Tip Calculator
Quickly calculate tip amount, total bill, and per-person split. Enter your bill, choose a tip percentage, and split evenly among your group.
Quick answer: An $85 bill with an 18% tip adds $15.30 for a total of $100.30 — split two ways, that's $50.15 per person. In the US, 15% is adequate, 18% is good, and 20%+ signals great service. Enter your bill below to see the tip, total, and per-person split instantly.
Inputs
Quick presetsSubtotal before tax — traditional etiquette standard.
15% adequate, 18% good, 20%+ great service in the US.
Even split — works best when everyone ordered similarly.
Pin a scenario, then change any input to see both side-by-side with the difference.
Results
- Bill
- $8585%
- Tip (18%)
- $1515%
Built on primary-source data (Federal Reserve SCF 2025, US Census ACS, BLS) · Last updated 2026-05-25 · Methodology & sources
About the tip calculator
Tipping in the United States is less a suggestion than a structural part of how service workers are paid. Under federal law, tipped employees can be paid a sub-minimum "tip credit" wage as low as $2.13 per hour, with tips expected to bring total compensation up to (and ideally well above) the standard minimum wage. That means your tip isn't a bonus on top of a fair wage — it often is the wage. Our tip calculator does the math instantly: enter the bill, pick a percentage, and it computes the tip, the total, and a per-person split for group dining.
Standard US restaurant norms are 15% for adequate service, 18% for good service, and 20% or more for great service. At bars, $1–$2 per drink is typical (or 15–20% on a tab). For taxis and rideshare, 10–15% is common; for food delivery, 15–20% plus extra in bad weather; for hotel housekeeping, a few dollars per night left on the pillow. One long-running debate: do you tip on the pre-tax subtotal or the post-tax total? Etiquette experts say pre-tax, but many diners just tip on the final number — the difference on a $100 bill in a 9% sales-tax state is about $1.60, so it rarely matters enough to argue about.
International norms differ sharply. In Japan, tipping can be considered rude — good service is the baseline expectation. In most of continental Europe, a service charge ("service compris") is already baked into the bill; a small round-up or 5–10% for exceptional service is the norm, not 20%. Australia and New Zealand have strong minimum wages and tipping is optional. If you're a US traveler, learning local norms beats reflexively tipping 20%. This calculator handles any percentage and any group size, so it works wherever you are.
How to use this calculator
Three inputs. Bill amount is the subtotal — traditionally the pre-tax figure, though in practice many diners use the post-tax total and the difference is small. Tip percentage defaults to 18% (the US middle-ground); bump it to 20% for good service, 22–25% for exceptional service, or drop to 15% for adequate but not notable service.
Number of people splits the total evenly across the group — handy when everyone ordered roughly the same thing. For wildly uneven orders (one person got a steak, another had a salad), an even split isn't fair; ask for separate checks or calculate each person's subtotal plus a flat tip percentage individually. Output shows the tip amount, the final bill including tip, per-person total, and per-person tip-only. Use the tip-only line if the group wants to split the pre-tax bill by item but still share the tip equally.
Worked examples
Four friends at a $180 dinner
Four coworkers grab dinner at a neighborhood bistro. The pre-tax subtotal is $180. Service was friendly and attentive, so they agree on 20%. Entering $180 bill, 20% tip, 4 people, the calculator returns a $36 tip, $216 total bill, $54 per person, and $9 per-person tip. They Venmo the organizer $54 each. If they'd tipped on the post-tax $196 total (at ~9% sales tax), the tip would be $39.20 — a $3.20 difference across four people. Pre-tax is the etiquette standard; either works.
Solo traveler eating in Tokyo
A US visitor is in Tokyo and finishes an ¥8,000 dinner. Reflexively calculating 20%, they almost leave ¥1,600 on the table. In Japan, tipping is not customary and can even be perceived as awkward — the service charge, if any, is already included and outstanding service is considered the professional standard. The US visitor learns the norm, pays exactly ¥8,000, and thanks the staff verbally instead. The calculator's 0% tip option reflects this: for international meals, set tip to 0% or whatever the local norm dictates.
Birthday dinner for eight with auto-gratuity
A group of eight celebrates a friend's birthday at a steakhouse. The pre-tax subtotal is $620, and the menu notes that parties of six or more have an 18% service charge added automatically — that's $111.60 already built in. The server was attentive but not extraordinary, so the table decides not to tip on top. Entering $620 bill, 18% tip, 8 people into the calculator shows $77.50 per person all-in. One diner wants to thank the server for splitting the check eight ways and adds an extra $20 in cash — a nice gesture that doesn't obligate anyone else. The lesson: always check the bill for auto-gratuity before reflexively adding 20%, or you'll end up tipping closer to 38%.
Frequently asked questions
How much should I tip at a US restaurant?
15% for adequate service, 18% as a middle-ground default, 20%+ for good-to-great service, and 25% for truly exceptional experiences. For poor service, 10% with a word to the manager is better than zero, which can look like you forgot. Tipping below 15% at a sit-down restaurant is an active signal of dissatisfaction.
Pre-tax or post-tax — which is 'correct'?
Etiquette experts (and most waitstaff) say pre-tax is the traditional standard, since sales tax isn't service. In practice, tipping on the post-tax total has become common and isn't wrong — the difference on a $100 bill in a 9% sales-tax state is about $1.60. Pick a convention and stick with it.
Do I tip on takeout or delivery?
Takeout: 10–15% is appreciated but optional, especially for large or complex orders. Delivery: 15–20% is standard, with a $5 minimum even on small orders, and extra ($2–$5) in bad weather, long distances, or late-night drops. The delivery fee usually goes to the platform, not the driver.
What about bars and coffee shops?
At bars, $1–$2 per drink is standard, or 15–20% on an opened tab. At full-service coffee shops with table service, tip like a restaurant. At counter-service coffee shops (grab-and-go), tipping is optional — the jar or screen prompt is appreciated but not obligatory. $1 on a specialty drink is a common default.
How do tip-credit wages work?
Federal law allows employers to pay tipped workers as little as $2.13 per hour if tips bring total hourly compensation to at least the federal minimum wage ($7.25). States like California, Washington, and Oregon have eliminated the tip credit and require full minimum wage before tips. In tip-credit states, your tip genuinely is the wage.
Is tipping different internationally?
Yes. Japan: no tipping, can be rude. Continental Europe: service charge often included, small round-up for great service. UK: 10–12.5% if service not included. Australia/NZ: optional, 10% for very good service. Canada: similar to US, 15–20%. When traveling, check local norms before defaulting to US-style 20%.
How do I split fairly when orders were uneven?
Two options. (1) Ask for separate checks — most restaurants will do this if requested at ordering time. (2) Each person totals their own items, adds their share of tax pro-rata, and tips their own percentage. An even split of a wildly uneven bill subsidizes heavy orderers and penalizes light orderers — awkward if repeated.
Should I tip on the service charge / auto-gratuity?
Large parties (usually 6+) often have an 18–20% auto-gratuity added. You don't need to tip additionally unless service was exceptional. For a 'service charge' on the bill, ask whether it goes to the staff — if it's a house fee, tip the server normally; if it's already a gratuity distribution, no additional tip is needed.
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Methodology & data sources
Calculations on this page use benchmarks from US federal statistical agencies. Percentile breakpoints are interpolated linearly between tabulated cells. Figures are in the dollars of each dataset's reference year unless noted. Numbers are educational estimates, not personalized financial advice.
Net worth figures come from the Federal Reserve SCF 2025 (2025 dollars). Age medians match the Fed's published tables; the age × income cells are computed from the public microdata, and cells with fewer than about 100 sampled families are noisy. Full methodology.