Enter the final cost ($) and the percentage change in cost (%) into the Initial Cost Calculator. The calculator will evaluate and display the Initial Cost. 

Initial Cost Formula

The following formula is used to calculate the Initial Cost. 

IC = FC / (1-PC/100)

  • Where IC is the Initial Cost ($)
  • FC is the final cost ($) 
  • PC is the percentage change in cost (%) 

How to Calculate Initial Cost?

The following example problems outline how to calculate Initial Cost.

Example Problem #1:

  1. First, determine the final cost ($). The final cost ($) is given as 50.
  2. Next, determine the percentage change in cost (%). The percentage change in cost (%) is provided as 20.
  3. Finally, calculate the Initial Cost using the equation above: 

IC = FC / (1-PC/100)

The values given above are inserted into the equation below:

IC = 50 / (1-20/100) = 62.5 ($)

Example Problem #2: 

The variables needed for this problem are provided below:

final cost ($) = 60

percentage change in cost (%) = 10

Entering these values and solving gives:

IC = 60 / (1-10/100) = 66.66 ($)