Question

Gail paid $118.65 for a varsity jacket. The price includes a 5% sales tax.

How much was the jacket before the tax?

$124.65
$112.72
$117.00
$113.00

Answer 1

To find the price of the jacket before tax, we can use the formula:

\[
\text{Price before tax} = \frac{\text{Price after tax}}{1 + \text{Sales tax rate}}
\]

In this case, the price after tax is $118.65, and the sales tax rate is 5%, or 0.05 when expressed as a decimal. Thus, we can substitute into the formula:

\[
\text{Price before tax} = \frac{118.65}{1 + 0.05} = \frac{118.65}{1.05}
\]

Now, calculating that:

\[
\text{Price before tax} = \frac{118.65}{1.05} \approx 113.00
\]

Therefore, the price of the jacket before tax was **$113.00**.