What Formula do I use?

Question

Let's say my gas bill is $3600.00, my water bill is $800.00, the sales tax is $150.00 and my total is $4550.00. What percentage of my tax is allocated to gas and what percentage is allocated to water? And what is Gas and water tax separate? Without knowing the %. What formula do I use?

Answer 1

If you don't have any other information, you'll have to assume the tax rate is uniform.  This means your tax rate is 150/4400 or about 3.41%

So your gas tax would be $150*(3600/4400) or about $122.73 and your water tax would be $150*(800/4400) or about $27.27.

Answer 2

if the sales tax is the same on both, you divide 800/4400 and multiply that result x $150 to get the sales tax for the water. then subtract that tax from $150.00 to get the tax on the gas

Answer 3

With the information given you can only answer this question if the gas and water are taxed at the same rate (which is a big assumption...gas usually has several levels of tax added).

However, assuming they are the same it is a simple ratio.  

Gas Price/Total before tax = % x total tax = Tax on Gas

    3500/4400= .818181 x 150.00 = $122.73

Which means the tax on the water would be $27.27.

Hope this helps.