Do you tip on the pre-tax or the post-tax amount?

Either is normal in the US, and the difference is small: on an $84.50 bill in a state charging 8% sales tax, tipping 20% on the subtotal is $16.90 and on the total is $18.25. Etiquette guides say the subtotal; most card terminals suggest the total, which is why the suggested figures on the screen look high.

Why does the split not come out to the total?

Because an exact division rarely lands on whole cents. Four people splitting $101.40 owe $25.35 each, which works; splitting $90.01 gives $22.50 each and a cent left over. Round each share up and the last person is not left covering the gap.

What is standard in the US?

Fifteen to twenty per cent for table service, with twenty the common default and more for exceptional service or a large group. Bartenders are usually tipped a dollar or two a drink rather than a percentage. Outside the US the convention differs enough that a US percentage can read as strange rather than generous.

Tip Calculator

With bill before tip 120 usd, tip 20 percent, splitting between 2, tip comes to $144.00 — total with tip. It is reached in 4 steps, the last of which is 120 + 24, and each one is printed on the page with its numbers filled in. The formula is the one published by Emily Post Institute, not an approximation fitted to it.

Tip and total from a bill, and what each person owes once it is split — including the rounding that makes the split come out even.

Formula and sources checked 16 August 2026 · How we check

Bill before tip 120, Tip 20, Splitting between 2

$144.00

Total with tip for the inputs in this link. Editing a field recomputes the calculator below; this figure holds the answer the page was loaded with.

It is written into the HTML rather than drawn by a script, so a search engine reading this page without running JavaScript still finds an answer.

Bill before tipusdThe pre-tax subtotal if you tip on that; the total if you tip on the total. Both are normal.TippercentSplitting betweenOne means no split — the per-person figures then equal the totals.

Total with tip

$144.00

Tip: 120 * 20 / 10024
Total with tip: 120 + 24144
Each person pays: 144 / 272
Of which tip, each: 24 / 212

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Worked example

An $84.50 bill at 20% is $16.90 of tip and $101.40 in total, or $50.70 each between two. Tipping on the pre-tax subtotal rather than the taxed total is the difference between $16.90 and $18.25 in a state charging 8% — $1.35 nobody argues about but everybody wonders about.

How to work it out yourself

1.Enter the bill. Whether that is the pre-tax subtotal or the taxed total is a choice, not a rule: tipping on the subtotal is the older convention and the smaller number.
2.Set the rate. Twenty per cent is the US table-service default; counter service and takeaway are not held to it.
3.Set how many people are splitting. The per-person figure is the exact division — round it up rather than down if you want the total to survive the arithmetic of four people each paying a rounded share.

The formula

Tip120 * 20 / 100
Total with tip120 + 24
Each person pays144 / 2
Of which tip, each24 / 2

Source: Emily Post Institute — general tipping guide

Questions people actually ask

Do you tip on the pre-tax or the post-tax amount?: Either is normal in the US, and the difference is small: on an $84.50 bill in a state charging 8% sales tax, tipping 20% on the subtotal is $16.90 and on the total is $18.25. Etiquette guides say the subtotal; most card terminals suggest the total, which is why the suggested figures on the screen look high.
Why does the split not come out to the total?: Because an exact division rarely lands on whole cents. Four people splitting $101.40 owe $25.35 each, which works; splitting $90.01 gives $22.50 each and a cent left over. Round each share up and the last person is not left covering the gap.
What is standard in the US?: Fifteen to twenty per cent for table service, with twenty the common default and more for exceptional service or a large group. Bartenders are usually tipped a dollar or two a drink rather than a percentage. Outside the US the convention differs enough that a US percentage can read as strange rather than generous.

Worked out already

The same calculator with the numbers filled in. Each one computes on the server, so the answer is in the page rather than waiting on a click.

18% tip on $50 20% tip on $75 15% tip on $100 20% tip on $120

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