Tip & Bill Split Calculator

It depends almost entirely on the country, and getting it wrong in either direction is awkward. In the United States 15 to 20 per cent is expected in table-service restaurants because staff wages assume it. Across much of Europe, rounding up or 5 to 10 per cent is normal and service is often already included — check the bill for "service compris" or an equivalent line before adding anything. In Japan tipping is not customary and can cause confusion. When you genuinely do not know, ask a local or watch what the table next to you does.

Convention says on the pre-tax amount, custom mostly ignores the distinction, and the difference is small enough that nobody at the table will notice. This calculator applies the percentage to whatever total you type in, so if you want to be precise, enter the net figure. The larger question is whether a service charge is already on the bill: adding a 15 per cent tip to a bill that already carries a 12.5 per cent service charge is the expensive mistake here, and it happens constantly.

Equal splitting is fastest and it is fair when everybody ate and drank comparably. It stops being fair when one person had a set menu and wine and another had soup and tap water — at which point splitting by item and then sharing the tip and any service charge proportionally is the honest approach, and this calculator handles the second half. Agreeing the method before the food arrives rather than after the bill does is, in practice, the part that actually keeps the peace.