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Tip and tax calculator: tip on the subtotal, not the tax
Most checkouts make tipping easy by suggesting a percentage of the taxed total — which quietly raises your tip by the tax rate. Enter the subtotal and your local tax rate below to see both bases side by side and a fair per-person split.
Tip & tax calculator: before-tax or after-tax tip?
The customary tip is calculated on the pre-tax subtotal — tipping on the taxed total quietly pays the tip on the tax too. See both, and the per-person split.
Tax $7.67 · tip on pre-tax $15.55 · tip on after-tax $16.93 (difference $1.38)
Pre-tax tip total $109.62 · $36.54/person (3 way)
If you tip the after-tax total instead: $111.00 · $37.00/person
Which base is "correct"?
In the U.S., the customary etiquette is to tip on the pre-tax subtotal — the tax goes to the government, not the server. Tipping on the after-tax total isn't wrong, it's simply a bigger tip: on a $100 check with 8.875% tax, an 18% tip on the taxed total is $1.79 more than the same percentage on the subtotal. Both numbers are shown above; which one you pay is your call.
This tool covers the restaurant check, not retail discount math — for sale prices and stacked coupons, the stacked discount calculator and the price-per-unit comparator are the matching tools.
Sources & verification
- DiscountCalc stacked discount calculator — percentage compounding engine
- DiscountCalc — price per unit calculator
Sources last verified 2026-11-04. Retailer policies and sale calendars change without notice — treat the retailer's own help pages as the authoritative version before you buy.
Tip conventions differ by country, venue and service type, and local tax rates vary — the percentages you enter are yours to choose. Tipping on the taxed total is shown for comparison, not as a recommendation.