How the Tip Calculator Works
A tip is an extra amount that you give to thank someone for good service, such as a server in a restaurant, a driver or a hairdresser. It is usually a percentage of the bill. The Tip Calculator finds the tip and the total for any bill, and it splits the total between several people, down to the last cent.
What you enter
- The bill before tax: the amount on the check for food and drink.
- The tax (optional): the sales tax on the bill. Leave it at 0 if the bill you entered already includes it.
- The tip percentage: type your own, or tap 15%, 18%, 20% or 25%.
- What the tip is worked out on: the bill before tax, or the bill with tax.
- The number of people who are sharing the bill.
- Rounding: none, round the total up to a whole dollar, or round each person's share up to a whole dollar.
How the results are worked out
tip = amount the tip is based on x tip percentage / 100 total = bill + tax + tip each person = total / number of people
All the money is worked out in whole cents, so there are no small rounding errors. When the total does not divide evenly, a few people pay one cent more, so that the shares add up to exactly the total.
A worked example
The bill is $50.00, the tip is 18%, and two people are sharing it.
| Result | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tip ($50.00 x 18%) | $9.00 |
| Total ($50.00 + $9.00) | $59.00 |
| Each person ($59.00 / 2) | $29.50 |
████████████████████████████████████████ $59.00 ■ Bill $50.00 ■ Tip $9.00
Different tip percentages
The same $50.00 bill, shared by two people:
| Tip | Tip amount | Total | Each person |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | $5.00 | $55.00 | $27.50 |
| 15% | $7.50 | $57.50 | $28.75 |
| 18% | $9.00 | $59.00 | $29.50 |
| 20% | $10.00 | $60.00 | $30.00 |
| 25% | $12.50 | $62.50 | $31.25 |
| 30% | $15.00 | $65.00 | $32.50 |
10% █████████████ $5.00 15% ████████████████████ $7.50 18% ████████████████████████ $9.00 20% ███████████████████████████ $10.00 25% █████████████████████████████████ $12.50 30% ████████████████████████████████████████ $15.00
Tip before tax or after tax?
The tax is part of the total, but it is not part of the service. Many people work out the tip on the bill before tax, and others use the whole total. Say the bill is $100.00, the tax is $8.00, and the tip is 20%:
| Tip based on | Tip | Total |
|---|---|---|
| The bill before tax ($100.00) | $20.00 | $128.00 |
| The bill with tax ($108.00) | $21.60 | $129.60 |
The difference is small, $1.60 here. You can choose either way.
Splitting the bill to the cent
If three people share the $128.00 total, each share is $42.666..., which is not a whole number of cents. The calculator gives two people $42.67 and one person $42.66, so the three amounts add up to exactly $128.00. A calculator that rounds each share to $42.67 would collect $128.01, which is a cent too much.
Rounding
Some people like to pay a round number. The calculator can round the total up, or each person's share up, and it adds the difference to the tip. A bill of $47.35 with an 18% tip, shared by 3 people:
| Rounding | Tip | Total | Tip as a percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | $8.52 | $55.87 | 18.0% |
| Total up to a whole dollar | $8.65 | $56.00 | 18.3% |
| Each share up to a whole dollar ($19 each) | $9.65 | $57.00 | 20.4% |
- Rounding: None
Tip: $8.52
Total: $55.87
Tip as a percent: 18.0% - Rounding: Total up to a whole dollar
Tip: $8.65
Total: $56.00
Tip as a percent: 18.3% - Rounding: Each share up to a whole dollar ($19 each)
Tip: $9.65
Total: $57.00
Tip as a percent: 20.4%
Splitting with more people
The same $50.00 bill with an 18% tip, and a total of $59.00:
| People | Each person pays |
|---|---|
| 1 | $59.00 |
| 2 | $29.50 |
| 4 | $14.75 |
| 6 | $9.83 or $9.84 |
1 person ████████████████████████████████████████ $59.00 2 people ████████████████████ $29.50 4 people ██████████ $14.75 6 people ███████ $9.83
Quick ways to work out a tip in your head
- 10%: move the decimal point one place to the left. For $47.35, it is $4.735.
- 20%: work out 10% and double it. For $47.35, that is about $9.47.
- 15%: work out 10%, then add half of it. For $47.35, that is $4.74 + $2.37, or about $7.10.
How much should you tip?
Customs vary. In the United States, 15% to 20% of the bill is usual for a sit-down meal with table service, and many people give more for great service. In other countries, the usual amount is lower, and in some places a service charge is already added to the bill, or tipping is not expected at all. If you are not sure, ask, or look at the bill. This calculator does not decide how much you should give. It only does the sums.
Tips
- Check the bill first. Some restaurants add a service charge for large groups.
- Tip on the price before discounts, if you used a coupon. The server did the same work.
- Tell the server how you plan to pay, if each person is paying their own share.
What this calculator does not include
- Different tips for different people at the same table, or people who ordered different amounts. Work out each person's own bill separately for this.
- Service charges that are already on the bill.
- The rules and customs of any one country.
This tool gives an estimate for general information only. Check your bill and the local customs.