Our upcoming trip will be our first with 6 people, meaning the tips will be automatically added. I like to calculate what I think they’ll be ahead of time and take cash to cover it. For my own sanity check, are tips calculated pre-tax or after tax? I will likely round up a bit but want to make sure we’re covered.
Tips are pre-tax.
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Technically, pre-tax. But I never bother calculating it pre-tax, but post-tax. The difference is minimal, and I’d rather be overgenerous. Also, when I do a 20% tip (which is my standard), usually I’ll round up to the nearest $1.
Pre- versus post-tax tipping is the third rail of dining discussions in my household. Technically, tipping is done pre-tax, and this is the opinion I hold. DW is in the post-tax camp, and is willing to go to war over it. It really does not amount to very much anyway, but every now and then I like to force the issue. 
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I usually do the tip based on the pre-tax amount, then round it up to the nearest dollar, then add $1,000 and a new Lexus.
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This explains why your Disney trips are putting you in the poor house! 
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Thanks, guys! I usually do round up, but just wanted to make sure. One of my calculations is about $28.50 - I’d probably round up to $30. But if going by the post-tax amount, I need a little over $30 so wanted to make sure I was covered!
If you are trying to budget ahead of time, calculate tips post-tax and round up. That’s what I did, and I have money left over. Most of the time I go by what’s on their receipt at 20% and only round up to the nearest 0 or 5 dollar amount if the service was exceptionally good.
Their receipt is at 20%? I thought it was at 18%. Good to know.
No. It is 18% for the automatic tip. I guess most people just tip at 20% when it isn’t automatic. (At least, we do…and most people I know.)
I’d rather have a little more than they charge - just want to make sure I have at least that amount!
Thanks! This is our first trip where it will be automatically added, so I’m trying to get all my ducks in a row 
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What I said sounds wrong. You can always add an additional tip as well. You aren’t stuck giving only 18%. You just can’t choose to do less than 18%.
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You’re doing better than me.
In 2016, I took my family (sans my oldest son) to Disney, which culminated in a nice meal at Rainforest Cafe. (Nice for us…usually we just cook or do quick service.) Well, despite the fact that there were, in fact, six of us…I didn’t really think of us qualifying as a “party of six”. I don’t know why. I guess I didn’t think a “family” would constitute a party or something. Only 2 adults in the mix, after all. Anyhow, when it came time to pay the very expensive bill, I dutifully added my 20% tip and we left. I, of course, paid in cash. But it wasn’t until later when I was reviewing the receipt that I noticed the part about 18% tip automatically added, and then looked to confirm it had been added. So, all said, that server made out with a 38% tip that day! Well, no. Actually more than that, since I tipped the 20% on top of the 18% as well!
Ouch!!!
Yep. Well, fortunately, we had budgeted about $200 for the meal. All said, it came to around $140 before tip. I ended up paying $198, instead of what should have been more like $165. But we were under budget, so it was all good. Except that it would have been nice to spend that $33 on treats or something later. 
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Our first TS meal in WDW we did this too and our server came to us personally and brought it to our attention to make sure it was intentional. It wasn’t. But we kept it the way it was in appreciation for her honesty and thoughtfulness. Though after that meal we knew not to add another 20%, I have seen servers in WDW do this on several of occasions with tables near ours since then. I am always impressed.