What is a standard tip percentage?

In the United States, fifteen to twenty per cent is standard for table service, with twenty now the common default on card terminals and twenty five reserved for exceptional service. In Australia and New Zealand tipping is optional because staff receive full award wages. In the United Kingdom and much of Europe a service charge of around twelve and a half per cent is often already included.

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

Etiquette guidance generally says the pre-tax subtotal, because sales tax and GST are government revenue and no part of them reaches the person serving you. Point of sale systems almost always suggest tips on the post-tax total because it is simpler and produces a bigger number. On a large bill the difference is real money, so enter the tax figure here if you want the subtotal used.

Do I still tip when a service charge is on the bill?

Usually not. A discretionary service charge of ten to fifteen per cent is already a gratuity, and adding a further tip on top of it means paying twice. If the service was genuinely outstanding, a small additional cash amount is a reasonable gesture. If the service was poor, you can ask for a discretionary charge to be removed in most jurisdictions.

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

Split the tip and any shared items evenly, then add each person's own dishes. An even split of everything is fast and usually fine among friends, but it silently subsidises the biggest orders. If one person had a bottle of wine and two courses while another had a single plate, itemise first and apply the same percentage tip to each subtotal.

Does tipping a percentage make sense on very expensive meals?

It is the convention, but the logic strains at the top end because the effort of carrying a two hundred dollar bottle is identical to carrying a thirty dollar one. Many people apply the full percentage to food and a reduced rate to expensive wine. There is no rule, and staff at high end venues generally expect the standard percentage on the whole bill.

Do tips go to the person who served me?

Not always. Many venues operate a pool that is shared with kitchen staff, bar staff and runners, which is why an excellent server can end a shift with a fraction of what was left for them. Card tips can also be reduced by processing fees or paid out in a later pay run. Cash left on the table is the most direct route.

Tip Calculator

Works anywhere

Calculates the tip, the total and each person's share of a bill from the bill amount, the tip percentage and the number of people, with an option to tip on the pre-tax subtotal. An $85 bill at 18% split two ways is $15.30 of tip and $50.15 each.

Results

Worked example. Edit the values and press Calculate

Tip amount

$15.30

Total with tip
$100.30
Each person pays
$50.15
Each person's share of the tip
$7.65
Rounded up, each person pays
$51.00
Rounding to a whole dollar each adds $1.70 to the tip.
Tip calculated on
$85.00
The full bill, because no tax was entered.
Effective tip on the full bill
18.00%

How this compares

50th

percentile

You chose a 18% tip. US sit-down service commonly lands around 15 to 20% (18% is a frequent middle ground).

You: 18

Modest

Standard

Generous

Exceptional

Avg 18 · median 18

Why use this calculator

Tipping is arithmetic done badly under social pressure, at a table, in poor light, often after a drink. The common shortcuts are worse than they look: doubling the tax only lands near 18% in a handful of jurisdictions, and rounding the bill before splitting quietly shifts a few dollars onto whoever pays.

This calculator separates the three decisions that actually matter. First, what base you are tipping on, because sales tax and GST are government revenue rather than service. Second, the rate, which differs enormously between countries. Third, how the total divides, including what happens when everyone rounds their share up to a whole dollar, which is the most common way a group accidentally leaves a 24% tip.

How to use it

Enter the bill amount exactly as printed on the check, including any tax already added, because that is the number your card will be charged before the tip.
If the check shows a separate sales tax or GST line and you want to tip on the food and drink only, type that tax figure into the second field and the calculator moves the tip base down accordingly.
Set the tip percentage to whatever you intend to leave, using the local norm rather than a habit imported from another country.
Finally enter how many people are splitting the bill evenly, counting yourself, and read the per-person figure along with the rounded-up version that most groups actually pay in practice.

What each result means

Tip amount: The gratuity itself, calculated on the base you chose rather than on the total charged to the card.
Total with tip: The full amount leaving your account: bill including tax, plus the tip. This is the figure to write on the slip.
Each person pays: An exact even split of the total. Useful for transfers between phones, where cents do not matter.
Each person's share of the tip: How much of each person's payment is gratuity rather than food, drink or tax.
Rounded up, each person pays: The realistic figure when everybody hands over whole notes or dollars, and how much extra tip that rounding creates.
Tip calculated on: The base the percentage was applied to. It equals the bill unless you entered a tax amount to exclude.
Effective tip on the full bill: The tip expressed against the total charge, which is the rate a server would see on their end of day report.

The formula

Tip base B equals the bill amount A minus any tax T already included

B = A − T

The tip

Tip = B × (p ÷ 100) where p is the tip percentage

The total

Total = A + Tip

Because the tax is still payable even though it is excluded from the tip base.

Each person pays Total ÷ n where n is the number of people sharing. The effective tip rate reported against the full bill is Tip ÷ A × 100, which is always lower than p whenever tax has been excluded.

How this number is used in practice

Tipping norms are not universal and assuming otherwise is the single most expensive habit a traveller carries. In the United States, table service staff are frequently paid a reduced cash wage on the understanding that tips make up the difference, which is why fifteen to twenty per cent is treated as an obligation rather than a bonus, and why twenty has quietly become the default on card terminals.

In Australia and New Zealand, hospitality staff receive a full award wage plus penalty rates, so tipping is genuinely optional and rounding up or leaving five to ten per cent for very good service is normal. In the United Kingdom and much of Europe a discretionary service charge of twelve and a half per cent is often already printed on the bill, and adding a further tip on top of it is double paying.

The pre-tax question decides real money on large bills. On a five hundred dollar restaurant bill in a jurisdiction with ten per cent tax, tipping twenty per cent on the tax inclusive figure rather than the subtotal costs an extra ten dollars, which goes to the tax authority's share of the bill rather than to the person who served you.

Most etiquette guidance and most point of sale systems now compute suggested tips on the post-tax total because it is simpler and larger, so if you care about the distinction you have to do it yourself.

The rounding line matters more in groups than anyone expects. Six people rounding a $47.27 share up to $48 add $4.36 of extra gratuity, lifting a twenty per cent tip on the subtotal to a shade over twenty two per cent. That is fine if it is deliberate.

It is less fine when one person is quietly absorbing the difference because they offered to settle the card and collect cash back from everyone else.

Worked examples

$85 dinner, 18% tip, split between two
Tip $15.30, total $100.30, and $50.15 each before rounding.
$240 bill that includes $21.82 of tax, tipping 20% on the subtotal, six people
Tip $43.64 rather than $48.00, total $283.64, and $47.27 each. The effective tip on the full bill is 18.18%.
$60 counter service order, no tip, split three ways
Tip $0.00, total $60.00, and $20.00 each, which is exactly what counter service should cost.

When people use it

Settling a restaurant bill for a group without doing arithmetic at the table
Deciding whether to tip on the subtotal or the tax inclusive total on a large bill
Checking a card terminal's suggested tip before accepting it
Working out what everyone owes when one person pays and collects transfers afterwards
Budgeting a hospitality allowance for a work trip to a tipping country

Tips

Check the bill for an existing service charge before adding anything. In the UK and much of Europe a 12.5% charge is often already there.
Tip on the subtotal, not the tax. Tax is government revenue and no part of it reaches the person who served you.
Card terminal suggestions are usually calculated on the post-tax total, which quietly inflates the rate by whatever your local tax is.
In Australia and New Zealand staff are on full award wages, so tipping is optional and five to ten per cent for good service is generous.
For takeaway and counter service, a tip is not expected in most countries. The prompt on the screen is a default, not an obligation.
If you round each share up to a whole dollar in a large group, check the extra you are creating. Six people rounding can add several dollars of unintended gratuity.
Tip in cash where you can. Card tips can be pooled, delayed to the next pay run, or reduced by processing fees.

What it assumes, and where it stops being accurate

The bill is split evenly. It does not apportion by what each person ordered, which matters when one person had three courses and another had soup.
Any service charge already on the bill is treated as part of the bill amount, not as a tip, so check the check before adding more.
It assumes tips are kept or pooled in full. Some venues deduct card processing fees or administration charges from pooled tips.
It is not a payroll tool. It does not model tip credits, tip pooling rules, or the tax treatment of declared tips in any country.
Currency is shown with a dollar sign. The arithmetic is identical in any currency, but the tipping norms in the guidance are not.
Rounding up is calculated to the next whole dollar per person, which is the common convention and not a rule.

Terms used on this page

Gratuity: A voluntary payment to service staff above the price of the goods, expressed as a percentage of the bill.
Service charge: A percentage added to the bill by the venue itself, usually discretionary, which functions as a tip already applied.
Tip pool: An arrangement where tips are collected and shared across a team rather than kept by the individual who received them.
Tip base: The amount the tip percentage is applied to, either the pre-tax subtotal or the full bill.
Tip credit: A United States payroll rule allowing employers to count tips towards meeting the minimum wage obligation.

Questions people ask

What is a standard tip percentage?: In the United States, fifteen to twenty per cent is standard for table service, with twenty now the common default on card terminals and twenty five reserved for exceptional service. In Australia and New Zealand tipping is optional because staff receive full award wages. In the United Kingdom and much of Europe a service charge of around twelve and a half per cent is often already included.
Should I tip on the pre-tax or post-tax amount?: Etiquette guidance generally says the pre-tax subtotal, because sales tax and GST are government revenue and no part of them reaches the person serving you. Point of sale systems almost always suggest tips on the post-tax total because it is simpler and produces a bigger number. On a large bill the difference is real money, so enter the tax figure here if you want the subtotal used.
Do I still tip when a service charge is on the bill?: Usually not. A discretionary service charge of ten to fifteen per cent is already a gratuity, and adding a further tip on top of it means paying twice. If the service was genuinely outstanding, a small additional cash amount is a reasonable gesture. If the service was poor, you can ask for a discretionary charge to be removed in most jurisdictions.
How do I split a bill fairly when people ordered very differently?: Split the tip and any shared items evenly, then add each person's own dishes. An even split of everything is fast and usually fine among friends, but it silently subsidises the biggest orders. If one person had a bottle of wine and two courses while another had a single plate, itemise first and apply the same percentage tip to each subtotal.
Does tipping a percentage make sense on very expensive meals?: It is the convention, but the logic strains at the top end because the effort of carrying a two hundred dollar bottle is identical to carrying a thirty dollar one. Many people apply the full percentage to food and a reduced rate to expensive wine. There is no rule, and staff at high end venues generally expect the standard percentage on the whole bill.
Do tips go to the person who served me?: Not always. Many venues operate a pool that is shared with kitchen staff, bar staff and runners, which is why an excellent server can end a shift with a fraction of what was left for them. Card tips can also be reduced by processing fees or paid out in a later pay run. Cash left on the table is the most direct route.

Use this with

Tip Calculator answers one part of the question. These pick up where it stops: Tip Pool and Tip Split Calculator, Rent Split Calculator, GST Calculator, Discount Calculator and Percentage Calculator.

Where these figures come from

Works anywhereLast reviewed 2026-09·How we build and check calculators

This calculation is jurisdiction-neutral arithmetic. No country-specific rules are applied.

GOV.UK guidance on tips at work. How tips and service charges are treated in the UK
US Department of Labor, Fair Labor Standards Act. Wage rules covering tipped employees
Fair Work Ombudsman. Australian award wages, which is why tipping is optional there

Tip Calculator produces an estimate for general information. It is not financial, tax, medical, legal or engineering advice. read the full disclaimer. Spotted a wrong number? Report it and it gets fixed. The form picks up this calculator and the inputs you used.