TipSlice is a set of calculators and these guides. The calculators do the cents. The guides answer the question the calculator cannot: which percentage, on which line of the receipt, for which kind of work. Each guide cites the page a fact came from, usually the Emily Post Institute, the IRS, the U.S. Department of Labor, or the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and ends with a link that opens a filled-in example. Matt Totty runs TipSlice. The guides are general information, not tax or legal advice.
Three questions before you pick a percent
Most tipping arguments are one of these, and they have different answers.
- What kind of service was it? A sit-down meal in the United States is 15% to 20% of the pre-tax bill on the Emily Post chart. A coffee counter or ordinary takeout has no obligation on that chart. A haircut is 15% to 20% of the service. Delivery is 10% to 15% of the bill, with a separate pizza line. The service table is the short version, with the Pew and Toast figures beside the chart.
- Is money already on the bill? An 18% automatic gratuity for a party of eight is usually mandatory, and the IRS treats it as a service charge rather than a tip you still owe. A delivery fee or a service fee on an app is not the driver's tip. Read the label before you add a second amount. The large-party guide and the delivery guide go line by line.
- What number are you multiplying? Etiquette uses the pre-tax food and drink total. Card screens often use the after-tax total. On an $80 meal at New York City's 8.875% combined rate, those two 20% tips differ by $1.42. The pre-tax guide shows both calculator links.
If you are splitting, add a fourth question: even, or by seat? Even is fair when orders match. Itemizing is fair when they do not. Either way, divide food, tax, and tip together, and round each person's share up so the person who paid the card is not short. That arithmetic, including a $124.50 check that leaves a leftover cent, is the splitting guide.
The guides
Restaurants
Sit-down 15–20% pre-tax, what counter and takeout actually call for, and the wage rules behind the U.S. range.
Delivery drivers
Emily Post: 10–15% of the bill, and $2–$5 for pizza. The app help pages say which fees are not the tip.
Salons, barbers, and spas
15–20% of the service, how to include an assistant, and what to do when the spa already added a charge.
Pre-tax vs post-tax
Why the tip base is usually before sales tax, with both versions of an $80 check opened in the calculator.
Splitting a bill
Even versus itemized, shared plates, and rounding leftover cents up so the table covers the check.
Tipping when traveling
The U.S. habit next to Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Japan, and Australia, with the bill winning over the chart.
Large parties
Automatic gratuity, how not to leave 38% by tapping the wrong button, and the IRS service-charge examples.
Tip-out and tip pooling
For servers: who federal law allows in a pool, the $2.13 tip credit, card fees, and how to report tip income.
Tipping in Japan
JNTO says tipping is not common. Tokyo's guide says a restaurant will almost certainly refuse a tip.
Tipping in Italy
Italia.it: not compulsory, and close to 10% when you are satisfied. Lazio law forbids an added coperto.
Tipping in Mexico
SECTUR: common and not mandatory, 10% to 15% in restaurants. VisitMexico uses that range for meals, bars, and street stands.
Tipping in South Korea
VisitKorea: not required or expected. Most taxis charge the meter and do not require a tip.
Tipping in the UK
VisitBritain: not expected the way it is in some countries. An optional service charge can be declined.
Tipping in Spain
spain.info: not obligatory, because service is included. Commonly 5% to 10% of the total.
Tipping in France
DGCCRF: the pourboire is optional. Displayed prices include service.
Tipping in Germany
Berlin.de: a tip is voluntary. In a restaurant, 5% to 10% of the bill is appropriate, and service is generally included.
Tipping in Canada
Canada.ca: usually 15% of the bill. Ontario and Alberta tourism sites say 15% to 20%. Québec says 10% to 15% before tax.
Tipping by service
Emily Post ranges by service, Pew's 2023 survey of who tips, and Toast's Q1 2026 card-tip averages.
How the examples open
Share links use a few query keys. b is the bill, p is people, t is the tip percent, and x is the sales-tax percent. When x is present, tax is on. o=1 tips on the after-tax total, and it only applies with x. A sit-down example for two people on $86.40 at 20% is https://tipslice.com/?b=86.40&p=2&t=20. The same keys work on the bill splitter. Nothing in the link is uploaded. The math runs in the browser, which the privacy policy explains.
Preset buttons on the tip calculator are 10%, 15%, 18%, 20%, and 25%. Any other t value opens the custom field. The percentage table is the right tool when you want every common rate on one bill before you choose. The sales tax calculator adds a rate or backs tax out of a total. Use it when the receipt folded the subtotal away and you still want a pre-tax tip. A bill that is not in your home currency goes to the currency converter. If you know the city, Travel Tipper fills a sourced U.S. sales-tax rate or the country note from the travel guide. A server's tip-out is the tip-out calculator. Cash wage plus tips is hourly wage with tips. A required gratuity line is the service-charge checker.
What these pages will not do
They will not invent a single percentage for every city. House policies, state tipped wages, and sales-tax rates differ. The Department of Labor's tipped-wage table, cited in the restaurant and tip-pool guides, is the place to see that a $2.13 federal cash wage is not the wage in California or Washington. They will not tell a server that a particular tip-out percentage is "standard." Federal law does not set one. The tip-pool guide labels its dollar example as an illustration for that reason.
They also will not treat a travel chart as a law. The travel guide quotes national tourism offices and government pages, then tells you to read the check for a service charge that overrides the chart. France's consumer authority says a tip cannot be demanded and that displayed prices include service. Japan's tourism organization says tipping is not common at restaurants, cafes, bars, taxis, or hotels. Those are different instructions from a U.S. dinner, and the guide keeps them different.
If a figure here disagrees with your receipt, the receipt wins. If a wage answer matters to a real paycheck, use the linked Department of Labor or IRS page, or your state labor agency. Corrections and questions can go to hello@tipslice.com or the contact page. Who operates the site, and how the ads that support it work, is on the about page.
A path through the set
If you are at a restaurant tonight, read restaurants, then open the calculator. If the party is big enough that the menu mentioned a gratuity, read large parties first so you do not add 18% twice. If you are sending money to friends afterward, use the split guide. If you work the shift rather than pay it, start with tip-out and tip pooling. Travel planning starts with the country comparison, not with the U.S. 20% button.