Tip Calculator
Pick a service, enter your bill, and get the tip - instantly. Split it, convert it to your currency, and see the etiquette behind the number.
By Dean Last reviewed July 21, 2026
The post-tax total you're paying. On receipts with separate cash and card totals, enter the one that matches how you're paying.
Sales tax & tip-base options Enter a rate to activate
Pick a location above to auto-fill, or type the exact rate from your bill.
Pre-tax tips on the food/drinks only - the technically correct way, since sales tax is a government charge, not a service. Post-tax tips on the full bill total - this is what most card terminals and tip calculators do by default, so it is what your server likely expects. Either is acceptable; the difference is small.
The tip basis only changes the result when a sales tax rate is entered above.
Payment & coupons Optional
Surcharges apply to credit cards only - pay with cash, debit, or prepaid to avoid it. Cash-pricing receipts ("cash discounts") need no modifier here.
e.g. 10% senior, student, or military discount. Your tip will be on the pre-discount menu price - the server served the full meal.
Enter a bill total to see your tip and total.
Restaurant (sit-down) - tipping tips
Guidance
- 15–20% is the standard range; 18% is typical for good service and 20% for great service.
- 10% or less signals that something was wrong with the service.
- Tip on the pre-tax subtotal, not the post-tax total.
- Some tourist-heavy restaurants (parts of Miami Beach, NYC, and Las Vegas) auto-add 18–20% to every bill regardless of party size - scan the check before tipping on top.
- If you are using a coupon, gift card, or discount, tip on the full pre-discount subtotal - the server did the same work either way. The calculator can handle this for you: enter the coupon amount and it recovers the pre-discount price automatically.
- Many restaurants add an automatic gratuity (auto-grat) of 18% for parties of 6 or more - check your bill before adding more.
- If the bill includes a credit-card surcharge, keep your tip on the food subtotal - the surcharge is a processing fee to the house, not service. The calculator strips it for you when you select "Card." See the cash-vs-card-pricing guide.
- Credit-card surcharges don't apply to debit or prepaid cards - pay with one of those (or cash) to avoid the fee. See the cash-vs-card-pricing guide.
Exceptions
- Counter service (not including diner counter service) / fast casual: no tip expected, though a tip jar may be present.
- Buffets with table drink service: 10% for the drink service.
Tax
Tip on the pre-tax subtotal. Sales tax is a government charge, not a service you are tipping on.
How to use this calculator
Each category loads its own standard tipping range and suggested percentages, so you start from the right baseline.
Enter the post-tax total exactly as printed - you don't need to know the pre-tax subtotal. Open Sales tax & tip-base options and pick your state and city; the calculator back-computes the pre-tax base for you.
Poor / OK / Good / Great map to the consensus range for that service; enter a custom percentage if you prefer.
Split the total across a group, or use round-up for clean numbers - nearest $1 (default, better for splits) or nearest $5 (coarser, good for large single-payer bills).
Prefer to tip on the post-tax total instead, or skip the location lookup? The Sales tax & tip-base options section lets you switch to post-tax mode or enter a custom tax rate directly. Pre-tax is the precise method; post-tax is acceptable and common. If you're in a special-tax zone that isn't in the state list - an airport concourse, a stadium, a reservation, a business improvement district - pick Custom rate… at the top of the State dropdown and type the exact rate from your bill.
Want to see the tip in your own currency? Use the currency switcher in the header - rates are baked in at build time and refreshed daily.
For the full category-by-category reference - including exceptions and when a tip is not expected - see the complete USA tipping guide. For the exact math behind these calculations (pre-tax derivation, rounding, splitting), see the methodology page.