What Is a Tip (Gratuity)?
Definition
Tip (Gratuity): Money a customer leaves of their own will for a service, on top of the bill. It is usually a percent of the bill or a fixed amount, and it differs from a service charge, which the business adds to the price.
A tip, or gratuity, is money a customer leaves of their own will on top of the bill for a service. You meet it at restaurants and cafés and with taxi and delivery services. It is usually a percent of the bill, sometimes a fixed amount. A tip makes the total larger; the price and the tax stay the same.
Where it appears in the formulas
tip = bill × tip percent / 100 and total = bill + tip. A 10% tip on a bill of 1,200 is 120, so you pay 1,320. The tip calculator also splits the total by the number of people.
Tip or service charge
A tip is voluntary, and the customer decides the amount. A service charge is an amount the business adds to the price or the bill; it does not depend on the customer’s choice. So a service charge counts as part of the price, and a tip does not.
In Türkiye
Since 30 January 2026, restaurants, cafés, patisseries and similar food and drink businesses may not ask the customer for a service charge, table charge, cover charge or any other extra payment under another name (Price Tag Regulation art. 8(6), Official Gazette 30 January 2026, no. 33153). The Ministry of Trade says that a customer pays extra only of their own will, as with a tip. Under art. 51 of Labour Law no. 4857, money a customer leaves to the employer of their own will, or money collected under the employer’s control, goes in full to all workers of the workplace. There is no legal tip percent.