Tip Calculator
Add a tip to the bill and split it between people.
Enter your numbers
Formula
How the calculation works
A tip is a share of the bill before tax, or of the total, and the two give different money. On a 60 bill at 18% the tip is 10.80 either way, but if the bill carries 10% tax and you tip on the total, you are tipping on the tax as well and pay about 1.08 more. Restaurants rarely say which base they assume, so the honest approach is to decide once and apply it consistently.
Splitting does not change the tip percentage, only who pays what. Four people on a 200 bill at 20% leave 40 between them, so 10 each. Rounding is where the awkwardness lives: 40 divided by three is 13.33 each, and the usual answer is to round up so the group leaves a little over rather than a little under.
The percentage to leave is a social convention, not arithmetic, and it varies by country. In the United States 18 to 20% is normal for table service; in much of Europe service is already included and a small rounding is enough; in Japan tipping is not practised and can cause offence. The tool computes whatever rate you choose -- it does not know the local custom, and it should not pretend to.
Common mistakes
- Tipping on the tax-inclusive total when the convention is to tip on the pre-tax amount, which quietly inflates the tip by the tax rate.
- Rounding each share down so the group collectively leaves less than the intended percentage.
- Assuming the app's default percentage matches local custom; 20% is generous in some countries and stingy in others.
When to use it
- Use it to work out the tip and the per-person total when splitting a bill, and to check a service charge the restaurant already added.
- Do not use it to decide the rate -- that is local custom. And if the bill already shows a service charge, tip on top of it only if the service genuinely earned it.
Worked example
A 50 bill at 15% split four ways is 14.38 each.
Common questions
Tip on the food or the taxed total?
On the food, the usual custom. There is no need to tip on the tax.
What if one person pays more?
This assumes an even split; if someone rounds up you adjust in person.
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