Tip Calculator

How the Tip Calculator Works

Enter your bill, choose a tip percentage (or pick a service rating), and set how the bill is split. The calculator instantly shows what each person owes including their share of the tip. Tax handling, tipping etiquette and currency are all configurable to match where you are.

The default is set up for Québec restaurants — 14.975% tax included in the bill, tip computed on the pre-tax subtotal at 18% — but the country preset row at the top lets you switch to USA, France, UK, Germany, Japan or Australia in one tap, and adjusts the currency and tipping percentage to local etiquette.

When two people order very different things — a $40 steak vs a $15 salad — splitting equally feels unfair. Switch to Custom shares mode to assign a fractional share count to each person. The total (including tax and tip) is then divided proportionally, and you can copy each person's amount individually with one click to paste into a group chat.

Tipping Guide by Situation

Standard expectations in North America by service type:

• Restaurant dining: 15–20% is the standard. 15% is the floor for adequate service; 18–20% for good service; 20–25% for exceptional. Tipping below 15% sends a clear message — use it intentionally.
• Takeout and counter service: 10–15% is generous and appreciated, but not always expected. Self-serve kiosks that prompt for a tip? Entirely your call.
• Delivery: 15–20% of the order total, minimum $3–5 regardless of order size. Drivers cover their own fuel and vehicle wear — bad weather or distance justifies the higher end.
• Hairdresser and barber: 15–20%. Tipping toward 20% for a stylist you return to regularly helps ensure you stay prioritized when booking.
• Taxi and rideshare: 15–20% of the fare. Many apps prompt after the ride. If the driver helped with luggage or navigated well in difficult conditions, 20% is appropriate.

A Short History of Tipping

Tipping emerged in European coffeehouses and taverns in the 17th and 18th centuries, where patrons handed coins to staff to get faster, more attentive service — the word itself comes from old slang, not the popular myth about 'To Insure Promptitude'. In Britain and continental Europe, tipping was originally an aristocratic gesture: a small show of generosity from someone who could afford it to someone who couldn't. It was never meant to replace a wage.

American tipping culture has a darker origin. After the Civil War, newly freed Black workers were hired into service roles — Pullman porters, waiters, barbers — at wages employers refused to fully pay, arguing that customers would 'make up the difference' in tips. This exploitation was institutionalized: to this day, the US federal tipped minimum wage ($2.13/hour at the federal level) reflects a system built around the assumption that tips, not employers, cover most of a worker's income. The modern American tip isn't a bonus — it's structural.

Canada inherited a softer version of this model. In Québec specifically, servers earn a reduced minimum wage (roughly 80% of the provincial standard as of 2026) with the explicit expectation that tips bridge the gap. This is why 15–20% in a Québec restaurant matters more than in, say, France — where servers are paid a full wage and tipping is genuinely optional. Knowing the local system changes how you read the tip prompt on a bill.

Tipping Around the World

Tipping norms vary enormously by country. What's generous in Tokyo can be offensive in Paris, and stingy in New York is standard in Stockholm. A quick field guide:

• Québec and the rest of Canada: 15–20% on the pre-tax amount is standard in sit-down restaurants. Point-of-sale terminals increasingly prompt 18%, 20%, 25% — the middle option is usually the honest default. Québec's mandatory TPS (5%) and TVQ (9.975%) are not tipped on by convention.
• United States: 18–22% is the new floor for sit-down service, up from 15% a decade ago. Bartenders: $1–2 per drink or 20% of the tab. The structural reliance on tips means under-tipping has a real income impact, not just a social one.
• France and most of continental Europe: tipping is optional because service is included — by law in France (service compris). 5–10% for very good service is appreciated; leaving nothing is not insulting. Never leave 20% — you'll look confused, not generous.
• United Kingdom: 10–12.5% in restaurants, often added as an optional service charge. Check the bill and ask yourself whether you want to leave extra on top. Pubs typically don't expect a tip when you order at the bar.
• Japan: do not tip. It's genuinely confusing or mildly offensive in most contexts. Service is considered part of the price and the pride of the work. If you leave cash on the table, staff will chase you down the street to return it.
• Australia and New Zealand: tipping is optional and modest. 10% for excellent service is common in cities; many meals receive no tip at all. Workers earn a real minimum wage (AUD $24+/hour), which changes the social expectation entirely.

The Math Behind the Tip

On a $50 restaurant bill with 15% tip, you're paying $7.50 in tip — the subtotal becomes $57.50. At 20% it's $10 ($60 total). At 25% it's $12.50 ($62.50). The spread between 'polite' and 'generous' on a $50 bill is $5 — almost always worth the mental real-estate it takes to bump the number up for good service.

The pre-tax vs post-tax debate is mostly theatrical. On a $50 pre-tax bill with 15% Québec sales tax, the post-tax total is about $57.50. Tipping 20% on pre-tax is $10; tipping 20% on post-tax is $11.50. The difference — $1.50 — is probably less than the mental effort of calculating it. Pick one method and stay consistent; the server doesn't know which you chose and the total varies by a couple of dollars either way.

Mental shortcut for 20%: move the decimal one place left (10% of $47.50 = $4.75), then double it ($9.50). For 15%: take 10% and add half ($4.75 + $2.38 = $7.13). For 18%: take 20% and subtract a tenth of the 20% result ($9.50 − $0.95 = $8.55). None of this is hard; it just takes practice.

Who Actually Gets the Tip

This varies significantly by restaurant. In some places the server keeps most of the tip and shares a small percentage with bussers, hosts, and bartenders (a tip-out). In others, all tips go into a shared pool and are divided based on hours worked or role weighting. Tip pools can include kitchen staff in the US under rules clarified in 2018, though this remains contentious — the kitchen argues fairness, servers argue their direct customer service earned the tip.

A service charge — a mandatory line added to the bill, often 18–20% for large parties — is different from a tip. Legally, service charges are often classified as part of the restaurant's revenue and aren't guaranteed to reach the staff who served you. If you see a service charge on your bill and want to reward the server specifically, ask whether it's distributed to them; if not, an additional cash tip ensures they actually receive something.

Frequently Asked Questions