Tip Calculator

A tip calculator does two jobs: apply a percentage to a bill, and divide the result cleanly among a group. The arithmetic is trivial; getting it right at the table under time pressure, with an uneven split, is where mistakes happen.

One decision affects the total more than people realise: whether to tip on the pre-tax or post-tax amount. Sales tax is not part of the service being tipped, so tipping on the pre-tax subtotal is the more defensible basis. In high-tax jurisdictions the difference is real, though modest on most bills. Either convention is common; the calculator lets you apply the percentage to whichever figure you enter.

For groups, the honest split depends on what people ordered. An even division is simplest and usually fine when orders are comparable, but it quietly overcharges anyone who ate lightly — a real issue when one person had a salad and another had a steak and three drinks. Splitting by individual subtotal, then applying the same tip percentage to each, distributes both the bill and the tip proportionally.

Percentages differ by service type and by country, and this matters most when travelling. Tipping norms in the US are unusually high by international standards, and in some countries an added tip is unnecessary or actively unusual because service charges are already included in the listed price. Check whether a service charge appears on the bill before adding a tip on top — paying both is a common and avoidable error. Everything runs in your browser — no login, no upload, and no figure you enter leaves the page.