Tip Calculator
✦ Finance & MoneyUse this tip calculator to work out the tip, the total and each person's share from the bill, the sales tax on the receipt and any tip rate. As a gratuity calculator it also splits the check evenly to the cent, lets you tip on the pre-tax or post-tax amount, and rounds the tip, the total or each share up to the next dollar.
- ✓ Calculated in your browser
- ✓ Nothing you type is stored
- ✓ No sign-up required
- ✓ Formula and sources shown
The formula
Tip on the pre-tax subtotal (or the total), then split to the cent
\text{Tip} = \text{round}_{\$0.01}\left(\text{Basis} \times \frac{\text{Tip \%}}{100}\right) \qquad \text{Basis} = \text{Subtotal} \;\text{or}\; \text{Subtotal} + \text{Tax} \\[4pt]
\text{Total} = \text{Subtotal} + \text{Tax} + \text{Tip} \qquad \text{Share}_i = \text{Total} \div N \;\text{(whole cents, odd cents to the first diners)}The tip is rounded to the cent once, on the whole bill. Each share is in whole cents and the shares add up to the total exactly; when the total does not divide evenly, the first diners pay 1¢ more and the page names them. Rounding up (tip, total or each share) adds the difference to the tip and shows it as a separate figure.
Calculating it by hand
- Enter the bill amount before tax — the food and drink subtotal on the receipt.
- Enter the tip rate, or tap 15%, 18%, 20% or 25%.
- Enter the number of people sharing the bill; use 1 if you are paying alone.
- Enter the sales tax shown on the receipt, in dollars; it is added to the total.
- Under Advanced, choose whether the tip is figured on the pre-tax subtotal or on the subtotal plus tax, and whether to round the tip, the total or each share up to the next dollar.
- Read the tip, the total and the amount each person pays; the ladder under the card shows the same bill at other rates.
Worked examples
A 20% tip on a $50 bill, paying alone
Enter: bill $50.00, tip rate 20%, 1 person, sales tax $0.Tip = $50.00 × 0.20 = $10.00.Total = $50.00 + $10.00 = $60.00.
Tip $10.00 · total $60.00
An 18% tip on the pre-tax bill, split four ways
Enter: bill $120.00, tip rate 18%, 4 people, sales tax $10.80 (tip basis: pre-tax subtotal).Tip = $120.00 × 0.18 = $21.60.Total = $120.00 + $10.80 + $21.60 = $152.40.Each person pays $152.40 ÷ 4 = $38.10 — it divides exactly, so there are no odd cents.
Tip $21.60 · total $152.40 · $38.10 each
A 15% tip split three ways, each share rounded up to the dollar
Enter: bill $85.00, tip rate 15%, 3 people, sales tax $7.00; Advanced → rounding: each person's share up to the next $1.Tip = $85.00 × 0.15 = $12.75; total before rounding $104.75, which splits as $34.92, $34.92 and $34.91.Each share rounds up to $35.00, so $105.00 is collected.The extra $0.25 goes to the tip: $12.75 + $0.25 = $13.00, an effective rate of 15.29% of the $85.00 bill.
Tip $13.00 · total $105.00 · $35.00 each
Methodology
How a tip is worked out
The arithmetic is one multiplication. What changes the answer is the base — the subtotal or the total with tax — and how the odd cents of a split are handled, so this page states both beside the result.
Read sources and limitsWhat does a tip calculator do?
A tip calculator multiplies the bill by the tip rate you choose, adds the tip and the sales tax to the bill to give the total, and divides that total among the people paying. This one works in whole cents, so the shares always add up to the total.
The tip is rounded once, on the whole bill, and the shares add up to the total exactly, with any odd cent assigned to a named person.
At the page defaults — an $85.00 bill, $6.80 of sales tax, a 20% tip and two people — the tip is $85.00 × 0.20 = $17.00, the total is $85.00 + $6.80 + $17.00 = $108.80, and each person pays $54.40. The ladder chart under the card repeats the same bill at 15%, 18%, 22% and 25% so you can see what each rate costs before you choose.
How much is a 20% tip, and how do you work it out by hand?
Move the decimal point one place to the left to get 10%, then double it for 20%. On a $45.00 bill, 10% is $4.50 and 20% is $9.00. For 15%, add half of the 10% figure to itself: $4.50 + $2.25 = $6.75. For 18%, take 20% and subtract a fifth of 10%: $9.00 − $0.90 = $8.10.
On a $50 bill a 20% tip is $10.00 and the total is $60.00. Rates are only a custom, not a rule. The Emily Post Institute's general tipping guide lists 15–20% of the pre-tax bill for sit-down restaurant service and 10% pre-tax for buffet service, says take-out carries no obligation, and lists 10–15% of the bill for food delivery. The calculator accepts any rate and does not judge one.
Should you tip on the amount before or after tax?
The Emily Post Institute guide gives its sit-down and buffet ranges as percentages of the pre-tax bill, and this page uses the pre-tax subtotal by default. Many card terminals suggest percentages of the total including tax, which gives a slightly larger tip. The Advanced setting switches the basis so you can see both.
At the defaults the difference is 20% of the $6.80 tax, or $1.36: $17.00 on the pre-tax $85.00 against $18.36 on the $91.80 total.
Whichever basis you pick, the tax itself is always added to the total — the setting changes only what the tip is a percentage of.
How do you split a bill with tip evenly?
Add the bill, the tax and the tip, then divide by the number of people. Money comes in whole cents, so an uneven division is settled by giving the leftover cents to the first diners. An $85.00 bill with $7.00 of tax and a 15% tip ($12.75) totals $104.75; split three ways that is $34.92, $34.92 and $34.91.
The page says who pays the extra cent, so the shares add up to the receipt.
If you would rather hand over whole dollars, the rounding setting can round each share up to the next dollar: the same bill becomes $35.00 each, $105.00 in all, and the extra $0.25 goes to the tip, which becomes $13.00. For unequal orders, a shared appetiser or one person covering the tip, use the tip split calculator, which allocates tax and tip in proportion to what each diner ordered.
Is an automatic gratuity a tip?
No. The Internal Revenue Service treats a charge the customer must pay — including an automatic gratuity or a large-party charge added to the bill — as a service charge, not a tip (IRS Topic 761). The Labor Department agrees: under the Fair Labor Standards Act a compulsory service charge is not a tip.
Its fact sheet FS-2015-8 lists four factors for a tip: it is paid free from compulsion, the customer has the unrestricted right to set the amount, it is not negotiated or dictated by employer policy, and the customer generally decides who receives it.
That matters for the calculator only in one way: if a service charge is already on the bill, it is part of the subtotal you enter, and any tip you add on top is your choice. Check the receipt before tipping twice.
What does this tip calculator not do?
It does not look up your local sales-tax rate — enter the tax line from your receipt instead, which already reflects the rate where you ate. It does not save anything: nothing you type leaves your browser, and the only copy of a calculation is the link you share or the page you print.
It describes tipping custom as custom; it does not tell you what to tip.
Tip questions
How much is a 20% tip on $50?
A 20% tip on $50 is $10.00, for a total of $60.00 before any tax. Work it out by moving the decimal point one place left for 10% ($5.00) and doubling it. If there is sales tax on the receipt, add it to the total; the tip stays $10.00 when it is figured on the pre-tax amount.
Do you tip on the amount before or after tax?
The Emily Post Institute gives its restaurant ranges as a percentage of the pre-tax bill, and this calculator uses the pre-tax subtotal by default. Many card terminals suggest percentages of the total including tax. On an $85 bill with $6.80 of tax, 20% is $17.00 before tax and $18.36 after; the Advanced setting shows either.
How much do you tip at a restaurant in the US?
The Emily Post Institute lists 15–20% of the pre-tax bill for sit-down service and 10% for buffet service. That is a custom, not a rule or a law, and the calculator does not judge any rate. On a $60 pre-tax bill, 15% is $9.00, 18% is $10.80 and 20% is $12.00; the ladder under the calculator shows the rates side by side.
How do you split a bill with tip evenly?
Add the bill, the tax and the tip, then divide by the number of people and give any leftover cents to the first diners. $104.75 split three ways is $34.92, $34.92 and $34.91, which adds back to $104.75. The page names who pays the extra cent, so the shares always cover the receipt.
How do you calculate a tip in your head?
Find 10% by moving the decimal point one place to the left, then scale it. On a $45 bill: 10% is $4.50, 20% is $9.00, 15% is $4.50 + $2.25 = $6.75, and 25% is $9.00 + $2.25 = $11.25. Rounding the bill to the nearest dollar first makes the arithmetic easier and changes the tip by only a few cents.
Is an automatic gratuity a tip?
No. The IRS treats a charge the customer must pay — an automatic gratuity or a large-party charge — as a service charge, not a tip (Topic 761). A tip must be paid freely, with the customer setting the amount (IRS fact sheet FS-2015-8). If a service charge is already on the bill, any extra tip is optional.
Should you tip on take-out or delivery?
The Emily Post Institute says take-out carries no obligation, with 10% for extra service such as curbside delivery or a large, complicated order. For food delivery it lists 10–15% of the bill, or $2–5 for pizza depending on the order and the difficulty of the delivery. These are customs; the calculator takes any rate.
What does rounding the tip up do?
It raises the tip so the tip, the total or each person's share becomes a whole dollar, and shows the extra as a separate figure. On a $104.75 total split three ways, rounding each share up gives $35.00 each: $105.00 in all, so the tip rises from $12.75 to $13.00. Exact cents is the default.
What is the difference between a tip and a gratuity?
In everyday use the words mean the same: money a customer chooses to give for service. The difference that matters is between a voluntary tip and a mandatory charge. A charge the customer must pay, even one printed as a gratuity, is a service charge in the IRS's terms, not a tip.
Source notes
Method, sources & limitations
Every figure on this page comes from the formula above applied to the values you enter. Nothing is estimated from market data, and no result is a forecast. These are the sources behind the method and any fixed figures it uses:
- IRS — Topic 761, Tips: withholding and reporting (tips vs service charges, auto-gratuities)
- IRS — Fact Sheet FS-2015-8, the four factors that make a payment a tip (February 2015)
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division — Fact Sheet #15: Tipped employees under the FLSA (a compulsory service charge is not a tip)
- Emily Post Institute — General Tipping Guide (US tipping custom; secondary, custom not rule)
Educational information only. Results are estimates produced from the assumptions you enter, and are not financial, tax, legal or medical advice. Check anything that matters against a qualified professional and the cited sources.