Tip & Bill Split

The math is deliberately boring: tip = bill × tip percent, total = bill + tip, and per person = total ÷ number of people. There's no service-charge detection or regional weighting — you pick the percent, we do the arithmetic. If your bill already includes a service charge or "gratuity included" line, that is the tip; don't tip on top of it unless you want to.

A worked example

Say the bill is $86.40, you're tipping 18%, and three people are splitting it. The tip is $86.40 × 0.18 = $15.55, the total is $101.95, and each person owes $33.98. (Three shares of $33.98 come to $101.94 — a penny short. Someone covers the penny, or everyone just puts in $34 and calls it even.)

Common questions

Do I tip on the pre-tax or post-tax total? Tipping on the pre-tax amount is entirely defensible — the tax isn't part of the service. In practice most people tip on the total because it's the number staring at them, and on a typical check the difference is small: 18% of the tax on a $100 bill with 8% sales tax is about $1.44. Pick one convention and stop thinking about it.

What's a normal tip? For sit-down service in the U.S., 15% reads as the floor, 18% as standard, and 20% as good service or easy math. Counter service and takeout are a different situation (see below).

Should I round up? If the math lands on $15.55, rounding to $16 costs you 45 cents and saves everyone the decimal juggling. Rounding the tip up is the cheapest generosity you'll find.

Do I tip on takeout? There's no strong obligation. A tip is a thank-you for table service, which takeout doesn't involve — but a dollar or two on a large or complicated order that someone packed carefully is a reasonable habit, not a rule.

This is general information, not etiquette law. Found an error? Tell us and we'll fix it.