Free tools
Receipt tools
Two free calculators for the arithmetic that comes before the receipt. Both run in your browser — nothing is uploaded, and neither needs an account.
Receipt Total Calculator
Work out what a receipt should add up to.
Enter line items with quantities and prices, then set a tax rate, discount and tip. It returns the subtotal, tax amount, grand total and — for cash — the change owed.
Answers
- What is the tax on this subtotal?
- What should the total be after a discount?
- How much change is owed from a cash payment?
Split-Payment Checker
Confirm a split bill actually reconciles.
Enter the receipt total and each payment — cash, card, gift card — and it shows what is still outstanding, or how much was overpaid, down to the cent.
Answers
- Do these payments add up to the total?
- How much is still outstanding?
- Was the bill overpaid, and by how much?
The order of operations
How a receipt total is calculated
A receipt total is built in a fixed order, and the order matters: a discount is applied before tax, and a tip is added after it.
| Step | Formula | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Subtotal | quantity × unit price, summed across every line | The value of the goods before anything is added or taken off. |
| 2. Discount | subtotal − discount = taxable amount | The discount comes off first, and it can never exceed the subtotal. |
| 3. Tax | taxable amount × (tax rate ÷ 100) | Tax is charged on the discounted figure, not the original subtotal. |
| 4. Tip | added after tax | A tip is not taxable, so it never changes the tax amount. |
| 5. Total | taxable amount + tax + tip | The grand total the customer owes. |
| 6. Change | cash tendered − total | Only applies when paying cash and the amount tendered exceeds the total. |
Worked example
Two lattes at $5.25 and one croissant at $3.75, with a $2.00 discount, 8.5% sales tax and a $2.00 tip, paid with a $20 note. Because the discount is applied first, tax is charged on $12.25 rather than $14.25 — a difference of 17 cents.
- 2 × Latte @ $5.25
- $10.50
- 1 × Croissant @ $3.75
- $3.75
- Subtotal
- $14.25
- Discount
- −$2.00
- Taxable amount
- $12.25
- Tax (8.5%)
- $1.04
- Tip
- $2.00
- Total
- $15.29
- Change from $20.00
- $4.71
Receipt maths, answered
- Is sales tax calculated before or after a discount?
- After. A discount reduces the taxable amount first, and tax is then charged on the reduced figure. On a $14.25 subtotal with a $2.00 discount and 8.5% tax, tax is charged on $12.25 — not on $14.25 — giving $1.04 rather than $1.21.
- Is a tip taxed on a receipt?
- No. A tip is added after tax has been calculated, so it never increases the tax amount. Tax applies to the goods and services sold; a voluntary tip is not part of that taxable sale.
- How do I check that split payments add up to the total?
- Subtract the sum of every payment from the receipt total. If the result is zero the bill reconciles; a positive number is still outstanding and a negative number means the bill was overpaid, which on a cash tender is the change owed. The Split-Payment Checker treats anything within half a cent as balanced to absorb rounding.
- How is change calculated on a receipt?
- Change equals the cash tendered minus the grand total, and it only applies when the amount handed over is greater than the total. Card and gift-card payments do not produce change.
- Do these tools need an account?
- No. Both tools run entirely in your browser on Makecepeit, nothing is sent to a server, and no sign-up is required to use them.
Got the numbers? Turn them into a receipt
The builder does the same arithmetic automatically — then gives you a finished receipt to download as a PDF or PNG.
Open the Receipt Builder