Question

How can sales tax alter the size of the tip you leave at a restaurant?

a. a tip of a given percentage (such as a 20% tip) will be larger if calculated after tax than if calculated before tax.
b. the tip becomes part of the bill as a whole, so you have to increase the sales tax by a corresponding amount.
c. you do not have to double-calculate a percentage on any purchases, so you should pay for tax or a tip but not both.
d. a standard tip is 15% to 20% of the sales tax. please select the best answer from the choices provided a b c d

Answer 1

calculating a tip after adding sales tax will result in a larger tip amount than calculating the tip before tax.

Option a is correct.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct answer to the question of how sales tax can alter the size of the tip you leave at a restaurant is option a. A tip of a given percentage (such as a 20% tip) will be larger if calculated after tax than if calculated before tax.

Example Explanation

Let us consider Jerod's bill to understand how sales tax affects the tipping amount. If the total food cost is $47.50 and the sales tax is 6%, we first calculate the sales tax: 0.06 × $47.50 = $2.85. Adding this to the total food cost gives us $47.50 + $2.85 = $50.35. If Jerod decides to leave a 20% tip,

he would calculate this on the post-tax amount: 0.20 × $50.35 = $10.07. Therefore, including tax and tip, he will pay $50.35 + $10.07 = $60.42 at the restaurant's register using a credit card. If he had calculated a 20% tip before tax, the tip would have been 0.20 × $47.50 = $9.50, making the total with tip and tax $47.50 + $9.50 + $2.85 = $59.85.

It’s important to note that calculating tips on the post-tax amount leads to a larger tip because you are taking a percentage of a larger number due to the addition of sales tax.