Splitting restaurant bills, gifts and party costs
Dinners, gifts and parties are small amounts that cause big awkwardness. These guides cover tax, tip, uneven orders, group gifts and the fastest way to settle after an event.
31 pages
Guides
- Guide Automatic gratuity on large parties: how to split it When the check already has 18% gratuity for a large party, read the line, split it across 8 people three ways, and decide whether extra is needed.
- Guide Bill splitting etiquette: what to agree before, at and after the meal Bill splitting etiquette in four moments: before the meal, at the table, at the check and after. Emily Post's guidance, a lookup table and a cents example.
- Guide Group wedding gift: how to split the cost Split a group wedding gift by dividing the price by the people giving: $200 or $300 across 4 to 12 givers, who buys it, and the coworker version.
- Guide How to ask coworkers to chip in for a gift (with messages) Ready-to-send chat and email messages to ask coworkers to chip in for a farewell, birthday, baby or wedding gift, plus a reminder, a close-out and a timeline.
- Guide How to collect money for a group gift Five ways to collect money for a group gift: EvenOut tracking, Venmo or Apple Cash requests, Cash App and PayPal Pools, and cash, with the fees and rules.
- Guide How to split a bill when some people don't drink Share food, tax and tip equally and charge drinks only to the people who had them. A six-person check shows non-drinkers paying $47.75 and drinkers $79.75.
- Guide How to split a food delivery order between friends One card paid a $65.35 delivery order. Food by order, tax with the food, fees and tip equally, promo by food share. The full math and the By item steps.
- Guide How to split a restaurant bill: 4 fair methods Four ways to split a restaurant bill, run on one $184 check for five people, with each person's total, when each method is fair and what to say before ordering.
- Guide How to split expenses with friends, one friend at a time Split expenses with a friend by keeping one running balance. Four shared costs worth $220 collapse into a single $8 payment, with the steps and a sheet formula.
- Guide How to split party costs between hosts and guests Three ways to split party costs, with the formula for each, a $620 party for 3 co-hosts and 20 guests at $15, a potluck variation and a budget checklist.
- Guide How to split the bill with a large group Splitting a check for 8 or more people: agree the method first, use one collector, round up to the nearest $5, and handle late guests and auto-gratuity.
- Guide Office gift collection etiquette: rules, ranges, envelopes Keep a gift collection at work voluntary and private: suggest a range, use an envelope, give the boss a group gift, and know what to do when someone can't pay.
- Guide Restaurant bill disagreements: what to say and do Five flashpoints when a dinner check splits badly, each with the fair rule, one sentence to say and the dollar effect, plus a simple tie-break rule.
- Guide Tip on the pre-tax or post-tax amount? The math Emily Post says to tip on the pre-tax amount. Tipping on the total adds the tip rate times the tax. See the gap for five tax rates and three check sizes.
- Guide Who pays for a baby shower, and how co-hosts split it The host pays for a hosted baby shower, going by Emily Post. See how three co-hosts split $645 of receipts, a restaurant shower, and how to track a deposit.
- Guide Who pays for a birthday dinner? Three ways to split it Who pays for a birthday dinner depends on who invited. Three conventions, the math for covering the birthday person on a $312.50 check, and invitation wording.
- Guide Who pays for a bridal shower, and how hosts split it The hosts pay for a bridal shower, going by Emily Post. See how 6 hosts split a $720 shower equally, with a cap, or with a lighter share for a host who travels.
- Guide Who pays for a team lunch? Manager, company or peers Whoever invites pays: a manager hosts, a company policy decides, and peers split the order. A worked delivery split and a 4-week rotation ledger.
- Guide Who pays for the rehearsal dinner: tradition and splits Tradition has the groom's family host the rehearsal dinner, but not by rule. Two families can split $6,200 by guest list: $3,800 and $2,400 for 62 guests.
- Guide Who pays on a first date, and how to split the bill Emily Post says whoever asks pays, and splitting is common too. Four ways to handle the check with the exact words, plus a three-date turns example.
- Guide Who should pay for dinner in a relationship? Five rules couples use Five ways couples handle dinner out, with turns, equal and income splits run on one month of four dinners worth $240. Pick one rule and say it aloud.
- Guide Why do restaurants charge to split meals? Two kinds of rule and what they cost Restaurants post two kinds of split rules: a charge for sharing a dish and a limit on split checks. See two posted examples, the cost per head and what to ask.
Calculators
- Calculator Group gift calculator: cost per person Enter the gift price, tax, shipping and card, then how many you will ask. Get the ask from the people likely to say yes, and see what you could be short.
- Calculator Split bill by item calculator with shared dishes Enter each person's items, the shared dishes, tax and tip. Tax and tip follow each person's subtotal, and every total adds up to the check.
- Calculator Split bill with discount calculator Enter what each person ordered, then a coupon or percent off, tax and tip. The discount follows each person's items and totals match the check.
Alternatives
Glossary
- Glossary Going Dutch: meaning and how it works at dinner Going Dutch means each person pays their own share. See a two-person dinner worked out by order, why Dutch treat is ironic, and how to suggest it.
- Glossary Service charge vs tip, and what 'gratuity included' means A tip is your choice. A service charge is a fee the restaurant adds. If the check says gratuity included, it is in the total: $148 of food becomes $189.44.
- Glossary Split check: what it means in a restaurant A split check can mean separate checks, one check on two cards, or one check divided equally. See each on a $187.00 bill, and what 'no split checks' means.
- Glossary Split the bill or go Dutch: which one do you mean? Split the bill and go Dutch overlap, and neither says whether shares are equal. On a $120 dinner for three, the choice is $40 each or $56, $40 and $24.
- Glossary Split the bill synonyms, and which ones mean equal shares Other words for split the bill: split the check, share the cost, go halves, go Dutch, chip in. Only some mean equal shares. See each on an $84 cost.