Customers Are Side-Eyeing Texas Roadhouse's Shady Tipping Tactic

In an age where tipping feels societally mandatory, people are getting fed up with this new-found culture. It's always been the norm to tip on certain services — a haircut, a house cleaning, and especially when dining out. But these days, even a quick drive-thru experience has you questioning if you should tip. Now, eagle-eyed Texas Roadhouse customers have noticed something off about the chain's tipping calculations: it calculates the tip percentage after taxes instead of only for food and drink costs.

When customers are prompted to leave a suggested percentage on a Texas Roadhouse bill, the suggestion is higher than it should be for what people ordered due to this post-tax calculation. Customers called it "completely wrong" in a thread on the r/EndTipping subreddit. In the thread, a user posted a screen from a Texas Roadhouse final bill, in which the fine print said "Tip is calculated after tax and before discounts." While it's fair to tip on full-priced food and drinks before any discount is added in, the same can't be said for the post-tax cost.

The reality is that tipping on a post-tax bill doesn't often change the tip by much. If you have a $50 bill and 7% tax, the new total is $53.50. That moves the needle by only 70 cents, so a $10 tip moves to a $10.70 tip (as far as a standard 20% tip goes). Even for a $200 dinner bill, it only shifts the tip by an extra $2.80, from $40 to $42.80. But for customers, it's the principle of the trick that's bothersome rather than the dollar amount.

In certain countries, such as Japan, tipping at restaurants is considered rude. In 2025, WalletHub did a study on tipping culture among Americans and found that nearly 90% of those surveyed were frustrated with the United States' tipping culture. Out of protest, nearly 30% of Americans admitted to tipping less than they planned once they were presented with a tipping suggestion screen. 

An easy fix for the Texas Roadhouse frustration is to remember that you can do your own calculation and tip before the tax amount; just look for the subtotal on the receipt to find the original amount. Tipping screens usually break this down, too; in that case, just click on "custom tip" and tip only on the pre-tax total. If you have cash, use that instead; it's generally preferred by servers. Either way, it still complicates the process when you have to do a separate calculation.