Tip Calculator
Work out the tip and split the bill between friends in seconds — no awkward math at the table.
Total to Pay
Tipping looks simple until you are sitting at a table with five friends, a bill that includes tax, and someone asking whether the tip should be calculated before or after that tax. This calculator settles those questions instantly: enter the bill, pick a percentage, split it however many ways you need, and get an exact per-person figure. But the number is only half the story. Tipping norms are cultural, not mathematical, and the same 20% that reads as generous in New York reads as bizarre in Tokyo, where tipping can genuinely offend. Understanding both the arithmetic and the etiquette is what keeps you from either underpaying someone whose income depends on tips or overpaying in a country where service is already priced in.
How the calculator works
You supply three inputs: the bill amount, the tip percentage you want to leave, and the number of people splitting it. The calculator multiplies the bill by the percentage to get the tip, adds that to the bill for the total, then divides the total by the party size. Every figure updates live as you type, so you can slide the percentage from 15% to 18% to 20% and watch the per-person cost move in real time — which is usually how the decision actually gets made at a table.
The formula
Tip = Bill × (Tip% ÷ 100)
Total = Bill + Tip
Per person = Total ÷ Number of peopleThe subtle question is what "Bill" means. In the United States, tipping on the pre-tax subtotal is technically correct, since sales tax goes to the state and not to your server. In practice most people tip on the post-tax total because it is easier and the difference is small — on a $100 meal with 8% tax, tipping 20% post-tax costs you $1.60 more than pre-tax. That is the entire argument. If you want the precise pre-tax figure, enter the subtotal rather than the total.
What to know before you tip
- 1In the US and Canada, 18–20% is the working standard for sit-down restaurant service, and servers are often paid a sub-minimum "tipped wage" on the assumption that tips make up the difference. Leaving 10% is not a mild signal — it reads as a complaint.
- 2In Japan, South Korea, and much of China, tipping is not customary and can be interpreted as implying the staff are underpaid. Leaving money on the table may result in someone chasing you down the street to return it. The polite move is simply to pay the bill.
- 3Across most of Europe, service is legally included and the norm is rounding up or leaving 5–10% for good service. Check your bill for "servizio incluso," "service compris," or a similar line — if it is there, an additional 20% is not expected.
- 4Watch for automatic gratuity on large parties. Many restaurants add 18–20% for groups of six or more, and it is printed on the bill rather than announced. Tipping again on top means paying roughly 40% — read the itemization before you calculate.
- 5For quick mental math on a 20% tip: move the decimal one place left to get 10%, then double it. A $84.50 bill gives $8.45, so the tip is $16.90. This gets you close enough to check whether a calculator or a card reader's suggested amount is reasonable.
Frequently asked questions
Should I tip on the pre-tax or post-tax amount?
Pre-tax is the technically correct answer, because sales tax is remitted to the government and your server never sees it. But the practical difference is small — a couple of dollars on a typical restaurant bill — and most people tip on the total simply because it is the number printed largest. Either choice is socially acceptable. If you want the pre-tax figure here, enter the subtotal rather than the grand total.
How much should I tip for delivery or takeout?
Delivery drivers typically get 15–20%, with a floor of around $3–5 on small orders, since a percentage of a $12 order does not cover the fuel and time involved. Takeout you pick up yourself is a genuinely open question: no table service was provided, but staff still packed the order. Somewhere between nothing and 10% is defensible, and many people round up to the nearest dollar.
Why do card readers suggest such high tip percentages now?
Point-of-sale systems default to suggested tips because higher defaults reliably produce higher tips — it is a deliberate design choice, not a reflection of local custom. The suggestions have crept upward over time and now often appear at counters where tipping was never expected. You are always free to enter a custom amount or none at all; the suggested buttons carry no obligation.
How do I split a bill fairly when people ordered very differently?
An even split is fast but unfair when one person had a salad and another had steak and three cocktails. The cleaner approach is to have each person total their own items, then apply the same tip percentage to each subtotal — everyone tips proportionally to what they consumed. Use this calculator per-person on each subtotal, or split evenly and let the difference go if the gap is small enough that nobody minds.
Do I tip on alcohol at the same rate as food?
Convention says yes, tip the same percentage on the whole bill including drinks, even though a $90 bottle of wine takes no more effort to serve than a $30 one. Some diners tip a lower rate on expensive bottles for exactly that reason, and sommeliers themselves are divided on it. If the wine is a large share of the bill and you feel 20% is disproportionate, tipping 20% on the food and 10% on the bottle is a recognized compromise rather than a slight.