What gets filled in, and what does not
Travel Tipper is the page for a bill in a city you do not calculate every week. You type or pick the city. Two different facts may fill in.
For a U.S. city, the tax field becomes the combined rate copied from a public table. The source and date are stored in the data file and shown on the result. New York City is 8.875% in Publication 718, effective March 1, 2025, including the metropolitan commuter transportation district portion. California cities use the Department of Tax and Fee Administration table effective October 1, 2026. Seattle is 10.55% on the Washington Department of Revenue flyer for October 1 through December 31, 2026, location code 1726. Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth, and El Paso are 8.25% on the Texas Comptroller city table checked October 17, 2026. Boston and Cambridge meals are 7%: Massachusetts publishes a 6.25% meals tax plus the 0.75% local excise. Portland is 0% because the Oregon Department of Revenue says the state has no general sales tax.
A U.S. city does not change your tip percent. The box starts at 18% so it is not empty. The United States is marked expected because Emily Post describes 15% to 20% before tax for sit-down service, the range in the restaurant guide. Set 20%, then pick Dallas, and the field stays at 20%.
Outside the United States, one cited status covers every city in that country. Expected fills a percent: Canada starts at 15%, the amount Canada.ca calls usual, and the Canada guide also quotes the provincial ranges. Mexico is 10%, the low end of the 10% to 15% on the tourism secretariat FAQ and on VisitMexico. The Mexico guide quotes both. Optional, round up, service usually included, and not customary fill 0%, and you can type another percent. Optional covers the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, the Netherlands, Brazil, Vietnam, and Abu Dhabi. Round up is Switzerland: Switzerland Tourism says a guest is not obliged to tip, and that many restaurants use about 10% or a rounded amount. Service usually included means check the bill first. It covers France, Germany, Spain, Denmark, and Singapore. Not customary sets 0% and shows a warning you can still override. Japan and South Korea use it. Longer notes are Japan, Italy, Mexico, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Germany, and Canada. Each city note links the page it came from. A country with no page this site could open is left out.
Foreign tax is not filled from a VAT table this page does not have. The tax field starts at 0% abroad. Type a rate only when the bill adds one that is not already in the price. A printed service charge still beats the country note. The long version is the travel guide.
How the total is built
An $80 meal in New York, at the 8.875% Publication 718 rate and your 20% tip on the pre-tax bill, is $7.10 of tax and $16.00 of tip. The total is $103.10. Two people are $51.55 each, because each share is rounded up so the shares cover the check. Tick the after-tax box and the tip uses $87.10 instead of $80. That is the same split the pre-tax guide walks through. The link for this example is /travel-tipper/?c=nyc&b=80&p=2&t=20&x=8.875.
Abroad, the local total is converted with the same mid-market table as the currency converter: ExchangeRate-API first, Frankfurter if that request fails. The result names the source and the time. It is not your card's posted charge. A terminal that offers to charge your home currency is using a different rate. Compare the two before you accept it.
Use my location asks the browser for permission and then finds the nearest city in this list within 40 kilometers. It does not call a paid map service. The coordinates stay in the page. If nothing on the list is that close, the page says so and waits for you to type.
Rates and customs change
A quarterly Washington flyer, a California district election, or a meals-tax vote can move a number after the date in the data file. Country tourism pages are revised on their own schedule. The receipt in your hand is the rate you were charged. If it disagrees with this page, pay the receipt and treat the page as the worksheet, not the register. This is not tax advice and not a promise about what a card will post.
Travel Tipper FAQ
Why is my city missing?
A U.S. city is listed only when a combined sales-tax rate was copied from a public table, with the source and date stored in the data file. A city with no sourced rate is left out on purpose. Outside the United States, a country is listed only when a tourism board, a government page, or an etiquette authority that this page could open states the tipping norm. Every city in a country shares that country's cited status.
Does Travel Tipper set a tip percent for each U.S. city?
No. Choosing New York or Dallas fills the tax field and leaves your tip percent alone. The form starts at 18% only so the box is not empty. That 18% is your starting choice, not a city rule. Emily Post's 15% to 20% sit-down range is the U.S. status, and the source is linked. Outside the United States, a country marked expected fills that cited percent. Optional, round up, service usually included, and not customary fill 0%, with the source linked, and you can change the percent.
What does Use my location send?
Nothing leaves the page. If you allow it, the browser supplies coordinates, and the script picks the nearest city in this list within 40 kilometers. There is no paid map service. If you refuse, type the city.
Will the home-currency total match my card?
No. The conversion uses the same mid-market table as the currency converter, and the page names that source and its time. A card network, a foreign-transaction fee, or a terminal that converts the charge for you can post a different amount. Compare the two before you accept a home-currency charge on the terminal.