Tip Calculator: How It Works
Tipping arithmetic is easy; tipping norms are not, and they vary enormously by country. This calculator handles the split and the percentage — this page covers what percentage is actually expected where, which is the part that causes anxiety.
The calculation
Tip = Bill × Percentage ÷ 100 · Per person = (Bill + Tip) ÷ People
Two mental shortcuts worth knowing: 10% is the bill with the decimal point moved one place left, and 20% is that doubled. For 15%, take 10% and add half of it again.
Norms by country
| Country | Restaurant | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 18–22% | Expected; servers are often paid a reduced base wage |
| Canada | 15–20% | Expected |
| United Kingdom | 10–12.5% | Often added as a service charge; optional |
| Germany, Netherlands | 5–10% | Rounding up is common |
| France, Italy, Spain | 0–10% | Service usually included; small extra appreciated |
| Australia, New Zealand | 0–10% | Not expected; staff are paid a full wage |
| Japan, South Korea | 0% | Can cause genuine discomfort |
| China, Singapore | 0% | Service charge often added instead |
| India | 5–10% | Common in restaurants, less so elsewhere |
The variation is structural rather than cultural preference. Where tipping is expected, it is usually because wages assume it; where it is absent, staff are paid a full wage and a tip can read as implying otherwise.
Check for a service charge first
Many bills, particularly for larger groups, already include a service charge of 10–20%. Adding a tip on top doubles it. Read the bill before calculating — the line may be called service, gratuity, or coperto.
Where a service charge is discretionary and you were unhappy with the service, you can generally ask for it to be removed. Whether it reaches the staff varies, which is why some people prefer to have it removed and tip in cash directly.
Before or after tax
Convention differs. Tipping on the pre-tax subtotal is defensible and increasingly common; tipping on the total is more generous. The difference on a 100 bill with 10% tax at 20% is 2 — small enough that it is not worth agonising over, and worth deciding once so you stop recalculating.
Splitting a bill
- Even split — simplest, works when orders were similar.
- By item — fairer with widely differing orders, but slow and awkward.
- Even split with a shared-items adjustment — usually the best compromise.
If you split by item, apply the tip proportionally to each share rather than dividing it equally, or the person who ordered least subsidises the tip on everyone else's meal.
Rounding
Rounding up to a convenient figure is standard in most of Europe and increasingly common everywhere. A 47.30 bill becomes 50, which is roughly 5.7% — appropriate where tipping is modest and insufficient where 20% is the norm. In the US, round the total to a whole number after calculating the percentage rather than instead of it.