Calculate a restaurant tip from the check

Use the Restaurant Tip Calculator when you want to see the tip, sales tax, service charge, total check, and per-person amount in one place. Enter the restaurant subtotal, choose a tip percentage, and add the number of people if the table is splitting the bill.

The default percentage buttons make it easy to compare common choices without doing mental percentage math. You can also type any custom percentage.

Common U.S. restaurant tipping range

For sit-down restaurant service in the United States, the Emily Post Institute lists 15% to 20% of the pre-tax bill as a standard guideline. A guideline is not the same as a mandatory fee: the voluntary amount is still chosen by the customer unless the restaurant has added a required charge.

The calculator includes several nearby percentages so you can compare them rather than treating one number as universally correct.

Check the receipt before adding another tip

Restaurants sometimes add automatic gratuity, especially for larger groups, or include another mandatory service charge. Look for wording such as:

automatic gratuity
large-party gratuity
service charge
hospitality charge

A compulsory charge and a voluntary tip are not the same thing. The IRS treats mandatory service charges differently from tips that customers freely determine.

If a required charge is already on the check, enter it in the Service charge field. That keeps the existing fee visible and prevents it from being mistaken for the voluntary tip you are considering.

Tip before or after tax?

This calculator supports both methods. Choose Pre-tax subtotal if you want the percentage calculated from the amount before sales tax. Choose After-tax amount if you want the tax included in the tip base.

For U.S. restaurant guidance, Emily Post describes its percentage range in terms of the pre-tax bill. Some diners still choose to calculate from the final taxed amount. The tool shows the math either way.

Example

Suppose dinner has a $90 pre-tax subtotal and you choose a 20% pre-tax tip. The voluntary tip is $18. If the receipt also contains sales tax, the calculator adds that tax separately. If there is an automatic gratuity or other required service charge, that amount is added in its own field.

The final result therefore makes each component visible instead of collapsing everything into one unexplained total.

Splitting a restaurant check

Set the number of people when the table wants an equal split. The calculator divides the complete final bill in whole cents, including any unavoidable remainder cent, so the individual shares reconcile exactly with the check.

For a group where different diners spent very different amounts, switch to the Uneven Split Bill Calculator. That tool lets you enter personal subtotals and shared dishes and then distribute tax, fees, and tip according to actual spending.

Service quality and custom percentages

Percentage presets are shortcuts, not rules. If you want a different amount, use the custom percentage field. The calculator is designed to show the financial result of the percentage you choose rather than decide what service deserves.