Guides/Rounding tips
Rounding tips to whole dollars
Card screens love $14.37 tips; cash and mental math love whole dollars. Decide whether you round thetip or thetotal with tip so the table stays fair.
Two rounding styles
- Round the tip: 18% of $82 = $14.76 → tip $15.
- Round the grand total: choose a total like $100 and back into the tip.
- Pre-tax vs post-tax base still matters —before or after tax.
Worked examples
- $47.20 subtotal × 20% = $9.44 → many leave $10.
- Four-way split of a $15 tip → $3.75 each; rounding each to $4 overshoots unless you adjust —even splits·by meal share.
- Mental 10%+10%:tip without calculator.
Etiquette note
Rounding up is common; rounding down hard on small bills can look stingy. Context:etiquette basics·15 vs 18 vs 20.