Splitting a bill should take ten seconds, but it turns into mental gymnastics at exactly the moment everyone is full, slightly tired, and doing arithmetic in their head. Here is the whole thing, minus the awkwardness.
Short answer: Tip 15–20% for US table service (18% is a safe default), then divide the total including tip by the number of people. The Tip Calculator does the percentage and the per-person split instantly.
How much to tip
In the United States, tipping norms depend on the service:
| Situation | Typical tip |
|---|---|
| Sit-down restaurant | 15–20% (18% common) |
| Counter / coffee | 0–15%, optional |
| Food delivery | 15–20%, often a minimum $3–5 |
| Bartender | ~$1–2 per drink, or 15–20% |
| Large group | Often 18–20% auto-added — check first |
The big one to watch is auto-gratuity: parties of six or more frequently have a service charge already on the bill. Tipping again on top is generous but not required, so read before you add.
Pre-tax or post-tax?
This is the eternal debate. The tip rewards the service, which is the pre-tax cost of the food — so tipping on the subtotal is defensible. But sales tax is usually a single-digit percentage, so on a $60 dinner the difference between tipping on $60 and on $65 is about a dollar. Pick a rule and stop overthinking it; the Tip Calculator lets you enter whichever figure you want as the base.
Splitting the total
There are two fair ways to divide a bill:
- Evenly. Everyone pays the same share of the grand total. Simplest, and fine when orders were similar. Enter the number of people in the Tip Calculator and it shows the per-person amount.
- By item. Everyone covers what they ordered, then splits tax and tip proportionally. Fairer when one person had a steak and another had a salad.
The rounding trap: if three people split $100, the calculator shows $33.33 each, but three times $33.33 is $99.99. Someone covers the extra cent. It doesn’t matter for friends; for anything precise, use the Percentage Calculator to work out exact proportional shares.
Tipping is a US thing (mostly)
The single most useful travel fact: the American tipping model is not universal. Assuming it can cause confusion — or offense.
- Japan and South Korea: no tipping. Leaving cash can be genuinely awkward, and staff may chase you down to return it.
- Much of Europe: service is often included (“servizio” / “service compris”). Rounding up or leaving 5–10% is a courtesy, not an obligation.
- UK: a discretionary 10–12.5% for good table service, often already added as a service charge for groups.
- Australia: lower still — around 10% is warmly received for great service, but it’s never expected.
When in doubt, check the bill for a service charge and ask a local. Over-tipping abroad isn’t polite so much as a sign you didn’t read the receipt.
The fast workflow
- Enter the bill and tap a tip percentage in the Tip Calculator.
- Add the number of people to see the per-person amount.
- Can’t agree who covers the rounding — or the whole tip? Let the Random Picker decide, fairly and with zero arguments.
Get this down and you become the person who settles the bill before anyone else has found the calculator app.