Split bill calculator

How to split a bill with tip and tax

To split a bill evenly, add tax and tip to the total, then divide by the number of people. On a $120 bill with 15 percent tip, the total is $138, so four people pay $34.50 each.

An even split stops being fair once orders diverge. If one person had a starter, a main, and two drinks while someone else had soup, splitting evenly quietly charges the smaller eater for the difference. The itemised mode above handles that: everyone pays for what they ordered, and tax and tip are added in proportion rather than flat.

For a whole trip rather than one meal, use the trip expense calculator, which tracks many expenses across several payers and works out the fewest payments to settle. For a shared household, the rent split calculator handles rent and utilities.

Splitting the check at a restaurant

Asking a server to split a check across six cards during a dinner rush rarely goes well, and plenty of venues refuse outright. The faster route is for one person to pay the whole check and everyone else to settle up straight afterwards, which is what this bill splitter is for.

Work out the shares before you leave the table, while people still remember what they ordered. Reconstructing a restaurant bill two days later from a photo of the receipt is how groups end up just splitting evenly and quietly annoying whoever had the salad.

Splitting a group bill fairly

Two conventions do most of the work. Split the food by what each person ordered, and split shared items like starters, a bottle of wine, or the table's sides evenly between whoever had them. Drinks are the usual flashpoint: if some people drank and others did not, keeping drinks separate from the food split avoids the most common argument.

If you only need the tip worked out rather than a per-person breakdown, the tip calculator is quicker. Splitting something other than a restaurant bill? Browse all calculators.

Common questions

How do you split a bill with tip and tax?

Add the tax and tip to the bill total first, then divide by the number of people. On a $120 bill with 15 percent tip, the total is $138, so four people pay $34.50 each. Calculating tip on the pre-tax subtotal is standard in the US.

How do you split a bill when people ordered different amounts?

Total what each person ordered, then add tax and tip proportionally to each share rather than evenly. Someone whose food cost $40 of a $100 subtotal pays 40 percent of the tip and tax too, which is fairer than an even split when orders differ a lot.

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

Tipping on the pre-tax subtotal is the common convention in the US and it is what most calculators use. Tipping on the post-tax total adds a small amount extra. Either is acceptable, and the difference on a typical restaurant bill is usually under a dollar per person.

What is a fair way to split the bill when one person drinks and others do not

Split the food evenly and let drinkers cover their own drinks separately. This is the most common approach and avoids the awkwardness of non-drinkers subsidising a bar tab. Use the itemised mode above and enter drinks against whoever ordered them.