Tip Calculator

How the tip calculator works

The calculator builds the tip base from your bill plus tax minus any discount, applies the tip percentage, and splits the total evenly between everyone at the table. An optional round-up rounds each person's share up to the next whole dollar so nobody fumbles with change.

Formulas

Base = bill + tax − discount

Tip = base × (tip% ÷ 100)

Per person = (base + tip) ÷ people

Worked example

A $80 dinner with $6 tax and no discount, tipping 18% and splitting between 2 people:

• Base: 80 + 6 = $86
• Tip: 86 × 0.18 = $15.48
• Total: $101.48, or $50.74 per person (rounded up: $51 each).

Common tip percentages

Tipping customs vary by country

Tipping norms are not universal. In the United States and Canada, tipping 15–20% at table service is expected because it forms a large part of staff income. Across much of Europe a service charge is often included and a small round-up is enough. In Japan tipping can even be seen as impolite. When you travel, check whether service is already added to the bill before tipping again — the calculator lets you set any percentage, including 0%.

Service charges and automatic gratuity

A service charge is not a tip. It is revenue belonging to the restaurant, which may or may not distribute it to staff, and it is frequently taxable where a voluntary tip is not.

• Automatic gratuity for large parties — usually 18–20%, and no additional tip is expected.
• Service charge on the bill — check whether it goes to staff. In many places it legally does not have to, and asking is reasonable.
• Both a service charge and a tip line — you are being asked twice. The tip line is optional.

In the UK, an optional service charge of 12.5% is standard and can be removed on request. Since 2024 legislation there requires service charges to be passed to staff in full, which changed the calculation considerably.

Card, cash, and when the money arrives

The amount is identical. What differs is timing and, in some places, deductions.

Card tips typically reach staff through the next payroll run, one to two weeks later, and in some jurisdictions employers may deduct the card processing fee — usually 2–3% — from the tipped amount. Cash is immediate and unprocessed. That is the entire reason some servers prefer it, and it is a reasonable preference rather than anything suspicious.

Should you tip on tax?

Etiquette guides usually suggest tipping on the pre-tax total, since the tax is not part of the service. On a small bill the difference is trivial, but on a large one it adds up. This calculator adds tax into the base by default for a simple all-in split; if you prefer to tip on the pre-tax amount, leave the tax field empty and add it afterward.

Splitting a work lunch by hours instead? The percentage calculator handles arbitrary shares.

Tip calculator with tax and discount

A restaurant check can contain a subtotal, sales tax, a coupon or comp, and a gratuity. This calculator combines those amounts before splitting the final bill. Enter tax as a dollar amount shown on the receipt rather than a tax percentage. If a $100 subtotal has $8 tax and a $10 coupon, the default tip base is $98. At an 18% tip, gratuity is $17.64 and the total bill is $115.64. Split four ways, each person pays $28.91 before optional rounding.

15%, 18%, and 20% tip calculations

The preset buttons make common restaurant tip calculations quick, but any percentage works. To estimate 15% mentally, find 10% and add half of that amount. For 20%, move the decimal one place to find 10% and double it. An 18% gratuity is often used as a middle option between 15% and 20%, while some large-party checks already include an automatic gratuity. Always check the receipt before adding another tip.

How to split a restaurant bill per person

For an even bill split, add the adjusted bill and tip, then divide by the number of diners. The per-person amount shown includes each person's equal share of both the check and gratuity. If diners ordered very different amounts, first assign food and drink charges to each person, allocate shared items, and apply the same tip percentage to each subtotal. An even split is convenient, but it is not always the fairest split.

Tip per person versus total per person

“Tip per person” means only each diner's share of the gratuity. “Total per person” includes the bill, tax, discount, and tip. For a $90 tip base with an 18% gratuity split among three people, the total tip is $16.20, tip per person is $5.40, and total per person is $35.40. Use the large result for what each person should pay, not just the gratuity share.

Tips for delivery, takeout, salons, and other services

Tip amounts on common bills

Most tipping questions are one bill and three candidate percentages. This table covers the amounts people look up most often, so you can check a total without opening anything.

The 20% column is the one to memorise, because you can do it in your head: move the decimal point one place left and double it. On $45 that is $4.50, doubled to $9.

Delivery, carry-out, and catering

Delivery and collection follow different conventions, and the distinction is whether someone drove.

Two rules cover the rest. On service charges already added, an extra tip is optional — read the bill before doubling up. And on a gift card, tip on the full pre-card value of the meal: the server provided the whole service regardless of how you settled it.

Personal services and freelance platforms

Percentage tipping carries over to appointment-based services and is usually calculated before any discount:

• Haircut — 15–20% of the full price. Tip on the pre-discount amount if a promotion applied.
• Facial and spa treatments — 15–20%, paid to the therapist rather than the desk where possible.
• Car detailing — 10–20%, weighted by how much of the work was hand labour.
• Fiverr and freelance marketplaces — entirely optional, most often 5–15%, and treated as a bonus for work that went beyond the brief rather than an expectation.
• GoFundMe and donation platforms — the prompt is a platform tip, not a tip to a person. It funds the site itself and can be set to zero without affecting the donation.

Tipping by card, and the iPhone shortcut

Paying by card changes nothing about the amount, but it does change when the money arrives — card tips typically reach staff on the next payroll run, while cash is immediate. That is the only reason some servers prefer cash.

On an iPhone you do not need an app: the Calculator handles it, and Spotlight is faster still — typing 45*1.2 gives the total including a 20% tip without opening anything.

The math is the same outside a restaurant: multiply the charge by the gratuity percentage. Local expectations vary for food delivery, taxis, rideshares, hotel staff, salons, spas, and home services. Factors can include service level, distance, weather, order size, and whether a service fee goes to the worker. The calculator does not prescribe a rate; it lets you enter the percentage appropriate for the situation.