How it works
A tip out is the percentage of a server's collected tips that gets shared with the support staff who made the service possible — bartenders, bussers, food runners and expos. This calculator takes the total tips from a shift, applies each role's tip-out percentage, and shows what remains for the servers to divide among themselves. Enter the pool, set the percentages your house runs — commonly 5-15% for bartenders and 5-10% for bussers and runners — and every dollar lands in one of four buckets. Two ground rules shape the math. First, most houses tip out on tips collected rather than on sales, though some use a percentage of beverage or food sales instead; know which system yours runs before comparing numbers across restaurants. Second, under the FLSA managers and supervisors cannot take a share of a tip pool, and where a tip credit applies the pool is limited to employees who customarily receive tips — the money belongs to tipped staff, not the house. The per-server figure is the honest end-of-shift number: what walks out the door per person after the support team has been paid from the pool.
Formula
Servers keep = total x (100% - tip-out %) | Each role = total x role % | Per server = servers keep / servers
Tips
- Confirm whether your house tips out on tips or on sales — the two diverge fast on slow nights.
- Managers and supervisors legally cannot take a share of a tip pool under the FLSA.
- Card tips often arrive net of processing fees; pool what actually landed, not what was rung.
- Keep tip-out percentages consistent across shifts, or morale will settle them for you.
- If support percentages creep past 30% combined, servers are subsidising a staffing decision.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a typical tip out percentage?
- Most US restaurants tip out 20-35% of a server's tips in total: commonly 10-15% to bartenders, 5-10% to bussers and about 5% to runners or expos. Houses that tip out on sales instead use smaller numbers, usually 2-5% per role, because sales are much larger than tips.
- How do you calculate tip out for bartenders?
- Multiply the shift's total tips by the bartender's tip-out percentage: $600 in tips with a 15% bartender tip out sends $90 to the bar. The calculator applies each role's percentage at once and divides the remainder among the servers.
- Can managers take a share of tips?
- No. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers, managers and supervisors may not keep any portion of a tip pool, regardless of whether a tip credit is claimed. Including a manager in the pool is wage theft, and workers can recover the amount owed.
- Should I tip out on sales or on tips?
- Tipping out on tips means support shares your good nights and slow ones equally in percentage terms; tipping out on sales shifts more risk onto servers when tips run light but is simpler to enforce. Most houses use a percentage of tips; either system is legitimate if applied consistently.
- How much do servers make after tip out?
- With a typical combined tip out of around 30%, a server keeps about 70% of collected tips before tax — $420 from a $600 night shared two ways is $210 each, on top of the cash wage. Run your own house's numbers above to see your true end-of-shift figure.