Tax and tip calculator
Sales tax is added to the bill in the U.S., so a percentage can mean two slightly different amounts. This shows you both.
Do you tip on tax?
Etiquette guides describe the tip as a percentage of the pre-tax subtotal, and card terminals often suggest a percentage of the tax-included total. On an ordinary bill the two are within about a dollar of each other, and both are ordinary.
The Emily Post Institute's general tipping guide states its restaurant figures as a percentage of the pre-tax amount — 15–20% for sit-down wait service and 10% at a buffet. Sales tax is a charge collected for a state or city rather than part of what the server did, which is the reasoning usually given for leaving it out of the base. That is the convention, not a rule about what you owe.
In practice the choice is often made for you before you see it: the suggested-tip buttons on a card terminal are configured by the business, and some are set to a percentage of the total with tax already in it. If the suggestion looks higher than you expected, this is usually why.
tippos shows both amounts and the gap between them, and sends whichever one you pick. Where you land is entirely your call — including nothing.
How much difference does it actually make?
Less than most people expect, because the tip percentage is applied to the tax rather than to the bill. A 20% tip on a $80 subtotal at the national average rate of 7.53% works out like this:
- Tip on the subtotal
- $16
- Tip on the total with tax
- $17.20
- Difference
- $1.20
The gap grows with the bill and with the tax rate, but it stays a fraction of the tax itself. At a 7.53% rate, a 20% tip on the total adds about 1.5% of the subtotal over a 20% tip on the subtotal.
Sales-tax rates behind the presets
Rates as of 1 July 2026. Only jurisdictions read directly from a published table are listed — everywhere else, type the rate from your receipt.
| Where | State | Local | Combined | What the combined figure is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 7.25% | 1.78% | 9.03% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Texas | 6.25% | 1.95% | 8.2% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Arizona | 5.6% | 2.94% | 8.54% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Colorado | 2.9% | 4.99% | 7.89% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Hawaii | 4% | 0.5% | 4.5% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Indiana | 7% | 0% | 7% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Iowa | 6% | 0.94% | 6.94% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Kansas | 6.5% | 2.21% | 8.71% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Louisiana | 5% | 5.13% | 10.13% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Maine | 5.5% | 0% | 5.5% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Massachusetts | 6.25% | 0% | 6.25% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Minnesota | 6.88% | 1.26% | 8.14% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Mississippi | 7% | 0.06% | 7.06% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Missouri | 4.23% | 4.22% | 8.44% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Nebraska | 5.5% | 1.48% | 6.98% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Nevada | 6.85% | 1.39% | 8.24% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| New Hampshire | 0% | 0% | 0% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| North Dakota | 5% | 2.09% | 7.09% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| South Carolina | 6% | 1.49% | 7.49% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| South Dakota | 4.2% | 1.91% | 6.11% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Tennessee | 7% | 2.61% | 9.61% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Vermont | 6% | 0.43% | 6.43% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Virginia | 5.3% | 0.47% | 5.77% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| Wisconsin | 5% | 0.72% | 5.72% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| New York | 4% | 4.54% | 8.54% | Population-weighted statewide average |
| New York City | 4% | 4.875% | 8.875% | One rate actually in force |
| United States | — | — | 7.53% | Population-weighted national average |
A statewide average is a reference point, not an address. California's 7.25% state rate plus local district taxes averages 9.03%, and individual cities sit above it. New York City is the exception in this table: 8.875% is a single rate in force across all five boroughs, published by the state's own tax department.
Working from one of these? There is a page for every service calculator too, each with its own sourced range.
Sources & methodology
Sources reviewed: October 22, 2026
Sales-tax rates are quoted from published rate tables, with the effective date of each table shown above. The pre-tax convention is an etiquette claim, cited separately — it describes common practice, not an obligation.
- The Emily Post Institute — General Tipping GuideStates the restaurant tipping ranges as percentages of the pre-tax amount (15–20% sit-down, 10% buffet).
- Tax Foundation — State and Local Sales Tax Rates, Midyear 2026 (rates as of 1 July 2026)Source for the state rates, average local rates and combined population-weighted averages, including the national 7.53% figure. Rates as of 1 July 2026.
- Publication 718 — New York State Sales and Use Tax Rates by Jurisdiction (effective 1 March 2025)Primary source for New York City's 8.875% combined rate across all five boroughs. Effective 1 March 2025.