How Much to Tip: Standard Percentages and the Mental Math to Calculate Them

Standard tipping amounts in the US

Customary tips vary by service. These are the widely accepted ranges:

• Sit-down restaurant: 15–20% of the pre-tax bill (20% for good service)
• Food delivery: 10–15%, or at least $3–5 for small orders
• Taxi or rideshare: 10–15%
• Bartender: $1–2 per drink, or 15–20% of the tab
• Hairdresser or barber: 15–20%
• Hotel housekeeping: $2–5 per night, left daily
• Coffee shop counter service: optional — rounding up or $1 is common

The one mental math trick you need

Every tip percentage is built from 10%. To find 10% of any bill, move the decimal point one place left: 10% of $47.50 is $4.75.

From there: 20% is double the 10% amount ($4.75 × 2 = $9.50). 15% is 10% plus half of it ($4.75 + $2.38 ≈ $7.13). 18% is 20% minus a little. Round freely — nobody expects exact change on a tip.

Tip on the pre-tax amount

Traditionally, the tip is calculated on the bill before sales tax. On an $80 meal with 8% tax, the pre-tax amount is about $74, so a 20% tip is $14.80 rather than $16.

In practice, many people tip on the total for simplicity — the difference is small and no server will complain. But on a large bill or in a high-tax city, knowing the convention can save a few dollars.

Splitting the bill

When splitting with a group, calculate the tip on the full bill first, then divide the total (bill + tip) by the number of people. Splitting the bill first and tipping on your share works out the same mathematically, but doing tip-first avoids the classic mistake where everyone tips on their share and the total tip comes up short because someone rounded down.

The calculator does both steps at once: enter the bill, choose the percentage, set the number of people, and it shows the tip, the total, and each person's share.

When not to tip (and when to tip more)

Tipping customs are changing, and tablet payment screens now prompt for tips in places where none was traditional. It is always acceptable to decline a tip prompt for pure counter service where no table service or extra work was involved.

Conversely, consider tipping above the standard when the service was exceptional, the server accommodated a large or difficult group, or you're a regular building a relationship. And check the bill first: many restaurants add an automatic gratuity for large parties, so you don't tip twice.