The basic formula
Tip = bill × percentage / 100. Total = bill + tip. Each person pays total / number of people. For a bill of 87.35 with an 18 percent tip shared by four people: the tip is 87.35 × 0.18 = 15.72, the total is 103.07 and each person pays 25.77, with one person paying a cent less so the total comes out exactly.
A shortcut is to multiply by 1 plus the percentage in decimal form: 1.15 for 15 percent, 1.2 for 20 percent. 80 × 1.15 = 92 gives the total in one step. The calculator shows the tip and the total for 10, 15, 18, 20 and 25 percent side by side, so you can compare before you decide.
| Bill | 10% | 15% | 18% | 20% | 25% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 2 | 3 | 3.60 | 4 | 5 |
| 50 | 5 | 7.50 | 9 | 10 | 12.50 |
| 80 | 8 | 12 | 14.40 | 16 | 20 |
| 120 | 12 | 18 | 21.60 | 24 | 30 |
| 250 | 25 | 37.50 | 45 | 50 | 62.50 |
Try it here: Tip Calculator
Open the full tool pageTip math in your head
10 percent is the easiest: move the decimal point one place to the left. 10 percent of 64.50 is 6.45. Everything else can be built from it:
- 5 percent: half of 10 percent. Of 64.50 that is about 3.23.
- 15 percent: 10 percent plus half of it. 6.45 + 3.23 = 9.68.
- 20 percent: double 10 percent. 6.45 × 2 = 12.90.
- 25 percent: a quarter of the bill. 64.50 / 4 = 16.13.
- 18 percent: 20 percent minus 2 percent (a fifth of 10 percent). 12.90 - 1.29 = 11.61.
Tipping customs differ by country
How much to tip, and whether to tip at all, depends a lot on where you are. In the United States and Canada, 15 to 20 percent in restaurants is common and service staff often depend on it. In many European countries a service charge is already included in the price or on the bill, and people round up or leave around 5 to 10 percent for good service. In Japan tipping is generally not expected and can even cause confusion.
Before adding a tip, read the bill. A line such as service charge, servizio, service compris or gratuity means a tip is already included, and adding another percentage pays it twice. Many people also tip on the amount before tax; to do that with the calculator, enter the amount before tax and add the tax to the total afterwards. These customs change over time, so when travelling, check a current local source.
Splitting evenly without losing cents
A total does not always divide evenly. 100 split three ways is 33.333..., which cannot be paid. If everyone pays 33.33, one cent is missing; if everyone pays 33.34, there are two cents too many. The fair way is to give the leftover cents to some people: one pays 33.34 and two pay 33.33, so the sum is exactly 100.
The calculator works this way. It calculates in hundredths, shares out the leftover cents and tells you how many people pay the slightly higher amount, so the parts always add up to the total. Amounts have no currency symbol, so it works for any currency.
Rounding up to whole amounts
Paying in cash, or sending round numbers by phone, is easier with whole amounts. There are two ways to round. Rounding the total up means 103.07 becomes 104 and then gets split. Rounding each person up means every share is rounded up to the next whole number: four shares of 25.77 become four times 26, also 104 in this case. With more people, rounding each share usually adds a little more than rounding the total.
In both cases the extra money goes to the tip. The calculator shows the real tip percentage after rounding, for example 19.06 percent instead of 18, so you know exactly what you are leaving.
Uneven splits with shares
When people did not order the same, an even split feels unfair. Shares solve this without itemizing every dish: give each person a weight. Most people get 1 share, a couple paying together gets 2, a child or someone who only had a drink gets 0.5. The total with tip is divided in proportion to the shares.
Example: a bill of 100 with a 10 percent tip and shares of 1, 1 and 2. The total is 110, and the sum of shares is 4, so one share is 27.50. The first two people pay 27.50 each and the third pays 55. Each person also sees how much of their amount is tip: 2.50, 2.50 and 5. Shares work just as well for costs without a tip, such as a holiday house, fuel or a group present; set the tip to 0.