Split Bill Calculator

Split Bill Calculator: The Complete Guide to Fair Expense Sharing

Splitting bills among friends, family, or colleagues has always created awkward moments—who had what, how much was tax, should everyone pay equally, and how do you account for the person who only had a salad? Our comprehensive split bill calculator eliminates this friction with three flexible splitting methods: equal division, custom percentages, and item-by-item assignment. Add tip and tax handling, manage multiple people, and even scan receipts directly with our premium OCR feature to auto-populate items.

Whether you're splitting a restaurant check, sharing household expenses, or managing group travel costs, this tool handles every scenario fairly and transparently. Everyone sees exactly what they owe and why—no more arguments or unfair distributions. For basic tip calculations, see our dedicated Tip Calculator, and for percentage calculations, try our Percentage Calculator.

Three Ways to Split Bills Fairly

Equal Split is the simplest option—divide the total (including tip and tax) evenly among all participants. This works well when everyone ordered similarly-priced items or when the group prefers simplicity over precision. Often the default choice for quick meals or drinks where individual tracking isn't worth the effort.

Custom Percentage Split accommodates unequal contributions without tracking individual items. If someone ordered drinks while others didn't, or if one person is treating part of the table, assign percentages that reflect the true distribution. The calculator ensures percentages total 100% and shows exactly what each person owes. Use our Margin Calculator for business percentage calculations.

Item-by-Item Split provides maximum fairness by assigning each item to specific people. Add items manually or scan a receipt to auto-populate, then assign each item to whoever ordered it. Shared items (like appetizers) can be split among multiple people. The calculator distributes shared costs (tax, tip, unassigned items) proportionally.

Handling Tips, Taxes, and Service Charges

Tip calculation supports common presets (15%, 18%, 20%, 22%, 25%) or custom percentages. The tip is calculated on the subtotal (or subtotal plus tax, depending on local convention) and distributed according to your chosen split method. Everyone pays their proportional share of the tip. For more tip guidance, see our Tip Calculator.

Tax handling lets you toggle tax on/off and set the percentage for your location. This is particularly useful in regions where tax is added at the register rather than included in menu prices. The calculator shows tax as a separate line item in the breakdown.

Service charges (common in some countries or for large groups) can be added to the bill amount. If the receipt shows a service charge, include it in the base bill; if it's meant to replace tipping, set tip to 0%. Our GST Calculator and VAT Calculator can help with tax calculations.

Receipt Scanning with OCR (Premium Feature)

Our premium OCR receipt scanning feature uses advanced Tesseract.js technology to extract items and amounts directly from photos of receipts. Simply snap a picture (or upload an existing image), and the calculator automatically populates your item list. This eliminates manual data entry errors and saves significant time for complex bills with many items.

The OCR system recognizes common receipt formats, extracting item names and prices. It identifies totals, subtotals, and individual line items. After scanning, you can edit any extracted data and assign items to people—perfect for itemized restaurant bills or grocery receipts for shared housing expenses.

Tips for best OCR results: Use good lighting, flatten the receipt, capture the entire document, and ensure text is sharp. Thermal receipt paper fades over time, so scan receipts soon after receiving them. The system works best with clear printed text rather than handwritten notes.

Group Payment Etiquette

Agree on splitting method beforehand. Before ordering, establish whether you'll split equally or by item. This prevents awkwardness later and helps everyone order according to their budget. If someone has dietary restrictions or prefers not to drink alcohol, item-based splitting is more fair.

Account for income differences. In groups with varying financial situations, more affluent members often offer to cover more, especially for celebrations. The custom percentage split makes this easy without requiring item-by-item tracking. Calculate discounts with our Discount Calculator.

Handle "I only had a salad" gracefully. If someone ordered significantly less, offer to calculate their individual share. The item-based split handles this automatically. For equal splits, a simple "I had less, so I'll just pay $X" is socially acceptable when the difference is substantial.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I fairly split a bill with different orders?

Use item-based splitting: add each item with its price, then assign to whoever ordered it. Shared items (appetizers, bottles of wine) can be assigned to multiple people and are split evenly among them. Tax and tip are distributed proportionally to each person's item total.

Should tip be calculated before or after tax?

Traditionally, tip is calculated on the pre-tax subtotal. However, many people tip on the post-tax total for simplicity. The difference is usually small. Our calculator applies tip to the post-tax amount when tax is included, but you can adjust the bill amount to tip on pre-tax if preferred.

How do I split when some people are treating others?

Use custom percentage split. If Parent A is treating Child B, assign 0% to Child B and increase Parent A's percentage accordingly. Or use item-based split and assign the child's items to the parent. Plan finances with our Savings Calculator.

Can I save configurations for recurring group expenses?

Yes! Premium users can save split configurations with custom names. This is ideal for recurring expenses like shared household bills, regular dinner groups, or coworker lunch outings. Load a saved configuration and adjust amounts as needed.