Tip Calculator

A standard restaurant bill at 20%

Dinner for two with a pre-tax subtotal of $86.40 and good service.

Result: $17.28 tip, $103.68 total

Rounding to a whole number is common and appreciated. Rounding the total up rather than the tip is easier to do in your head and lands within a percentage point or two of the intended rate.

Splitting four ways

The same $103.68 total divided evenly between four people.

Result: $25.92 each, or $26 rounded

Divide the total including tip, not the subtotal — splitting the bill and then having everyone add their own tip reliably produces a shortfall, because each person rounds down slightly.

Pre-tax versus post-tax base

A $47.50 subtotal in New York City, where sales tax is 8.875%. Tipping 20% on each base.

Result: Tipping on the post-tax figure costs $0.84 more, about 1.8% of the subtotal

Etiquette guides say tip on the pre-tax subtotal, since tax is not part of the service. In practice most people and every card terminal use the post-tax total. On a normal bill the gap is under a dollar; on a large group bill in a high-tax jurisdiction it can be $10 or more.

Current US tipping norms by service

These reflect prevailing expectations in the United States, where tipped workers can legally be paid a sub-minimum base wage and depend on tips for most of their income:

• —Sit-down restaurants — 18% to 20% is standard, 15% signals dissatisfaction, 25% or more for exceptional service.
• —Bars — $1 to $2 per drink, or 20% on a tab.
• —Food delivery — 15% to 20%, with a $5 minimum. Note that delivery fees generally go to the platform, not the driver.
• —Taxis and rideshare — 15% to 20%, more if the driver handles luggage.
• —Hairdressers and barbers — 15% to 20% of the service price.
• —Hotel housekeeping — $3 to $5 per night, left daily rather than at checkout, since staff rotate.
• —Counter service and coffee — genuinely discretionary. Tip prompts on card terminals in these settings are a recent addition and there is no established obligation.

Service charges and when not to tip on top

Many restaurants add an automatic gratuity for large parties, commonly 18% to 20% for groups of six or more. When that appears as a line item, no further tip is expected. Card terminals will still present a tip screen after it, calculated on a total that already includes the service charge — this is where double-tipping happens.

Read the itemised bill before the terminal, not after. Line items to watch for are "service charge", "gratuity", "auto-grat" and "administrative fee". The last of these is worth questioning: unlike gratuity, an administrative fee does not necessarily reach staff.

A separate issue is the tip screen calculating its suggested percentages on the post-tax, post-fee total. A "20%" button on a bill with 9% tax and an 18% service charge already applied is closer to 26% of the food cost.

Tipping outside the United States

US norms are unusual internationally, and applying them abroad ranges from unnecessary to mildly rude:

• —Japan, South Korea, China — tipping is not practised and can cause genuine awkwardness. Staff may refuse or chase you to return the money.
• —Most of Western Europe — service is included by law and staff are paid a full wage. Rounding up or leaving 5% to 10% for good service is generous, not expected.
• —United Kingdom — 10% to 12.5% in restaurants, frequently added as an optional service charge which you may ask to have removed. Not customary in pubs when ordering at the bar.
• —Australia and New Zealand — not expected; staff are paid a full minimum wage. Rounding up for excellent service is the ceiling.
• —Canada — closely follows US norms at 15% to 20%.
• —Latin America — commonly 10%, and often already added as "propina" or "servicio".

Tipping on discounted or comped items

If a coupon, gift card or promotion reduced the bill, the convention is to tip on the original pre-discount amount. The server did the same work regardless of what you paid, and a "buy one free" promotion halving the tip is the practical consequence of not doing this.

Uneven splits

When one person had a $60 steak and another a $12 salad, dividing evenly transfers money between them. The cleaner approach is for each person to tip the same percentage on their own items, which keeps the total tip correct while distributing it fairly. This only works if someone tracks the itemised bill.

Very small bills

A percentage tip on a $4 coffee produces $0.80, which is not a meaningful amount for the time involved. The usual convention is a floor of $1 per service or $1 per drink, irrespective of the percentage the calculation gives.

Card terminals that hide the base

Many terminals present three suggested amounts without showing the percentage or the base they were calculated from. Those suggestions are configured by the merchant and have been drifting upward. If the terminal offers 22%, 25% and 30% with no custom option, the custom entry is usually behind a small "other" button.

Should I tip on the pre-tax or post-tax amount?

Etiquette says pre-tax, because sales tax goes to the government rather than the restaurant. In practice most people tip on the total and no one objects. The difference is roughly 1% to 2% of the bill — under a dollar on a typical meal, which is why the debate stays theoretical for most bills.

What is the fastest way to work out 20% in my head?

Move the decimal one place left to get 10%, then double it. A $63.40 bill gives $6.34, so 20% is $12.68. For 15%, take the 10% figure and add half of it: $6.34 + $3.17 = $9.51. Both are exact, not approximations.

Do I still tip when a service charge is already on the bill?

No. An automatic gratuity or service charge is the tip. Adding another 20% on the terminal means paying roughly 40%. The exception is if the service was genuinely exceptional and you want to add a small amount on top deliberately.

Is 15% still acceptable in the US?

It is now generally read as signalling below-average service rather than as a neutral default. The baseline shifted to 18% to 20% over the past two decades. If the service was poor enough to justify 15%, speaking to a manager communicates it more effectively than the tip does.

How should a group split a bill fairly?

For similar orders, divide the grand total including tip. For uneven orders, have each person calculate their own items plus the same percentage tip. Splitting evenly is faster and usually fine; it becomes unfair when one person ordered several times another's total.

Should I tip in cash or on the card?

Cash generally reaches staff faster and in full, since card tips may be pooled, processed through payroll, or reduced by processing fees. Where it makes a real difference the staff usually mention it. Either is perfectly acceptable.