

$120=X × (1 + 0.20)

$120=X × 1.20

X=$120 / 1.20=$100

Result: The original price before the 20% markup was $100.

2. Salary Before Increase

Scenario: Your salary is now $55,000 after a 10% increase. What was your salary before the increase?

Calculation: Find the salary before a 10% increase.

Let X be the original salary. The current salary is 110% of the original salary.

$55,000=X × (1 + 0.10)

$55,000=X × 1.10

X=$55,000 / 1.10=$50,000

Result: The salary before the 10% increase was $50,000.

3. Cost Before Tax

Scenario: A meal costs $138 after including an 8% tax. What was the cost before tax?

Calculation: Find the cost before an 8% increase.

Let X be the cost before tax. The final cost is 108% of the pre-tax cost.

$138=X × (1 + 0.08)

$138=X × 1.08

X=$138 / 1.08=$127.78

Result: The cost before tax was approximately $127.78.

4. Tuition Fee Before Increase

Scenario: A tuition fee of $1,200 is the result after a 15% increase. What was the original fee?

Calculation: Find the original fee before a 15% increase.

Let X be the original fee. The final fee is 115% of the original fee.

$1,200=X × (1 + 0.15)

$1,200=X × 1.15

X=$1,200 / 1.15=$1,043.48

Result: The original tuition fee was approximately $1,043.48.

5. Value Before Appreciation

Scenario: An asset is worth $900 after a 25% appreciation. What was its original value?

Calculation: Find the value before a 25% increase.

Let X be the original value. The appreciated value is 125% of the original value.

$900=X × (1 + 0.25)

$900=X × 1.25

X=$900 / 1.25=$720

Result: The value before the 25% appreciation was $720.