Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added tax?

[NonieMarie]

We went to dinner with my sisters and their husbands. When the check came, my brothers-in-law said, again, that you add the 20% on the total before tax. I worked as a waitress for over 10 years and at that time 15% was the expected gratuity. I guess the customers that tipped a little less were of the same school as my brothers-in-law. We totaled our items added tax and then the 20%. They added the 20% before the tax. What do you do?

 

[missy]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

I do not tip on tax. I give according to service received. 20% for decent service and 25% for good service. Anything above and beyond I will tip accordingly. But I do not tip on tax.

 

[sonnyjane]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

I tip on the total post-tax. I worked in a restaurant also, if anyone's comparing notes. I'd never heard of tipping on the pre-tax bill until I started hanging out with one of my closest friends who tips on the total before tax. When we go out to dinner together we always have the same argument and I will usually throw in extra money on my tab to cover her tipping less.

 

[madelise]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

Total before tax. It's easy. Tax here is ~10%. Double the tax, round up the change, bam! All done. No extra calculations necessary.

But only for good service.
I've worked in restaurants, and know it's important to tip. I also know its important for servers to attend to their guests and not just ignore us and avoid eye contact... A few years ago, I waited almost half an hour for a waitress to give us the water we asked for. She was avoiding eye contact and texting on her phone. I made sure she knew that was unacceptable.

I never took my phone on the floor.




ETA: 20% is for good. I tip more if they're great. Which happens often. I once was served by a gentleman who had a sudoku book popping out of his apron. I was excited, pointed at it, and told him I love sudoku. He talked to me for a bit, then went about his work. Came back and brought me a torn out page from his page and a pencil!!

 

[OreoRosies86]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

I tip on the total bill, tax and all. I appreciate servers who work hard!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

I tip b/t 15-20% based on the total.

 

[AprilBaby]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

20% on total, I'm generous!

 

[hlmr]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

I do not tip on tax. I give according to service received. 20% for decent service and 25% for good service. Anything above and beyond I will tip accordingly. But I do not tip on tax.

This. Except 15% for decent service and 20-25% for good/great service.

 

[woofmama]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

I tip on the total after tax. I'm a very generous tipper.

 

[momhappy]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

I tip on the total bill, tax and all. I appreciate servers who work hard!

I do too. As long as the service is good, I have no problem at all tipping on the total (including tax).

 

[TooPatient]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

I've never really put any thought into this!

I guess I work off of the total after tax and then do roughly 20%. If the service is awful I will usually still do about that much and either not go back or (if it is a place we go regularly) quietly talk to the manager.
Depending on the work required and how good the service was, I often do 25%.

I noticed the other day that if it is for a "smaller" purchase I tend to be much more generous percentage wise. I hate just dropping coins in a tip jar so will usually drop in whatever coins from my change plus add a dollar. Worked out to $5.00 in coffee plus almost $2 in tip.

 

[luv2sparkle]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

We tip on the total bill. I have to say, we LOVE to be generous with servers. They work so hard. It is selfish, because it just feels so good.
On the other hand, I never tip at starbucks, that just annoys me to tip someone for pouring me a cup of coffee.

 

[kenny]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

... usually 15% on the after-tax total.

 

[wildcat03]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

Gratuity is based on service and the meal you received. Tax is neither food nor service, so I don't tip on it. I always leave 20% except on the rare occasion that the service is subpar, I identified the problem and asked for a resolution and wasn't provided one. This has happened twice total. After doing a little research (links below), I'll continue tipping on the pre-tax total since that is what Emily Post advises.

It appears that both Bon Appetit and the NYT agree
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/the-new-math/
http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2008/10/foodist_tipping

And so does Emily Post: http://www.emilypost.com/out-and-about/tipping/89-general-tipping-guidelines

 

[vc10um]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

Gratuity is based on service and the meal you received. Tax is neither food nor service, so I don't tip on it. I always leave 20% except on the rare occasion that the service is subpar, I identified the problem and asked for a resolution and wasn't provided one. This has happened twice total. After doing a little research (links below), I'll continue tipping on the pre-tax total since that is what Emily Post advises.

It appears that both Bon Appetit and the NYT agree
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/02/07/the-new-math/
http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2008/10/foodist_tipping

And so does Emily Post: http://www.emilypost.com/out-and-about/tipping/89-general-tipping-guidelines

Exactly the bolded, wildcat! I'm a former server (best high school job EVER) and also in the roughly 20% club. I also rarely tip at Starbucks and other such places (unless I paid in cash and I don't have a pocket for my coins).

 

[JewelFreak]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

I never thought about it. I look at the total & tip on that, so I guess after-tax. If the service is truly awful, 10% plus some, if really good, 25%. I waitressed a summer in college & know what hard work it is.

--- Laurie

 

[movie zombie]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

the bill before tax.
double tax and add to bill gives about 18% here.
round up if the service is good-great.

 

[TooPatient]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

We tip on the total bill. I have to say, we LOVE to be generous with servers. They work so hard. It is selfish, because it just feels so good.
On the other hand, I never tip at starbucks, that just annoys me to tip someone for pouring me a cup of coffee.

I spent 9 months working at Starbucks and this is a common feeling. At the store I was at, we regularly got only a dollar or two per hour in tips. It never mattered to me because they paid okay. It was interesting to fill in at other locations. One of the stores sent me tips that along the lines of $8.00/hour!

Anyway, I don't tip if I'm just buying a bag of beans or a drip coffee. If my drink is lower effort I may or may not tip but I do know that some of them take a bit more work so I do tip for that. I also go out of my way to leave a very generous (as much as $5) tip the next time I'm in if the service was great and the barista went above and beyond.

 

[VRBeauty]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

the bill before tax.
double tax and add to bill gives about 18% here.
round up if the service is good-great.

That's my rule of thumb too. Usually about 10% for counter service with a tip jar.

 

[pandabee]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

Never really thought about it....I think I usually tip on post tax, but then I thought about how some restaurants will print a "suggested gratuity" of 15, 18, and 20% based on your bill and I wanna say those calculations are based on pre tax and we'll just go with one of those. But usually I'll try to tip at least 18% unless they are really awesome and I do 20% (or just 18% but rounding up a lot haha). SO is not as generous a tipper as I am, I think he usually stays around 15.

 

[zoebartlett]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

I think the rule of thumb is to tip on the bill before tax. We typically double the tax when figuring out what to tip.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

I've never even thought about it...! My husband & I just add around 20% on...I guess we pay tip on tax bc we usually pay based on the total.

Our dinners out are usually around $70. So, we're talking such a small amount.

 

[missy]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

I've never even thought about it...! My husband & I just add around 20% on...I guess we pay tip on tax bc we usually pay based on the total.

Our dinners out are usually around $70. So, we're talking such a small amount.

Good point MC. I'm curious about if PSers who tip on post tax amount would do the same on a very large restaurant bill. For example a bill over $500 (before tax) for 2 people which is not an unusual bill in many of the NYC restaurants. Still tip after tax? I think of myself as a generous tipper and I still will continue on tipping before tax since I am tipping on service and the tax added to the bill in my mind has nothing to do with my tip. But I am curious if those who tip on the whole bill including tax would do so under these circumstances.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

I've never even thought about it...! My husband & I just add around 20% on...I guess we pay tip on tax bc we usually pay based on the total.

Our dinners out are usually around $70. So, we're talking such a small amount.

Good point MC. I'm curious about if PSers who tip on post tax amount would do the same on a very large restaurant bill. For example a bill over $500 (before tax) for 2 people which is not an unusual bill in many of the NYC restaurants. Still tip after tax? I think of myself as a generous tipper and I still will continue on tipping before tax since I am tipping on service and the tax added to the bill in my mind has nothing to do with my tip. But I am curious if those who tip on the whole bill including tax would do so under these circumstances.

Well, if the bill was $500 (including tax) and I gave a 20% tip on that amount, using say a slightly higher tax rate of 10%, that would mean that the tip would be about $10 more if tipping on the entire amount, which IF I were regularily eating $500 meals, wouldn't be a significant amount to me. That said, I don't eat $500 meals, so if I went out, I'd probably adjust it to reflect the scary $500 bill! The only time I've had a bill close to that has been when a group went out together and I cannot even remember the details.

 

[packrat]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

We tip on the total. And sometimes I just add $5. If it's just the two of us, that's pretty good for a $20-$25 total bill for the two of us. I don't break out the calculator and try to figure out the meal itself minus drinks. I suck at math, so I glance at the total to see what 10% is, double it, and it's usually some weird amount like 4.17, so I just stick a $5 bill on the table. If we go someplace like Texas Roadhouse where the servers are super nice and upbeat, we tip more. If they're nice to the kids, we tip more. We've had people ignore them, not take their order etc, and that will get you a big fat zero when we leave. We don't ever eat at super fancy places..well, we can't afford it and there aren't any near by anyway. But if we went on vacation, say to NYC or someplace and wanted to "live large" (which for us, would be not choosing off the dollar menu haha) and we had a total bill that came to $500, we'd tip on the $500. We'd have to make allowances when saving for the trip, b/c I'm under the impression that in big cities, you basically tip everyone, like the doorman, the person who brings your suitcases and things right? We'll have to wear buttons that say "forgive us for not knowing, we're from Iowa"

 

[PintoBean]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

I tip 20% of $ pre-tax. 15% for lousy service and never go back.

I'm curious to hear how people tip at a buffet versus a la carte. I tip the same way...

 

[LittleRiver]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

I tip 20% of the pre-tax bill, and DW tips 20% of the after-tax total. If we're out together, we tip on the total.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

I tip 20% of $ pre-tax. 15% for lousy service and never go back.

I'm curious to hear how people tip at a buffet versus a la carte. I tip the same way...

Fifteen percent for lousy service is good. I've given less for really bad service. My biggy isn't actually food, it's hair salons because often I don't know if the hair cut was good until I'm home and had a chance to really look at it. I use to give 20% to stylists, but now my new rule is 10-15% the first time and if my hair still looks good once I'm home, then I'll go back to the same gal and give 20% next time. This is because I use to always give at least 20% and once my dh said my hair was crooked and he normally doesn't notice this stuff. I had to go back in and have it recut by another stylist. It bothers me that the first girl who did the crappy job got the tip.

I cannot stand tip jars in the mall & places like that. If a person puts out a Styrofoam cup as a tip jar, I won't put money in it. There was a cute one at an ice cream place though that was a jar covered with little crystals that probably took hours to glue on and I put a tip in there.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

We tip on the total. And sometimes I just add $5. If it's just the two of us, that's pretty good for a $20-$25 total bill for the two of us. I don't break out the calculator and try to figure out the meal itself minus drinks. I suck at math, so I glance at the total to see what 10% is, double it, and it's usually some weird amount like 4.17, so I just stick a $5 bill on the table. If we go someplace like Texas Roadhouse where the servers are super nice and upbeat, we tip more. If they're nice to the kids, we tip more. We've had people ignore them, not take their order etc, and that will get you a big fat zero when we leave. We don't ever eat at super fancy places..well, we can't afford it and there aren't any near by anyway. But if we went on vacation, say to NYC or someplace and wanted to "live large" (which for us, would be not choosing off the dollar menu haha) and we had a total bill that came to $500, we'd tip on the $500. We'd have to make allowances when saving for the trip, b/c I'm under the impression that in big cities, you basically tip everyone, like the doorman, the person who brings your suitcases and things right? We'll have to wear buttons that say "forgive us for not knowing, we're from Iowa"

Yeah, some places require more tipping. Right after we booked our flight to Vegas, I started putting all my $1 bills in our change holder so I had a stack of them for tipping.

 

[OreoRosies86]

Re: Do you tip on the total bill before or after the added t

I've never even thought about it...! My husband & I just add around 20% on...I guess we pay tip on tax bc we usually pay based on the total.

Our dinners out are usually around $70. So, we're talking such a small amount.

Good point MC. I'm curious about if PSers who tip on post tax amount would do the same on a very large restaurant bill. For example a bill over $500 (before tax) for 2 people which is not an unusual bill in many of the NYC restaurants. Still tip after tax? I think of myself as a generous tipper and I still will continue on tipping before tax since I am tipping on service and the tax added to the bill in my mind has nothing to do with my tip. But I am curious if those who tip on the whole bill including tax would do so under these circumstances.

I would, and do, yes. It doesn't mean all that much to me in the long run, but it might make the server's night!

I should add though, going out to a nice dinner is a once in a while treat for me so I happily put down the extra cash because I'm so ecstatic to be away from my home office