🍽 Tip Calculator free & instant

How the calculation works

Enter the bill, the percentage you want to leave, and how many people are splitting it. The calculator returns the tip amount, the total, and each person's share.

Tip = Bill × (Percentage ÷ 100)
Total = Bill + Tip
Per person = Total ÷ Number of people

Worked example: an $84.50 bill at 18% gives a tip of $15.21 and a total of $99.71. Split between two people, that is $49.86 each.

Doing it in your head

Two quick methods cover most situations.

The 10% shift. Move the decimal point one place left to get 10%. On $84.50 that is $8.45. Halve it for 5% ($4.23). Add them for 15% ($12.68), or double the 10% for 20% ($16.90). Almost any common tip is a combination of these.

Double the tax. Where sales tax runs around 8–9%, doubling the tax line lands close to 16–18%. It is fast and requires no arithmetic at all, though it only works in regions with tax in that range.

Should you tip on tax?

Strictly, the service being tipped is the food and drink, not the government's tax. Tipping on the pre-tax subtotal is defensible and is what many etiquette guides suggest.

In practice the difference is small — on an $85 bill with 8% tax, tipping on the total rather than the subtotal adds about $1.20 at 18%. Most people do not bother making the distinction, and either approach is unremarkable.

Splitting a bill fairly

Even split is fastest and works when orders were broadly similar. It creates friction when one person had a starter, two drinks, and dessert while another had soup.

Itemised split is fairer but slower. The clean way is for each person to total their own items, then add the same tip percentage and their proportional share of tax — rather than everyone tipping a flat amount.

Rounding up avoids awkward cents. If the per-person share is $49.86, everyone puts in $50 and the extra covers rounding. It is worth agreeing the method before the bill arrives rather than negotiating over it afterwards.

Customs vary enormously by country

Tipping norms are cultural rather than universal, and assuming otherwise causes genuine awkwardness in both directions.

• United States and Canada — 15–20% is standard for table service, and tipped staff are often paid a lower base wage on the expectation of it.
• United Kingdom and Ireland — around 10–12.5%, often already added as an optional service charge. Check the bill before adding more.
• Much of continental Europe — service is typically included; rounding up or leaving 5–10% for good service is generous rather than expected.
• Japan, South Korea, China — tipping is not customary and can occasionally cause confusion or be politely refused.
• Australia and New Zealand — not expected, though rounding up for good service is appreciated.

When travelling, a quick check of local norms is worth more than any formula.

A note on service charges

Increasingly, restaurants add a service charge, a large-party gratuity, or a kitchen fee directly to the bill. These are not always clearly labelled. Before adding a tip, scan the bill for a line already covering it — tipping twice is common and entirely avoidable.

Where a mandatory service charge is applied, additional tipping is genuinely optional. Where it is described as discretionary, you can ask for it to be removed if the service warranted it.

Frequently Asked Questions