Tip Calculator

How It Works

1. 1

   Enter the bill amount

   Type your pre-tax bill total. Choose a tip percentage from the preset buttons (10%, 15%, 18%, 20%, 25%) or enter a custom percentage.

2. 2

   Set the number of people

   If splitting the bill, adjust the number of people to see each person's share of both the tip and the total.

3. 3

   Review and round up

   See the tip amount, total bill, and per-person cost. Toggle 'Round up' for a clean total that's easy to pay.

How Tipping Works

Tipping customs vary widely around the world, and knowing the local expectation saves you from an awkward moment when dining out or using a service. In the United States, a 15–20% tip is standard for sit-down restaurant service, with 18% the most common default. The convention dates to the post-Civil War era and is now woven into the economics of American service work: servers in many states earn a base wage below the standard minimum, with tips making up the difference. Many European and Asian countries take the opposite approach, folding a service charge into the bill, so extra tipping is either small (5–10% in Germany) or read as rude (Japan). Enter your bill amount, set the tip percentage, and the calculator returns the tip, the total, and the per-person split. The round-up feature produces clean totals that are easier to settle. For large groups, where many restaurants add an automatic gratuity of 18–20%, you can enter that figure and still see the per-person breakdown.

Common pitfalls

• Tipping on the post-tax total adds a tax-on-tip in high sales-tax areas. A $100 pre-tax bill with 8.875% NYC tax plus a 20% tip on the post-tax line is $21.78, vs. $20.00 tipped on pre-tax. Over a year of weekly dining, the tax-on-tip alone adds roughly $90.

• Auto-gratuity on parties of 6 or more is a service charge, not a tip. California Civil Code §1770 and similar state rules require it to be disclosed on the menu. Adding a second tip on top of an auto-gratuity line is double-tipping.

• Coupons and gift cards reduce what you pay, not what your server handled. A $100 meal redeemed with a $25 coupon still calls for tipping on the full $100 if the service covered the full meal. The Emily Post Institute follows this convention.

• Buffet and counter-service tips run lower than sit-down. Standard is about 10% at buffets where servers refill drinks and clear plates, and $1-$2 for counter pickup. Tipping 20% everywhere transfers real money to situations the convention does not require.

• Delivery app tips go to the driver, not the restaurant. DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub pass the in-app tip to the driver; the restaurant gets nothing. US convention is 15-20% of the food cost with a floor around $3-$5 for short trips.

Frequently Asked Questions

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