How to split a bill with tax and tip, step by step
Quick answer
Add tax and tip to the bill, then divide. For a $120 bill with 8% tax and an 18% tip on the pre-tax amount, the total is $151.20, so four equal shares are $37.80. If people ordered different amounts, multiply each person's items by 1.26 instead: $70 of items is $88.20 and $50 is $63.00.
Key points
- Tip on the pre-tax amount is $21.60 on a $120 bill. Tip on the after-tax amount is $23.33, which is $1.73 more.
- Four equal shares of the $151.20 total are $37.80. If the tip is figured after tax, the total is $152.93 and a share is $38.23.
- To split by items, multiply each person's items by 1.26 when tax is 8% and tip is 18% of the pre-tax amount.
- In EvenOut, the items in a By item split must include tax and tip, and a Pro receipt scan splits them in proportion to each person's items automatically.
On this page
Should tip be figured before or after tax?
Either works, as long as the group picks one first. The difference on a small bill is a dollar or two, so the choice is about agreement, not accuracy. Take a $120 bill with 8% tax and an 18% tip, as a made-up example. Use the rates printed on your own receipt.
- Tax: $120 times 0.08 is $9.60, so the bill after tax is $129.60.
- Tip on the pre-tax amount: $120 times 0.18 is $21.60.
- Tip on the after-tax amount: $129.60 times 0.18 is $23.328, which rounds to $23.33.
The two tips differ by $1.73. The total comes to $151.20 with the pre-tax tip ($120 + $9.60 + $21.60) and $152.93 with the after-tax tip ($129.60 + $23.33). For what a tipping etiquette guide says about the base, see tip on the pre-tax or post-tax amount.
How do you split a bill with tax and tip equally?
Add tax and tip to the pre-tax bill, then divide by the number of people.
- Find the total with tax and tip. On the example bill that is $151.20 with the pre-tax tip.
- Divide by the number of people. $151.20 divided by 4 is $37.80 each.
With the tip figured after tax, the total is $152.93, and $152.93 divided by 4 is $38.2325. Three people pay $38.23 and one pays $38.24, which adds back to $152.93. An equal split is only fair if everyone ordered about the same amount.
How do you split it by what each person ordered?
Give each person their own items, plus their share of tax and tip in proportion. Say instead that two diners shared the $120 bill, one with $70 of items and one with $50.
| Diner | Items | Tax (8%) | Tip (18%) | Pays |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First diner | $70.00 | $5.60 | $12.60 | $88.20 |
| Second diner | $50.00 | $4.00 | $9.00 | $63.00 |
The two payments add to $151.20, the same total as before. Tax and tip are percentages here, so each person’s tax is 8% of their items and each person’s tip is 18% of their items.
A shortcut skips the table. Add 1 + 0.08 + 0.18 to get a multiplier of 1.26, then multiply each person’s items by it: $70 times 1.26 is $88.20 and $50 times 1.26 is $63.00. If the tip is figured after tax, the multiplier is 1.08 times 1.18, or 1.2744. That gives $89.21 and $63.72, which add to the $152.93 total.
What if you only know the final total?
Divide the total in proportion to each person’s items. Each person’s share is the total times their items, divided by everyone’s items. On the example bill, the card was charged $151.20 and the items were $70 and $50, so $120 in all.
- First diner: $151.20 times 70 divided by 120 is $88.20.
- Second diner: $151.20 times 50 divided by 120 is $63.00.
This lands on the same numbers as the 1.26 multiplier, and it works even when you do not know the tax rate or the tip percentage, because the total already contains both.
What about discounts and coupons?
Follow the lines printed on the receipt for where the discount comes off. Say a $12 coupon is applied before tax on the same $120 bill, as arithmetic only.
- The items now total $108.
- Tax at 8% is $8.64.
- Tip at 18% of $108 is $19.44, if the group tips on the discounted amount.
- The total is $108 + $8.64 + $19.44, which is $136.08, or $34.02 each across four people.
If the discount belongs to one person, take it off that person’s items before you apply the multiplier. If it belongs to the whole table, it reduces everyone’s items in proportion. The base for the tip is the group’s choice, so decide it before the bill arrives.
How do you enter tax and tip in EvenOut?
Choose “By item” in the “How to split” sheet and add a line for each item with chips for who had it. The lines must add up to the expense total, so tax and tip go in too, and the pill reads “$X left to assign” until they do, then “All assigned”. Each line splits evenly among the people chosen for it, so one tax line for the whole table would be shared equally, not in proportion. To keep tax and tip in proportion, enter each item at its price times the multiplier above, or choose “Exact amounts” and type each person’s final number, such as $88.20 and $63.00. EvenOut does not show per-person totals while you build a By item split, so work out each person’s amount first.
With a Pro subscription, “Scan a receipt” reads the line items, tax, tip and total from a photo, then splits tax and tip in proportion to each person’s items. You can tap an item to split it among chosen people.
What to do next
Decide whether tip is figured before or after tax, work out the total and divide by the people or by their items. For a quick check, the split bill calculator with tax and tip takes your own rates. For the by-item method with a full receipt, see how to split a receipt by item. A bill that does not divide cleanly, such as $100 among three people, is covered in how to split $100 three ways.
Frequently asked questions
Should you tip on the pre-tax or after-tax amount?
That is the group's choice. Pick one before the bill arrives so everyone is using the same base. The difference on a $120 bill at 18% is $1.73, or about 43 cents a person across four.
Does the shortcut work with other rates?
Yes. Add the tax rate and the tip rate to 1, then multiply each person's items by it. With 7% tax and a 20% tip on pre-tax amounts, the multiplier is 1.27. Use the rates printed on your receipt, since 8% here is only an example.
What if some items on the bill are not taxed?
Then those items carry no tax share. Work out tax for each person from the taxed items only, using the tax line printed on the receipt as the total to check against.
How do you split a bill when the restaurant already added an automatic tip?
Treat the printed tip as one more line and divide it in the same way as the rest, by items or equally. The printed number replaces the percentage you would otherwise pick.
Keep reading
- Calculator Split bill calculator with tax, tip and discount Enter the subtotal, discount, tax and tip to split one bill equally. See the tip on the pre-tax and post-tax amount side by side, to the cent.
- Guide How to split a receipt by item, with tax and tip A hand-worked $108.44 receipt: four diners, shared nachos, tax split in proportion and the one-cent fix. Then how to enter it in EvenOut's By item split.
- Guide How to split $100 three ways (and the extra cent) $100 split three ways is $33.33, $33.33 and $33.34. How the extra cent works, the same method for $200, $50 and other totals, and a quick check.
- Guide How to split a bill unevenly when orders differ Split a $186 dinner when one person's cocktails cost $24: carve out her drinks, split the rest four ways. Plus the right method for four uneven situations.