Tip calculator for any bill: tip on the pre-tax or after-tax total, then split it evenly or by shares, with each person's share rounded up.
By AdminDrafted with AI writing toolsUpdated Checked examples: 4
The bill comes to $106.47 with tax and tip. Each of the 4 people pays $26.62, which leaves $0.01 extra for the tip.
| Person | Payment weight | Exact | Pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Person 1 | 1 | 26.6175 | $26.62 |
| Person 2 | 1 | 26.6175 | $26.62 |
| Person 3 | 1 | 26.6175 | $26.62 |
| Person 4 | 1 | 26.6175 | $26.62 |
In the formula, B is the bill before tax, t the tax rate, A the tip base, p the tip rate, T the total, w_i each weight, and s the rounding step. Rates are decimal fractions; a_i is each exact share and q_i is its rounded payment before any balance adjustment.
Rounding collects $0.01 more than the bill; it is added to the tip.
The bill plus sales tax plus the tip gives the total, and the total is divided among the diners. The tip is a percentage of either the pre-tax bill or the bill with tax. An even split divides by the number of people; a split by shares gives each person a weight, so shares of 1, 1 and 2 make the third person pay half the total. Each share is then rounded up to the step you choose.
With the defaults, an 84.50 bill with 8% tax and an 18% tip on the pre-tax amount comes to 106.47. Split four ways that is 26.6175 each, which rounds up to 26.62, so the table collects one cent more than the bill and the extra cent goes to the tip.
Rounding up to 1, 5 or 10 makes cash easier to hand over. To keep the total exact, choose "Person 1 pays less" and the first person covers whatever the others' rounded shares leave.
Multiply the bill before tax by the tip rate, add the tax and the tip, then divide the total by the number of people. An 84.50 bill with 8% tax and an 18% tip is 84.50 + 6.76 + 15.21 = 106.47, or 26.62 each for four after rounding up to the cent.
For an uneven split, give each person a weight: shares of 1, 1 and 2 put a quarter, a quarter and half of the total on each. Weights set proportions, so they need not add up to the number of diners.
Rounding every share up to a convenient step collects more than the bill. The extra either goes to the tip, or the first person pays the balance so the table hands over exactly 106.47. For the four-way split above:
| Round-up step | Remainder rule | Other payment | Person 1 | Collected | Effective tip |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .01 | Extra to tip | 26.62 | Same as others | 106.48 | 18.01% |
| .01 | Person 1 balance | 26.62 | 26.61 | 106.47 | 18.00% |
| 1 | Extra to tip | 27.00 | Same as others | 108.00 | 19.81% |
| 1 | Person 1 balance | 27.00 | 25.47 | 106.47 | 18.00% |
| 5 | Extra to tip | 30.00 | Same as others | 120.00 | 34.01% |
| 5 | Person 1 balance | 30.00 | 16.47 | 106.47 | 18.00% |
| 10 | Extra to tip | 30.00 | Same as others | 120.00 | 34.01% |
| 10 | Person 1 balance | 30.00 | 16.47 | 106.47 | 18.00% |
Rounding to the cent already collects one cent over. At a step of 5 or 10 each person pays 30, and the effective tip jumps from 18% to 34.01% unless one person takes the balance.
Most common tip rates can be built from 10%, which is the bill with the decimal point moved one place left. On a bill of 67.40:
Where sales tax is close to 9%, doubling the tax line lands near 18%: 9% of 67.40 is 6.07, and twice that is 12.14, one cent more than the 18% tip. At 7.25% tax the same trick gives only 14.5%.
With 7.25% tax and three people, that bill comes to 84.42, or 28.14 each rounded up to the cent. Rounding each share up to 29 hands over 87 and lifts the tip to 21.83% of the bill; rounding up to 30 makes it 26.28%.
Tips on the amount before tax, to the cent:
| Bill | 10% | 15% | 18% | 20% | 22% | 25% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 1.00 | 1.50 | 1.80 | 2.00 | 2.20 | 2.50 |
| 20 | 2.00 | 3.00 | 3.60 | 4.00 | 4.40 | 5.00 |
| 25 | 2.50 | 3.75 | 4.50 | 5.00 | 5.50 | 6.25 |
| 30 | 3.00 | 4.50 | 5.40 | 6.00 | 6.60 | 7.50 |
| 40 | 4.00 | 6.00 | 7.20 | 8.00 | 8.80 | 10.00 |
| 50 | 5.00 | 7.50 | 9.00 | 10.00 | 11.00 | 12.50 |
| 60 | 6.00 | 9.00 | 10.80 | 12.00 | 13.20 | 15.00 |
| 75 | 7.50 | 11.25 | 13.50 | 15.00 | 16.50 | 18.75 |
| 100 | 10.00 | 15.00 | 18.00 | 20.00 | 22.00 | 25.00 |
| 150 | 15.00 | 22.50 | 27.00 | 30.00 | 33.00 | 37.50 |
| 200 | 20.00 | 30.00 | 36.00 | 40.00 | 44.00 | 50.00 |
For a bill between two rows, add the rows that make it up: the 18% tip on 135 is the tip on 100 plus the tip on 25 plus the tip on 10, or 18.00 + 4.50 + 1.80 = 24.30.
Etiquette guides quote tips on the pre-tax bill. Tipping on the total adds the tip rate times the tax: on a 120 bill with 7.25% tax, a 20% tip is 24.00 before tax and 25.74 after. That 1.74 is less than the 2.40 gap between 18% and 20%.
The choice only arises where tax is added at the till, as with US sales tax. UK prices must include VAT under the CMA's price-transparency guidance, so the bill shown is already after tax: use it as the bill, with tax at 0.
At the UK's 20% rate, VAT is one-sixth of a VAT-inclusive price, so a £60 bill is £50 before VAT. A 10% tip is £6.00 on the bill as printed and £5.00 on the pre-VAT amount.
A service charge added by the restaurant is not a tip. In the UK, a compulsory service charge is part of the price and carries VAT, while an optional service charge or a tip is outside the scope of VAT (HMRC VAT Notice 700, section 8.14).
In Singapore, hotels and restaurants that add a service charge may show prices before GST, and GST is charged on the food and the service charge (IRAS).
So a S$100 meal with a 10% service charge and 9% GST comes to 110 × 1.09 = S$119.90. Enter a taxable service charge as part of the bill, 110 with 9% tax and no tip, to get that total.
Entering it as a 10% tip on 100 gives S$119.00 instead, because tax applies to the bill and never to a tip.
| Country | What to expect at a restaurant | Source |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 15–20% of the pre-tax bill for table service, 10% at a buffet | Emily Post Institute |
| United Kingdom (London) | 10–15% when no service charge is on the bill; restaurants often add a 12.5% service charge, which counts as the tip | Visit London |
| United Kingdom | Compulsory service charges carry VAT; optional ones and tips do not. Since 1 October 2024, employers in England, Scotland and Wales must pass employer-received or controlled tips and service charges to workers | VAT Notice 700; official tipping code of practice |
| France | Menu prices include taxes and, where a service charge is collected, that charge must be included and identified as "prix service compris" | Arrêté du 27 mars 1987 |
| Japan | Tipping is not common in restaurants, bars, cafes, taxis or hotels; a private guide may accept a tip, given discreetly in an envelope | Japan National Tourism Organization |
| Singapore | Hotels and restaurants that add a service charge may list prices before GST, and GST is charged on the service charge as well as the food | IRAS |
Where a service charge is already on the bill, set the tip to 0 and add only what you want on top.
Many US tips are flat amounts rather than percentages. The Emily Post Institute's guide gives these ranges:
| Service | Suggested tip |
|---|---|
| Take-out | No obligation; 10% for curbside delivery or a large, complicated order |
| Delivery | 10–15% of the bill; $2–5 for pizza |
| Bartender | $1–2 a drink, or 15–20% of the tab |
| Valet | $2–5 when the car is returned |
| Hotel housekeeper | $2–5 a day, left daily |
| Bellhop or skycap | $2 for the first bag, $1 for each additional bag |
| Taxi | 15–20% of the fare, at least $1 |
| Hair salon, manicure, massage | 15–20% |
To turn a flat tip into a rate, divide it by the bill: a $5 tip on a $32 delivery order is 5 ÷ 32 = 15.6%.
An even split works when everyone ordered about the same. When one of three diners also had a starter and a glass of wine, weights of 1, 1 and 1.5 put 1.5 ÷ 3.5, or 42.9%, of the total on the third person.
Tax and tip split in the same proportion, so before rounding the result matches separate bills when the weights match what each person ordered.
Rounding still applies to each share. A 90 bill with no tax or tip, split 1, 1 and 2, is 22.50, 22.50 and 45; rounded up to 5, the table pays 25, 25 and 45, and the extra 5 is a 5.56% tip.
Letting one person pay the balance suits a table where that person pays by card and the others repay in round cash: on the 106.47 bill, the card holder collects 27 from each of three others and is left paying 25.47.
That only works while the others' rounded shares stay below the bill. Four people rounding an 18.00 bill up to 10 would have the other three pay 30 between them, more than the bill, so use a smaller step.
Checked against: 84.50×0.08, 84.50×0.18, 106.47/4 = 26.6175 → ceil to 26.62; (15.21+0.01)/84.50
Checked against: ceil(26.6175) = 27; 106.47 − 3×27 = 25.47
Checked against: Hand calculation: (100 + 10) × 0.20 = 22
Checked against: 22.5, 22.5, 45 → 25, 25, 45; extra 5 / 90 = 5.56%
In the US, 15–20% of the pre-tax bill for table service and 10% at a buffet, according to the Emily Post Institute's tipping guide. Tips make up much of a server's pay there: federal law lets employers pay tipped workers a cash wage of $2.13 an hour and count tips towards the rest of the $7.25 minimum wage (US Department of Labor, Fact Sheet 15).
Etiquette guides such as the Emily Post Institute's give tip percentages of the pre-tax bill. Tipping on the total with tax adds the tip rate times the tax: on a 100 bill with 10% tax, a 20% tip is 20 before tax and 22 after it. Use the "Tip calculated on" setting to compare the two.
Give each person a share and divide the total in proportion. For a 90 bill split 1, 1 and 2, the shares add to 4, so the first two pay 22.50 each and the third pays 45. Rounding each share up to 5 gives 25, 25 and 45: the table collects 95, and the extra 5 is a 5.56% tip on the 90 bill.
Not under US federal wage law: a compulsory charge, such as 15% added to every bill, is not a tip under the Fair Labor Standards Act (Department of Labor, Fact Sheet 15). In England, Scotland and Wales, the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 has required employers since 1 October 2024 to pass all tips and service charges to workers without deductions other than tax. Check the bill for a service charge before adding a tip.
This calculator includes 4 worked examples with independently sourced answers. They run in the test suite, and you can run them here too.