Tip & Bill Split Calculator
Work out the tip on any bill and split the total evenly across your group - instantly.
Built and maintained by Jefferson Almeida · Last updated
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How to calculate a tip without doing long division
The reliable mental shortcut: move the decimal one place left to get 10%, then build from there.
On a $64 bill, 10% is $6.40. Half of that is $3.20, so 15% is $9.60. Double the 10% and 20% is $12.80. Almost every tip you'll ever calculate is some combination of those three moves.
Pre-tax or post-tax? Etiquette says tip on the pre-tax subtotal. In practice most people tip on the total because it's easier, and on a $64 bill with 8% sales tax the difference between the two at 20% is about a dollar. Rates vary by state - the sales tax calculator has the 2026 figures. Not worth the arithmetic unless the bill is large.
Splitting a bill when everyone ordered differently
Even splits are simple. Uneven splits are where groups get awkward, so here's the fair method:
- Total each person's actual items
- Calculate what fraction of the subtotal each person represents
- Apply that same fraction to the tax and the tip
Someone whose meal was 30% of the food bill pays 30% of the tax and 30% of the tip. This is meaningfully fairer than splitting tax and tip evenly - the person who ordered a salad and water shouldn't subsidize the table's wine.
Standard tipping rates in the US
| Service | Customary range |
|---|---|
| Sit-down restaurant | 18–20% |
| Bar (per drink) | $1–2, or 15–20% of the tab |
| Food delivery | 15–20%, minimum $5 |
| Taxi / rideshare | 10–15% |
| Hair salon / barber | 15–20% |
| Hotel housekeeping | $2–5 per night |
| Movers | $20–40 per mover for a full day |
These are US conventions and they travel badly - tipping is minimal or absent across much of Europe and Asia, and folded into the bill in others. If you are working out a tip in another currency, the currency converter will get you the amount first.
The 2026 tip tax deduction
The OBBBA created a federal deduction for tip income covering tax years 2025 through 2028, worth up to $25,000 per return and phasing out above $150,000 of modified AGI ($300,000 joint). Two separate things have to be true: your occupation has to appear on Treasury's published list, and the payment itself has to have been genuinely voluntary - which is why the automatic 18% added to a large party is a service charge rather than a tip, and does not qualify.
It reduces federal income tax only. Tips stay subject to Social Security and Medicare tax and stay reportable either way, so the paycheck calculator is the better guide to what actually lands in your account.
Does your own job qualify? Our guide to the 71 occupations on the no-tax-on-tips list has the full searchable table with the regulation's own definitions, the test that separates a tip from a service charge, and the traps that cost people the deduction - including the carve-out for managers and supervisors paid out of a tip pool, and why unreported cash tips cannot be deducted at all.
FAQ
Should I tip on the pre-tax or post-tax amount?
Tipping on the pre-tax subtotal is the traditional standard, though many people simply tip on the total for simplicity - either is broadly accepted.
How do I split a bill unevenly?
This calculator splits evenly across the group. For itemized splitting where everyone pays for exactly what they ordered, you'll want to total each person's items separately, then add their share of tax and tip proportionally.
Do I have to report cash tips?
Yes. All tips are taxable income and must be reported to your employer if they total $20 or more in a month.
Is tipping expected on takeout?
Not obligatory, but 10% is a common courtesy for staff who packed and handled the order.
Sources: One Big Beautiful Bill Act; IRC §224 and Treas. Reg. §1.224-1; 2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (Box 12 code TP, Box 14b).
💡 Did you know?
Tipping in some form goes back centuries - English "vails," small payments to a host's servants, were common by the 1600s. You may have heard that "tip" stands for "To Insure Promptitude" - it doesn't; that's a popular but false backronym invented long after the word was already in use. The practice took a darker turn in the U.S. after the Civil War, when many employers used tips to justify paying newly freed Black workers little or no wage at all - a history economic historians have documented in the years since.