Emily has $30 to spend sales tax is 5%. About how much can the dress cost if she wants to spend all her money?

Answer 1

To find out how much Emily can spend on the dress before tax, we need to account for the sales tax.

Let \( x \) be the cost of the dress before tax. The sales tax is 5% of the dress cost, which can be expressed as \( 0.05x \). Therefore, the total cost including tax is:

\[ x + 0.05x = 1.05x \]

Since Emily has $30 to spend, we set up the equation:

\[ 1.05x = 30 \]

Now, solve for \( x \):

\[ x = \frac{30}{1.05} \approx 28.57 \]

So, Emily can spend approximately $28.57 on the dress before tax.