Restaurant tip-out calculator
End-of-shift math, done in ten seconds. Split by your house's tip-out percentages, or divide a pooled amount by hours worked.
Typical houses: bussers 1–3%, bartenders 5–10% of bar sales or 1–2% of total tips, runners 1–2%, hosts 1–2%. Your restaurant's policy wins — this tool just does the math.
Each share = (person's hours ÷ everyone's hours) × the pool. The effective $/hr column helps spot data-entry mistakes fast.
Tip pooling vs. tipping out
Tipping out (the percentage tab) is the classic full-service model: each server keeps their own tips and pays a fixed percentage to the people who supported their tables — bussers, food runners, bartenders, sometimes hosts. Tip pooling (the hours tab) throws everything into one pot and divides it by an agreed formula, most often hours worked. Pooling is common in counter-service, cafés, and tight-knit crews; tip-outs dominate where servers control their own sections.
Know the rules
Federal law sets the floor: tips belong to employees, managers and supervisors can't take a cut, and if the employer claims a tip credit, the pool can only include workers who customarily receive tips. Many states layer on stricter rules — some ban tip credits entirely, some regulate who can be in a pool. Get your house policy in writing and check your state's labor department if something feels off.
Tip-out FAQs
Should tip-outs be based on tips or on sales?
Both exist. Percent-of-tips (what this calculator does) keeps everyone's incentives aligned — a slow night means smaller tip-outs too. Percent-of-sales is common for bartender tip-outs and protects support staff on nights when a server gets stiffed, but it can mean tipping out more than you earned on a bad table. Know which one your house uses before you compare numbers.
Do I tip out on cash tips too?
House policy decides, but the norm is yes — tip-out percentages apply to all tips, cash and card. Skimming cash out of the calculation is the fastest way to lose the trust of the people running your food.
Are tip-outs taxable?
You report the tips you keep, and the people you tip out report what they receive. If you tip out $40 of a $300 night, your taxable tips are $260 — keep a nightly record so your reported number is right.