Tip & Split Card
Wallet-sized. The mental method is the top section — after a week of it you will not need the card.
BFCBrilliance · bfcbrilliance.com/tools/tip-calculator
The mental method
- 10%
- move the decimal one place LEFT
- 5%
- half of the 10%
- 15%
- 10% + 5%
- 20%
- double the 10%
- Example: $48
- 10% = $4.80
- $48 at 15%
- $4.80 + $2.40 = $7.20
- $48 at 20%
- $4.80 x 2 = $9.60
Quick table — tip on common bills
| Bill | 15% | 18% | 20% | Total at 20% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Before you apply a percentage
- ⚠ Check for
- a SERVICE CHARGE already on the bill
- ⚠ Common with
- large groups — often added automatically
- Pre-tax vs post-tax
- a convention, not a rule — but not the same number
- The gap
- tax rate x tip rate
- US table service
- commonly 15-20%
- Much of Europe / Japan
- minimal, included, or unwelcome
- Uneven bill
- split the TIP in the same proportion as the food
Rounding up adds a tip nobody decided to give
Four people rounding up to whole dollars can add a couple of dollars to the total. That is fine when you mean it. The effective-tip output exists so you can see where you actually landed rather than where you thought you did.
Read the bill first
A service charge is a tip that has already been applied. Adding another on top is your choice, not an obligation — and paying it twice is one of the commonest ways to overpay, precisely because it happens on long bills for large groups when nobody is reading.