How to calculate a tip and tip percentage

Calculate a 15%, 18% or 20% tip

For a US$86 bill, a 15% tip is 86 × 15 ÷ 100 = US$12.90, for a total of US$98.90. At 18%, the tip is US$15.48 and the total is US$101.48. At 20%, the tip is US$17.20 and the total is US$103.20. These examples assume US$86 is the full amount before the tip, with no further charges to add.

Work out common tips without a calculator

Find 10% by dividing the bill by ten. For US$86, that is US$8.60. Double it for a 20% tip: US$17.20. For 15%, add 10% and half of 10%: US$8.60 + US$4.30 = US$12.90. For 25%, divide the bill by four: US$21.50.

Find the tip percentage from a dollar amount

Tip percentage = tip amount ÷ bill amount × 100. A US$12 tip on a US$80 bill is 12 ÷ 80 × 100 = 15%. If you only know the final payment, subtract the bill amount first: a US$92 payment on a US$80 bill leaves a US$12 tip. Use the same bill amount as your tip basis, and account for any separate tax or charges before subtracting. A percentage cannot be calculated from a zero-dollar bill.

Calculate tax and tip separately

Suppose the receipt shows a US$80 subtotal and US$6.40 tax. An 18% tip on the subtotal is US$14.40, so the payment is 80 + 6.40 + 14.40 = US$100.80. If you instead choose to tip on the US$86.40 amount including tax, 18% rounds to US$15.55, for a payment of US$101.95. These illustrate different calculation bases, not local tipping recommendations. The online calculator has one bill field: when entering a subtotal without tax, add the tax separately to its result.

Check the receipt before adding another tip

Look for an existing gratuity or service charge before choosing what to add. If the receipt is unclear about a charge, ask the restaurant what it covers. The calculator cannot read the receipt or decide what is customary. Enter only the amount you intend to use as the basis for an additional tip, and count each charge once in the final payment.

Round the tip once, then split the total

Round the tip to the nearest cent before adding it to the bill. For example, 15% of US$23.50 is US$3.525, rounded to US$3.53, giving US$27.03 in total. When sharing the US$101.48 example among three people, two pay US$33.83 and one pays US$33.82. Tipnook distributes the leftover cents so every payment adds up to the final total.

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• How to split a restaurant bill with tip ↗

  Split a restaurant bill with tip among 2, 3, 4 or 5 people. See exact payments, handle leftover cents, and share the final breakdown.