Why is the tax split by what each person ate rather than equally?

Because that is what the tax was charged on. Five per cent of a ₹300 meal is ₹15 and five per cent of a ₹900 meal is ₹45 — dividing the total tax equally would make the light eater pay part of the heavy eater's tax.

Should tax apply to the service charge?

On a bill in India, yes — GST is charged on the service charge too, and the bill will show it. The switch is there for bills from places where tax applies only to the food.

Do I have to pay a service charge in India?

Under the Central Consumer Protection Authority's July 2022 guidelines, a restaurant cannot add a service charge by default or make it a condition of service. If you choose to pay one, set it here so it is shared fairly.

Do the shares add up to the bill exactly?

To the paisa. Each charge is computed once on the whole bill and then divided, and any leftover paisa from a division goes to one person rather than disappearing.

Restaurant Bill Splitter

Split by what each person ordered, with GST, service and tip shared fairly.

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Ask about Restaurant Bill Splitter

Questions about what this tool does, which option to pick, or what it can and cannot handle.

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About the Restaurant Bill Splitter

Splitting a restaurant bill equally is fine until someone orders the lobster. The person who had soup and water should not quietly fund a stranger's main course, and nobody wants to be the one doing sums on a napkin while the waiter hovers. This restaurant bill splitter divides the bill by what each person actually ate.

List the items from the bill and tap who shared each one. A starter for the table is divided among everyone; a dessert shared by two is divided between those two; the dal one person ordered for themselves is theirs alone. Quantity is a field of its own, so four garlic naans go in as one line.

The charges at the bottom of the bill are where most splitters cheat. A discount, a service charge, tax and tip are each worked out once on the whole bill, exactly as the restaurant computed them, and then spread across the table in proportion to what each person's food came to. Whoever ate more pays more of the tax, which is how tax works.

In India, GST applies to a service charge as well as to the food, and that is the default here; switch it off for a bill where tax was charged on food alone. Most restaurants in India charge GST at 5%. Match whatever the bill prints, because the bill is what was paid. A service charge is optional in India: the Central Consumer Protection Authority's 2022 guidelines say a restaurant may not add one automatically, so check whether yours was.

If one person paid at the counter, choose them and the page lists what everyone owes them, rounded to whole rupees if you prefer.

How to use it

1Add the people at the table.
2Enter each item from the bill with its price and quantity, and tap who shared it.
3Set the discount, service charge, tax and tip to match what the bill shows.
4Choose who paid, and read off what everyone owes them.

Questions

Why is the tax split by what each person ate rather than equally?: Because that is what the tax was charged on. Five per cent of a ₹300 meal is ₹15 and five per cent of a ₹900 meal is ₹45 — dividing the total tax equally would make the light eater pay part of the heavy eater's tax.
Should tax apply to the service charge?: On a bill in India, yes — GST is charged on the service charge too, and the bill will show it. The switch is there for bills from places where tax applies only to the food.
Do I have to pay a service charge in India?: Under the Central Consumer Protection Authority's July 2022 guidelines, a restaurant cannot add a service charge by default or make it a condition of service. If you choose to pay one, set it here so it is shared fairly.
Do the shares add up to the bill exactly?: To the paisa. Each charge is computed once on the whole bill and then divided, and any leftover paisa from a division goes to one person rather than disappearing.