>>>>>I'm pretty much the same way. (Plus, I can't do actual math in my head to save my life, so I'm always liberal...oh my god, did I just admit I'm a liberal???)
>>>
>>>LOL. So pity the foreigner who is not used to math at the end of a nice dinner out.;-)
>>>
>>>FWIW I tend to shift the decimal point for 10% then half it and then halve that, adding to 17.5% and rounding up all the way. I take if from the tax-inclusive price including alcohol, though some older conservative associates insist it's supposed to be 15% on the pre-tax cost of the meal only. From what I'm seeing here maybe I'm a bit cheap.
>>
>>FWIW, my 20% is typically on the pre-tax total.
>>
>>Tamar
>
>I don't know if you realize that if you pay with CC only about 17% of your tip goes to the server(s). They have to pay about 3% to the CC company.

Just looked it up and sure enough, yes, the employer can deduct the CC fee from the portion that goes to the server. Guess that makes sense, since me putting a tip on my charge shouldn't cost the employer extra.

That said, the fee is about 3% of the tip amount, which leaves 97% of the tip. If I tip 20% of the bill, the CC fee is .03 x .2 of the check or .006. So if the bill is $30 and I tip $6, the server gets 97% of $6, which is $5.82. That's not at all the same as a 17% tip, which would be $5.10.

Tamar