Restaurant Tip Calculator

The presets provide arithmetic shortcuts, not etiquette rules. Check whether a service charge is already included and choose a percentage that fits the service and local custom. Federal law permits a $2.13 cash wage only under tip-credit conditions, and many states set higher requirements.

Most US diners tip on the pre-tax subtotal, which is the standard etiquette guidance and the convention restaurant industry groups recommend. Tipping on the post-tax total is also accepted and only adds a small amount on a typical bill (sales tax of about 8% turns a $20 tip on $100 into a $21.60 tip). This calculator multiplies your tip percent by whatever number you enter as the bill, so enter the pre-tax subtotal if you prefer to tip on that and the after-tax total if you tip on the grand total.

Most of continental Europe builds a service charge into the menu price (often labeled service compris or coperto), so 5 to 10% is a generous extra and many locals just round up to the nearest euro. The UK falls in between at 10 to 15% if no service charge appears on the bill. In Japan and South Korea, tipping is not part of the culture and can read as awkward or even insulting; service is included in the menu price and the standard is to thank the staff verbally instead. Always check the bill for an existing service charge before tipping on top.

Many US restaurants add an automatic gratuity of 18 to 20% to bills for parties of 6 or 8 or more, and the charge is usually printed on the menu and the receipt. The IRS classifies this auto-gratuity as a service charge (not a tip), so it is treated as regular wages for the server and the kitchen rather than as a tip the staff fully control. Before adding more on top, check the receipt: if a service charge is already there, an extra few percent for genuinely above-and-beyond service is appreciated but never required.

Turn on the round-up option to push each diner's share up to the next whole dollar (or the next $5 for a generous round). On a $73.20 total split four ways, each person owes $18.30, which rounds up to $19, and the table adds $2.80 of overhead so nobody has to chase 70 cents in coins. The rounding extra never reduces the bill, only nudges it up, and the calculator shows you both the exact per-person split and the rounded-up amount. If one person ordered a $40 steak and the rest had $12 salads, switch to itemized splits in an app like Splitwise instead of a flat division.