How it works
Use What each ordered when people had different meals. List each person with the pre-tax cost of their items, and the calculator adds tax and tip in proportion to what they ordered.
Use Shares when some people should pay more of a fixed total, such as a couple counting as 2 shares and a single diner as 1. Enter the final bill and each person’s number of shares.
Shared items like appetizers can be split by adding their cost evenly to each person’s line before calculating.
Formula
Person pays = their items × (1 + tax% + tip%), or total × their shares ÷ all shares
Questions people ask
Is splitting tax and tip by what each person ordered fair?
Yes. Tax is charged on each item, and a percentage tip scales with the bill, so dividing both in proportion to each order matches what each person actually caused.
How do I handle a shared appetizer?
Divide its price by the number of people who ate it and add that amount to each of their lines.
Why might the shares not add up to the bill to the cent?
Each share is shown rounded to the cent, so the displayed amounts can differ from the total by a cent or two. Have one person cover the difference.