Tip Calculator
Twenty percent, split four ways, on the pre-tax amount — solved before the check gets awkward.
Tip, total and per-person split in one glance — with the 15/18/20/25% comparison, the pre-tax option done properly, round-up modes, and what the 2025 'no tax on tips' law means for the person you're tipping.
US conventions — norms differ sharply abroad.
20% is the standard — here's the whole scale
Table service
20% for good service is the modern American baseline — $17 on an $85 check. 15% signals adequate-with-reservations, 18% is respectably fine, 25% and up says exceptional. Below 15% at a sit-down restaurant reads as a statement; if service genuinely failed, most etiquette writers suggest speaking to a manager rather than zeroing the tip — in many states servers earn a $2.13/hour tipped minimum and the tip IS the wage.
The pre-tax question
Tradition tips on the food-and-drink subtotal, not the sales tax. The gap is small (about $1.80 on a $100 meal in a 9% city), so tipping on the total is common and generous rather than wrong. The Detailed level here backs tax out precisely if you want the classical answer.
The American tipping map, 2026
| Service | Convention |
|---|---|
| Restaurant server | 18–20% (25% exceptional) |
| Bartender | $1–2 per drink, or 20% of the tab |
| Food delivery | 15–20%, $3–5 minimum |
| Rideshare / taxi | 10–20% |
| Hair / beauty | 15–20% |
| Hotel housekeeping | $2–5 per night, cash, daily |
| Valet / bellhop | $2–5 per car or bag |
| Counter service / takeout | Optional |
The thread through the list: tip where someone performed personal service, in proportion to effort. The counter-screen 25% default for a bottled water is not on the map.
Your 20% goes further than it used to
The 2025 tax law created a federal income-tax deduction for qualified tips — up to $25,000 a year for workers in customarily-tipped occupations, effective 2025 through 2028, phasing out above $150,000 MAGI ($300,000 joint). Tips still count for Social Security and Medicare payroll tax (they build the server's future benefits), and they must still be reported — but for a typical full-time server the federal income tax on tips drops to zero. Practical upshot for the tipper: nothing changes at the table, but cash and card tips now land harder in the earner's pocket, and the "cash so they can hide it" folklore is officially obsolete — reported tips are now BOTH legal and largely untaxed.
Auto-gratuity, double-tips and the guilt screen
Auto-gratuity: parties of 6+ often get 18–20% added automatically — scan the bill before tipping a second time on top. The service-charge ambiguity: a "service charge" may not go to your server at all; ask, and tip separately if it doesn't. Double-dipping delivery apps: the "service fee" is not the driver's tip — the tip line is. The flip-screen: counter-service defaults crept from 15/18/20 to 20/25/30; pressing custom (or no tip) on a grab-and-go item is fine. Zeroing a table-service tip punishes a worker earning $2.13/hour in many states for what is often the kitchen's or the system's failure — talk to the manager instead.
❓ Frequently asked Frequently asked questions
How much should I tip?
20% for good table service ($17 on $85). 15% adequate, 18% good, 25% exceptional. Counter service: optional.
Pre-tax or post-tax?
Etiquette says pre-tax; the difference is about $2 on a $100 meal, so either is fine.
How do I split with a tip?
$120 at 18% = $141.60 → $35.40 each for four. Check for auto-gratuity on big parties first.
What did 'no tax on tips' change?
Tipped workers deduct up to $25,000/yr of tips from federal income tax (2025–2028). Payroll tax still applies.
Must I tip at the counter screen?
No — screen defaults are marketing. The obligation covers table service, delivery and personal care.
Where these figures come from
Conventions from the standard American etiquette references; tax rules from the IRS.
- Tip deduction — IRS — deductions for tips and overtime (2025 law).
- Tipped minimum wage — US Department of Labor — tipped employees.
- Etiquette baselines — Emily Post Institute tipping guides.
Last checked: July 2026. Conventions, not laws — regional and venue norms vary.
Select the question that matches where you are right now.
Your result is the check solved: tip, total, and everyone's share — no phone-around-the-table arithmetic.
Copy the breakdown to the group chat before anyone reaches for a calculator app — the per-person line ends the discussion.
A moral verdict. The percentages are conventions; the calculator just makes whichever one you choose exact.
Exact to the cent, with real pre-tax and rounding logic. All calculations run in your browser.
What actually moves the number.
Each 1% is a dollar per $100 of bill — the 18-vs-20 dithering on a $60 check is $1.20.
Pre-tax vs post-tax moves the tip by the tax rate — under $2 on typical checks.
The single biggest real-money factor: an 18% service charge already on the bill means your extra 20% doubles the tip to 38%. One glance at the itemization saves more than any rate decision.
Group-dinner peace, engineered.
One card takes the check; everyone reimburses the per-person figure from this page. Four cards at the register is where errors live.
Rounding the total to a clean number costs cents and reads as graceful.
Split proportionally only when amounts genuinely diverge — the $6 salad-vs-steak debate usually costs more goodwill than money.
The dinner is one line in the month.