Tip Calculator & Bill Splitter
Each person pays
$25.19
4 people splitting $100.77
- Bill$85.40
- Tip$15.37
- Total$100.77
How this was worked out
- Tip at 18%$85.40 × 18 ÷ 100 = $15.37
- Bill plus tip$85.40 + $15.37 = $100.77
- Divided 4 ways$100.77 ÷ 4 = $25.19
The tip is worked out on the number you type. In the US the custom is to tip on the pre-tax subtotal, so if you enter a total with 8% sales tax already in it, a 20% tip is nearer 21.6% of the food. Check the bill for a service charge before adding to it — many restaurants add one automatically for larger tables. Rounding up applies to the total, so the amount on the card machine is whole and the tip absorbs the difference; a total that is already whole is left alone. The split is even rather than itemised, a fractional number of people is rounded to the nearest whole, and every figure is held to two decimal places — so a total that will not divide evenly leaves a fraction for somebody at the table to absorb.
The worked examples below are in US dollars. The tool itself works in whichever currency you pick above, and never converts between them — what you type is what it does the arithmetic on.
The tip, the total, and everyone’s share
Two problems arrive together at the end of a meal: how much to tip, and how to divide the result between people who have all had a drink. This calculator does both — it is a tip calculator and a bill splitter in one, giving the tip at any percentage, the total, the amount each person owes, and an option to round the total up to a whole amount so the number on the card machine is clean.
Preset buttons cover the common rates, and the effective tip percentage is shown alongside, which is the figure that tells you what you actually left after rounding.
A worked example: an $85.40 bill for four
An $85.40 bill at 18% split four ways: the tip is $15.37, the total is $100.77, and each person pays $25.19.
Turn on rounding and the total goes to $101.00. The extra 23 cents comes out of the tip, which becomes $15.60 — an effective 18.3% — and each person now pays $25.25. Rounding is applied to the total rather than to the tip on purpose: rounding the tip to a whole number instead leaves an awkward total on the card machine, which is the opposite of what rounding was for.
A $62.00 bill at 20% between two people is $74.40, or $37.20 each. Rounded up it is $75.00, a $13.00 tip at an effective 21.0%, and $37.50 each. The smaller the bill, the more a round-up moves the percentage.
The arithmetic
Tip = bill × percentage ÷ 100. Total = bill + tip, or the next whole amount above it when rounding is on. Per person = total ÷ number of people. Effective tip = (total − bill) ÷ bill × 100.
The per-person figure is the total divided evenly, so it may end in a fraction of a cent that cannot actually be paid. In practice someone covers the rounding — the tool shows the true division rather than pretending the split is exact.
Tipping is a local convention, not a rule
The percentage this calculator applies is the one you type, because there is no universal correct figure and any tool that implies otherwise is guessing on your behalf. What follows is what is customary, not what is owed.
| Where | Customary at table service | What to check first |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 18-20% at a sit-down restaurant | Tipped staff may be paid a sub-minimum cash wage that assumes it |
| The UK and much of Europe | 10-12% is generous | Service is often already a line on the bill — check before adding a second one |
| Japan, China and South Korea | Not customary at all | A tip can cause confusion or offence rather than pleasure |
Where a service charge appears on the bill, the tip percentage should be applied to the pre-service-charge amount, if at all.
Before you settle up
Should I tip on the pre-tax or post-tax amount?
Etiquette guides generally say pre-tax; most people in practice tip on the total because it is what is printed largest. On a $85 bill the difference is around a dollar. Enter whichever base you have decided on as the bill amount.
How do we split a bill when people ate very differently?
An even split is fastest and is what this tool does. When the spread is wide, the fairer method is for each person to cover their own items and then add the same tip percentage to their own subtotal — the tip is a percentage, so it scales correctly without anyone recalculating it.
Is 15% still acceptable in the US?
It has drifted. Fifteen per cent was standard for decades and now reads as the low end of acceptable in most US cities, with 18-20% the common range for table service. Counter service, delivery and bars follow different conventions again.
Last reviewed 27 August 2026