The Tip Calculator works out a tip, the total bill including it, and an even split between any number of people. Enter the bill, choose a percentage — presets run 10%, 15%, 18%, 20%, and 25% — set the party size, and you get the tip amount, the grand total, and exactly what each person owes, tip included, with every figure rounded to the cent.
How It Works
Each result is rounded to cents independently — once for the tip, once for the total, and once for each per-person figure. That detail matters when a group is settling up: three people paying the displayed per-person total can land a cent or two off the grand total, because three rounded shares rarely sum to the rounded whole. One person adjusting by the odd cent is the standard table fix.
Worked Example
Dinner for 3 people, bill $136.40, tip 18% (the calculator's preset default):
- Tip = 24.55**
- Total = 24.55 = $160.95
- Tip per person = 8.18**
- Total per person = 53.65**
Pay as one card and the charge is 53.65 — noting that 3 × 160.95 exactly here, while the tip shares sum to $24.54, a cent under, which is the rounding effect described above in miniature.
What Percentage Is Right?
In the United States, customary ranges for sit-down restaurant service run 15% for adequate, 18% for good, and 20% or more for excellent service — the presets mirror that scale, with 10% suiting counter service or takeout and 25% reserved for exceptional service or small bills where the percentage understates the effort. Other contexts have their own norms: bartenders are often tipped per drink or 15 to 20% of a tab, delivery drivers 10 to 15% with a floor of a few dollars, and many countries include service in the bill or round up modestly instead — a service charge already on the bill is not an invitation to tip the full percentage again. When in doubt, the local custom matters more than any table; the calculator's job is to make whatever percentage you choose exact.
A persistent debate: tip on the pre-tax subtotal or the post-tax total? Strictly, custom points to the pre-tax amount; practically, most people tip on the total they see, and the difference on a typical bill is a dollar or two. This calculator tips on whatever bill figure you enter, so enter the pre-tax subtotal if that is your practice and the final total if it is not.
Limitations
The split is even — the calculator does not itemize who ordered what, so for a table where one person had a salad and another had a steak and wine, split the bill by item yourselves and use the calculator for the tip on each share. It also does not detect service charges, auto-gratuity on large parties (often 18 to 20% added by the house — check the bill before adding more), or tax. All of those live on your receipt, not in the arithmetic.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why don't the per-person amounts add up exactly to the total?
Rounding. Each figure is rounded to the nearest cent separately, so per-person shares can miss the grand total by a cent or two in either direction. It is a display effect of splitting money among people, not a miscalculation — settle the odd cent on one person's share.
Should I tip on the amount before or after tax?
Custom says before tax; habit says after. On a 126, and the 18% tip difference is under $2. Pick the base you believe in and enter that figure — the calculator applies your percentage to whatever amount you give it.
What if the restaurant already added a service charge?
Then the tip, in substance, is already on the bill. Adding a small extra for standout service is common; adding the full customary percentage on top doubles the gratuity. Check the bill for "service charge" or "gratuity" lines before you calculate.