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What does each person actually owe?

Use the tax and service charge printed on the receipt. Split evenly or by each order, and keep the voluntary tip and required charge separate.

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How this tool was checked

Sources and review

Code and tests checked

StepShown checked the calculation code and its tests. The answer is still an estimate, not professional advice. Rules can also be different where you live.

Calculation version
Version 1.1
Last updated
Person responsible
StepShown engineering
  • Tip recordkeeping and reporting

    Published by Internal Revenue Service. Area covered: United States. StepShown owner: StepShown editorial. Checked . Check again by . The U.S. federal distinction between a voluntary tip and a mandatory service charge, including that an employer can distribute or retain a service charge. Reference guidance; no date specific value is ingested.

  • Currency names and symbols

    Published by Unicode Common Locale Data Repository. Area covered: International. StepShown owner: StepShown editorial. Checked . Check again by . Using ISO 4217 currency codes and locale aware symbols while avoiding ambiguous currency presentation. Reference guidance; no date specific value is ingested.

Read the StepShown calculation and writing rules, or report a problem.

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How the split works

StepShown uses the tax and service charge amounts printed on the receipt instead of inferring local rates or taxable items. The voluntary tip percentage applies either to the pre tax subtotal or to that subtotal plus the entered tax. If a service charge should count toward the intended tip total, StepShown subtracts it before calculating a voluntary top up.

Receipt lines
entered amounts, not reconstructed local rules
Tip base
subtotal, or subtotal plus entered tax
Cent allocation
largest remainders first, with top row tie breaking

The service charge setting controls payment arithmetic only. StepShown does not infer whether the establishment distributes the charge to workers. U.S. IRS guidance, for example, distinguishes a mandatory service charge from a voluntary tip and notes that an employer can distribute or retain the charge. Receipt language and establishment policy remain the relevant facts for a particular bill.

How the two split rules differ

An even split divides each entered receipt component by headcount. An itemized split uses each person's pre tax order as their share of the subtotal, then allocates tax, service charge, and voluntary tip in that same proportion. These are two different agreements; StepShown exposes both without labeling either one universally fair.

Currency components do not always divide evenly. StepShown converts each component to cents, allocates the largest fractional remainders first, and resolves exact ties from the top row downward. That makes every component and every final share add back to the receipt amount exactly.

The currency selector changes symbols, URL state, and export labels; it does not convert exchange rates. The supported currencies use two decimal places and English number separators. StepShown also does not recommend a tip percentage, determine taxability, interpret local wage law, or know who receives a service charge.

Common questions

What should I enter for tax and the service charge?

Enter the currency amounts printed on the receipt. StepShown does not infer which items are taxable, whether a service charge is taxable, or any local rate or rounding rule. Using the receipt lines keeps those decisions with the establishment's actual calculation.

Does a service charge count as a tip?

Not automatically. The toggle only tells StepShown whether to count the entered charge toward your intended tip total. It does not claim the charge is legally a tip or that workers receive it. In the United States, IRS guidance distinguishes mandatory service charges from voluntary tips and notes that an employer can distribute or retain a service charge.

What changes when I tip on the post tax total?

StepShown applies the entered percentage to the receipt subtotal plus the entered tax amount. With the toggle off, it applies the percentage only to the subtotal. The result shows the exact difference under the same service charge treatment without recommending either choice.

How are itemized shares calculated?

First, StepShown finds each person's share of the amount before tax. It splits tax, the required charge, and the optional tip using the same shares. The even split choice divides every part by the number of people instead.

What happens when a component does not divide evenly?

StepShown first calculates exact shares in cents. When a few cents are left, it gives them to the rows that were closest to the next cent. If two rows are tied, the higher row goes first. This makes every share add back to the exact receipt total.

What does rounding each share up do?

After the cent level split reconciles, StepShown rounds each person's final share up to the next whole currency unit. The extra is shown as a separate rounding amount; it is not silently labeled as a tip or service charge.

How does the currency selector work?

The selected currency changes symbols, labels, shared state, and exports. StepShown performs no exchange rate conversion. All entered amounts must already use the same currency, and the interface uses English number separators with two decimal places for the supported currencies.

Where to go next

Larger versions of the same question: what something really costs once everything is counted.

Or browse everything in Everyday Life.

Tip & Bill Split: What does each person actually owe? · StepShown