Everyday

Tip Calculator

Tip, total and a clean split per person — with the choice of tipping before or after tax.

Enter the bill amount and the tip appears straight away.

Bill amount

The total on the check, tax included.

Tip

Split between

Fine tuning

Sales tax already in the bill

Needed only if you want to tip on the pre-tax subtotal.

Tip on the pre-tax subtotal

The conventional guidance. Tipping on the taxed total quietly adds the tax rate times the tip rate.

Rounding

Rounding each share up is what stops the table coming up short.

Exact calculation. Given your inputs, this is the answer — no estimation involved.

How this calculator works

Multiply, add, divide. The arithmetic is trivial; the two choices are what this calculator actually adds.

The first is the tip base. Tipping on the pre-tax subtotal is the conventional guidance; tipping on the post-tax total quietly adds the sales tax rate times the tip rate to your bill. On a $100 meal with 8% tax and a 20% tip that is $1.60 — small, but it is your $1.60, and most calculators pick one without telling you.

The second is rounding. Rounding each person’s share up and multiplying back is what avoids the classic problem where everyone pays a round number and the table comes up short. Any extra goes to the tip.

The formula

Exactly what happens to your numbers, step by step.

Backing out the tax
```
subtotal = bill ÷ (1 + sales tax rate)
```
Only needed if you want to tip on the pre-tax amount.

Tip and total

tip   = tip base × tip %
total = bill + tip

Splitting with rounding
```
per person = ⌈total ÷ people ÷ increment⌉ × increment
total      = per person × people
```
Rounding the share and multiplying back guarantees the table covers the bill.

A worked example

A $108 bill including 8% sales tax, tipping 20% on the subtotal, split four ways.

What you enter

Bill (tax included): $108.00
Sales tax: 8%
Tip: 20% on the subtotal
People: 4

The working

Pre-tax subtotal: 108 ÷ 1.08 = $100.00
Tax included: $8.00
Tip on subtotal: $20.00
Total: $128.00
Each person: $32.00

$32.00 each — $128.00 total

Tipping on the full $108 instead would make the tip $21.60 and the total $129.60. Neither is wrong; tipping on the subtotal is the more common convention.

Assumptions

Every result here rests on these. Change your inputs and the result changes with them.

The bill amount you enter already includes sales tax.
The tip percentage applies to whichever base you select.
Rounding always goes up, and the extra goes to the tip.

Questions people ask

How much should I tip?

In the United States, 15% to 20% is customary for table service, with 20% common for good service. Delivery, bars and other services follow different conventions, and outside the US expectations vary widely.

Should I tip on the pre-tax or post-tax amount?

Convention says pre-tax, since the tax is not part of the service. Many people tip on the total for simplicity. On a $100 meal the difference is under $2 either way.

How do I split a bill fairly when people ordered differently?

An even split is only fair when the orders were comparable. Otherwise the usual approach is to work out each person’s share of the subtotal, then add the same tip and tax percentage to each — this calculator handles the even split.

What about an automatic gratuity?

Large groups are often charged a service fee automatically. Check the bill before adding a tip — that line is frequently missed, and paying twice is a common and expensive mistake.

Sources and review

This calculator uses standard arithmetic with no external rules or published rates, so there is nothing to cite beyond the formulas shown above.

Methodology version 1.0.0 · Last reviewed September 6, 2026