Settle the cheque without the mental maths. Enter the pre-tax bill, the number of people, and your tax and tip percentages, and the calculator shows the grand total and exactly what each person owes — ideal for group dinners, shared takeaways, and travel.
How it works
The calculation runs in three steps:
- Tax = bill × tax% ÷ 100
- Tip = bill × tip% ÷ 100 (calculated on the pre-tax bill)
- Total = bill + tax + tip, and per person = total ÷ number of people
The party size is always treated as a whole number of at least one, and every figure is rounded to two decimal places.
Worked example
A pre-tax bill of 80, 8% tax, 18% tip, split 4 ways:
| Item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-tax bill | — | 80.00 |
| Tax (8%) | 80 × 0.08 | 6.40 |
| Tip (18%) | 80 × 0.18 | 14.40 |
| Grand total | — | 100.80 |
| Per person (÷4) | 100.80 ÷ 4 | 25.20 |
Tax and tip conventions by country
The tool is flexible because local norms differ considerably:
United States: Restaurant bills show the pre-tax subtotal. Tax rates vary by state and city, typically 6–10% on food and drink. Tipping is a cultural norm: 15–20% on the pre-tax bill is the usual range, with 20–25% common for excellent service. The calculator applies tax and tip both on the pre-tax bill by default, which matches US convention.
United Kingdom: Prices are usually displayed inclusive of 20% VAT, so there is no tax to add. A service charge of 12.5% is sometimes added automatically; if not, 10–15% is customary for good service but optional. If your bill already includes the service charge, set the tip to 0%.
Europe (France, Spain, Italy, Germany): Prices include VAT. Tipping is modest and optional — rounding up or leaving a few euros is typical; percentage tips are uncommon except in tourist areas. Set tax to 0% and tip to 5–10% at most.
Australia: Prices include 10% GST. Tipping is not expected but 10% for excellent service is appreciated in restaurants.
Japan: No tipping culture — leave the tip field at 0%. Tipping can be considered rude.
Tip on pre-tax vs post-tax bill
This tool calculates the tip on the pre-tax bill by default, which is the standard US convention. If you want to tip on the post-tax total (including the tax in the base for your tip calculation), you can simulate this by adding the tax percentage to the tip percentage before entering it. For a 20% tip on a tax-inclusive total at 8% tax, enter approximately 21.6% as the combined effective tip on the pre-tax base — or simply set tax to 0% and enter the post-tax total as your bill.
Handling the penny rounding problem
When the grand total does not divide evenly, each person’s share is rounded to the nearest cent (or penny). This means the individual amounts may not sum back to exactly the total. In practice the difference is at most a penny — one person picks it up. The tool notes this when it occurs so nobody is surprised.
Everything runs in your browser, so your numbers stay on your device.