The predictive power of first-principles calculations of vacancy formation energies in metals was improved by adding a correction for the intrinsic surface error in current implementations of density functional theory. The derived correction was given as a function of electron density, and could be explicitly applied to a wide range of systems. Density functional theory underestimated the vacancy formation energy when structural relaxation was included. This was the case when using either the local density- or the generalized gradient approximation for the exchange-correlation energy. Upon correcting for the intrinsic surface error, excellent agreement was obtained between calculated values by using the 2 exchange-correlation functionals. The final value for the vacancy formation energy was 2.98eV. This value was in good agreement with experimental data. Calculating the Vacancy Formation Energy in Metals - Pt, Pd, and Mo. T.R.Mattsson, A.E.Mattsson: Physical Review B, 2002, 66[21], 214110