How much should I tip at a restaurant?

The standard tip at a sit-down restaurant in the US is 15% to 20% of the pre-tax bill. 15% is acceptable for average service, 18% for good service, and 20% or more for excellent service. On a $80 dinner bill, that is $12 to $16. Calculate the tip on the pre-tax subtotal, not the total after tax.

Should I tip on the pre-tax or post-tax amount?

Technically, tipping on the pre-tax subtotal is standard because the tax portion goes to the government, not the restaurant. In practice, the difference is small — on a $100 bill with 8% tax, tipping 20% on pre-tax is $20, while on post-tax it is $21.60. Either is acceptable.

How do I calculate tip quickly in my head?

For 20%, move the decimal point one place left and double it. A $65 bill becomes $6.50, doubled to $13. For 15%, calculate 10% ($6.50) and add half ($3.25) for $9.75. For 10%, just move the decimal. These shortcuts work for any bill amount.

How much do you tip for delivery?

Tip delivery drivers 15% to 20% of the order total, with a minimum of $3 to $5 for small orders. For large or complex orders, bad weather, or long distances, tip on the higher end. Delivery drivers often pay for their own vehicle expenses, so tipping well compensates for costs the delivery fee does not cover.

Do I need to tip if there is already a service charge?

Check whether the service charge goes to staff. Some restaurants add a mandatory service charge that replaces tipping, while others add fees that go to the house, not servers. If the charge goes to staff, no additional tip is expected. If it does not, or you are unsure, a small additional tip of 5% to 10% is a kind gesture.

Tip Calculator: Find the Right Tip Amount for Any Bill

What a tip calculator does (and why you need one)

A tip calculator takes three inputs — bill amount, tip percentage, and number of people — and gives you the tip amount, total bill, and per-person share. That's it. Simple enough that you wonder why anyone needs a tool for it.

Until you're at a noisy restaurant with a $247.83 bill, 6 people, and everyone wants to tip 18%. Now you're doing mental math that involves multiplying by 0.18, adding the result to the original, and dividing by 6 — all while someone's asking if you want to split dessert separately. The calculator handles it in two seconds so you can get back to the conversation.

There's a secondary benefit that matters more than the math: it removes the negotiation. When one person wants to tip 15% and another says 20%, the calculator makes both scenarios visible instantly. Pick one, move on. No passive-aggressive debates about service quality while the server watches from across the room.

Standard tip percentages by situation

Tipping norms vary by service type. Here's where things actually stand in 2026, based on what service workers report and what established etiquette guidelines recommend.

📊 Tipping guide by service type

Sit-down restaurant15–20% of pre-tax bill

Delivery (food)15–20%, minimum $3–5

Bar / bartender$1–2 per drink, or 15–20% of tab

Coffee shop / counter$1–2 or 10–15% (optional)

Rideshare / taxi15–20% of fare

Hair salon / barbershop15–20% of service cost

For a deeper breakdown of tipping customs including international differences, check our complete tipping guide.

The pre-tax vs post-tax question

Should you tip on the subtotal before tax or the total after tax? This comes up more than you'd expect.

The traditional answer: tip on the pre-tax amount. The tax goes to the government, not the restaurant, so it shouldn't factor into what you pay the server. On a $100 meal with 9% sales tax, the pre-tax tip at 20% is $20. The post-tax tip (20% of $109) would be $21.80.

The practical answer: it barely matters. On most bills, the difference is a dollar or two. Tip on whichever number you see first. If you're naturally generous and round up, you'll exceed 20% pre-tax anyway. Life is too short to calculate sales tax before calculating a tip.

Our 2026 tipping etiquette guide covers more nuanced scenarios including large parties, bad service, and automatic gratuity situations.

Mental math shortcuts when you don't have the calculator handy

Sometimes your phone's dead or you just want to do it in your head. These shortcuts work on any bill amount.

20% tip: Move the decimal one place left (that's 10%), then double it. Bill is $83? That's $8.30 × 2 = $16.60. Round to $17 and you're done.

15% tip: Calculate 10% (move the decimal), then add half of that number. $83 → $8.30 + $4.15 = $12.45. Round to $12.50 or $13.

18% tip (the middle ground): Calculate 20% ($16.60) and 15% ($12.45), then pick a number between them. About $14.50–$15 works. Not precise to the penny, but close enough.

Quick split: After calculating the tip total, divide by the number of people. If exact division is hard, round up. Overpaying the server by $2 collectively isn't going to ruin anyone's night.

Group tipping: where it gets complicated

Group dinners create two tipping problems simultaneously: what percentage to tip, and how to divide it among people who ordered very differently.

The simplest approach: agree on a tip percentage before the bill arrives. "Let's just do 20%" takes the debate off the table. Then divide the total (bill + tip) by the number of people. It's not perfectly proportional to what each person ordered, but it's fast and avoids line-by-line auditing.

For larger groups where some people ordered significantly more than others, use the fair splitting guide approach: each person pays for their own items plus an equal share of shared items and tip. It takes an extra minute of math but eliminates the "I just had a salad" problem.

Many restaurants add automatic gratuity (typically 18–20%) for parties of 6 or more. Check the bill before adding an additional tip. Double-tipping happens more often than you'd think, especially when the automatic gratuity is listed in a confusing spot. According to the National Restaurant Association, automatic gratuity policies have become more common post-pandemic.

When to tip more, and when tipping less is okay

Tip more when: the service was genuinely exceptional, you're a regular (good tippers get better service over time), the order was complex or modified, you stayed at the table significantly longer than average, or weather/conditions made the server or driver's job harder.

Tipping less is understandable when: service had genuine problems — not the food quality (that's the kitchen, not the server) but actual service issues like being ignored or orders consistently wrong with no attempt to fix them. Even then, 10% acknowledges that servers depend on tips for income. Zero tips should be reserved for truly egregious situations, not ordinary bad days.

A practical observation: the difference between a 15% and 20% tip on a $60 bill is $3. That's nothing to you but meaningful to someone working for tips. When in doubt, round up.

Calculate Your Tip and Split Instantly

Enter the bill, pick your tip percentage, add the number of people. Done in seconds. No awkward mental math required.

Open the Bill Split Calculator

This content is for informational purposes only. Tipping customs vary by region, country, and establishment. The percentages mentioned reflect common US practices. Always consider local norms and the specific service context.

Tip Calculator: Get the Right Amount for Any Bill in Seconds