To use the Gratuity or Tip Calculator, enter an amount in the fields, and tab or click out. The answer will display automatically.
Before jumping into how the Tip Calculator works, let’s first discuss a few common practices about tipping.
Generally speaking, tips help supplement the pay for those working in the service industry. Everyone is familiar with tipping waiters or waitresses at restaurants. Other people to tip can include bartenders, taxi drivers, shuttle drivers, barbers, hair stylists, hotel staff (doorman, bellhop, housekeeping, valet, room service, etc.), and tour guides.
As a rule of thumb, tips are calculated by percentages relating to how satisfying a service was. Common tip percentages in the United States are:
- 0% tip for terrible service,
- 10% tip for very slow service,
- 15% tip for good service, and
- 20% tip for great service
Figuring Tips without a Calculator
Without this site in hand, it’s back to the manual way of calculating a tip. Here are two simple practices used.
Sales Tax Method
Sales tax amounts in many parts of the United States range in the 6-8% range. Some people simply look at the sales tax amount found on the bill and double it for the tip, adding or taking a way a bit depending on the service.
Simple Percent Calculation Method
Using a percent base like 10% is common because it’s easy to calculate mentally. To get 10% of an amount, you simply move the decimal point of the amount one place to the left. For example, 10 percent of:
- $23.45 rounds to $2.35
- $35.67 rounds to $3.57
- $51.65 rounds to $5.17
- $72.89 rounds to $7.29
- $92.22 rounds to $9.22
To go from there, just figure out 10% of your bill and make mental changes from there for different percent levels. For example, a 20% tip would just double the amount you calculated for 10%. For 15%, you’d mentally calculate the original 10% amount and add another half of it.
Some healthy rounding makes it even easier. As an example of this method, if the bill is $23.78, round it up to $24. Ten percent of that is $2.40, found by moving the decimal point one place left. If you want to tip 15%, then the total tip amount would be $2.40 plus half of that again ($1.20), which is $3.60. If you want to top 20%, double the amount to $4.80.
How the Gratuity or Tip Calculator Works
The Gratuity or Tip Calculator above is basically an extension of the formula used by the Basic Percent Calculator, which is also found on the home page of Percent Calculators. It calculates the percentage of a known amount, just like the Basic Percent Calculator. The extra calculations include adjusting for the variables like the number of people and showing the various amounts. The basic formula used in finding the percentage of a known number is:
Formula: (Percent Converted to Decimal) x (Known Number) = Answer
Here’s a quick example:
Example 1: Samantha was pleased with her waiter at a busy restaurant, but thought it took a bit too long to get her food. It wasn’t the waiters fault for the slowness, so she decided to still give a generous tip of 16%. Her bill was $32.45. How much does she need to pay?
Answer: The Tip Calculator will quickly show the tip amount of $5.19 with the total amount $37.64. Here’s the formula it used to calculate these answers:
Formula to Find the Tip: (Percent Converted to Decimal) x (Known Number) = Answer
To get 16% converted to decimal format, you simply move the decimal point two places left and get 0.16. Know you take that number and multiply it by the amount. So, here is the equation with the tip amount calculated:
0.16 x $32.45 = $5.19
Formula to Find the Total Amount: Tip + Bill = Answer
It can’t get any simpler than that. The total amount is $5.19 + $32.45 for an answer of $37.64.