A purchase of $800 paid in 4 equal installments includes an 8% tax. What is the amount of each payment?

To determine the amount of each payment when a purchase of $800 is paid in 4 equal installments that includes an 8% tax, we first need to isolate the purchase price before tax.

The total purchase amount of $800 already includes the tax. Since there is an 8% tax on the purchase price, we can calculate the purchase price without tax, denoted as ( P ), using the formula for tax-inclusive pricing:

[

800 = P + 0.08P = 1.08P

]

To find ( P ), we rearrange the equation:

[

P = \frac{800}{1.08}

]

Calculating ( P ):

[

P = \frac{800}{1.08} \approx 740.74

]

Now that we know the original price of the item is approximately $740.74, we can find the total payment amount after tax, which is $800, and then divide it by the number of installments, which is 4.

The amount of each payment is:

[

\text{Each payment} = \frac{800}{4} = 200

]

However, this is incorrect, as we should be dividing