When a Singapore restaurant menu prints '$20++', your meal does not cost $20. Service charge of 10% goes on first, then 9% GST is charged on that larger amount, so $20 becomes $23.98. The fast way to get the real price of any '++' item is to multiply by 1.199. To split the bill, total everyone's items, apply 1.199 once to the whole bill, then divide by what each person actually ate. This guide shows the exact math, the fair ways to split, and the few things you can legally push back on.
The two plus signs stand for service charge and GST. The first plus is the 10% service charge most full-service restaurants and hotels add. The second is the 9% Goods and Services Tax, the rate Singapore has charged since 1 January 2024 and which Budget 2026 left unchanged. So '$20++' means $20 before both are added.
The order matters and it trips people up. Service charge is treated as part of what you are paying for, so GST is calculated on the price after service charge is added, not on the bare menu price. A flat '9% plus 10% equals 19%' shortcut overcharges nobody but undercounts the real total, because the 9% is applied to a base that already includes the 10%.
Take a $100 food bill at a place that charges service. Here is each step:
The single number that does all of that at once is 1.199, because 1.10 multiplied by 1.09 equals 1.1990. Multiply any '++' price by 1.199 and you get the door price. A common mistake is using 1.19 instead of 1.199; on a $100 bill that is a $1 gap, and across a big group dinner the difference adds up.
| Menu price (++) | After service charge | After GST | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10 | $11.00 | +$0.99 | $11.99 |
| $20 | $22.00 | +$1.98 | $23.98 |
| $50 | $55.00 | +$4.95 | $59.95 |
| $80 | $88.00 | +$7.92 | $95.92 |
| $100 | $110.00 | +$9.90 | $119.90 |
| $200 | $220.00 | +$19.80 | $239.80 |
Sometimes you have the final figure and need the pre-charge price, say when a receipt only prints the amount payable, or when you want to check a restaurant's sums. The trick is the same multiplier in reverse: divide by 1.199 instead of multiplying. A $59.95 charge on the card was $50 of food before the 10% service charge and 9% GST went on. Divide $119.90 by 1.199 and you get back to $100.
To pull out the GST alone from a '++' total, divide the total by 1.199 to recover the food price, multiply that by 1.10 to rebuild the post-service-charge subtotal, then take 9% of the subtotal. On the $119.90 bill the GST portion is $9.90 and the service charge is $10.00. This matters if you are claiming a business meal, since only the GST line is reclaimable input tax for a GST-registered company, not the service charge or the food.
Where a place charges GST but no service charge, the reverse divisor is just 1.09. A $32.70 total works back to $30 of food and $2.70 of GST.
GST-registered businesses in Singapore must display GST-inclusive prices by default. There is one exception that explains why some menus print '++' and others do not: IRAS lets hotels and food-and-beverage outlets that impose a service charge show GST-exclusive prices, as long as they put up a clear statement that prices are subject to GST and service charge. That is the line you see at the bottom of menus and on signage.
The exception is conditional. It does not apply to places that charge no service charge, and IRAS specifically blocks outlets that slap on a token service charge purely to dodge GST-inclusive pricing. A hawker stall, food court, or fast-food counter that takes no service charge has to show you the full price, GST included. So if a kopitiam menu says $5.50, that is what you pay, full stop. Businesses that get price display wrong can be fined up to $5,000.
If a menu prints a price followed by 'nett', that is the final figure with nothing more to add. Service charge is already inside it, GST is already inside it, and the number you read is the number you pay. 'Nett' is the opposite of '++'. Casual chains use it precisely so customers are not surprised at the till.
A growing list of full-meal restaurants in Singapore charge no service charge at all and show GST-inclusive or nett prices. Fast-food and quick-service brands are the obvious ones, but several sit-down chains have dropped the 10% too. Knowing which is which lets you pick a venue where the bill is exactly the menu total, no 1.199 needed.
Always confirm at the specific outlet, since a chain's policy can vary by location and franchise. The menu footer or a sign near the counter is the source of truth: no '++', no 'subject to service charge' line, usually a 'nett' or 'all prices inclusive of GST' note instead.
For a big group, doing the 1.199 math by hand at the table is slow and easy to get wrong. A bill-splitting app handles the proportional share, the rounding, and who-owes-whom in one go. The good ones let you assign individual items, then spread the service charge and GST across everyone in the same proportion as their food, which is the fair method this guide recommends.
Three are widely used in Singapore and all have a free tier. Splitwise tracks running balances across many meals and trips, handy for housemates or a regular dining group. Settle Up has a built-in calculator and currency conversion, useful for cross-border trips to JB or KL. Splid runs entirely on-device with no account needed, good for a one-off dinner where nobody wants to sign up. Whichever you pick, enter each person's items at menu price and let the app apply the shared charges, rather than splitting the grand total evenly.
The honest way to split is to make sure service charge and GST are shared in the same proportion as the food. Whichever method you use, the total has to add back to the bill at the bottom. Here is how the three common approaches actually behave.
Divide the grand total by the number of people. A $119.90 bill across four friends is $29.98 each. Fine when everyone ordered similar amounts, unfair the moment one person had a $40 steak and another had a $12 pasta. Use it for casual meals where nobody is counting.
The cleanest method. Total up what each person ordered at menu prices, then multiply each person's subtotal by 1.199. Because everyone gets the same multiplier, the four individual totals add back exactly to the bill, and each person pays the service charge and GST on their own food. Someone who ate $40 pays $47.96; someone who ate $12 pays $14.39.
Each person notes their own food cost, then everyone splits the service charge and GST equally on top. This is a middle ground: it is fairer than an even split but the lighter eaters end up subsidising the heavier eaters' tax, since the 19.9% add-on is shared flat rather than by what each person consumed. Quick to do, slightly off, and usually nobody minds for small differences.
Once you know who owes what, one person pays the full bill on a card and the rest send their share by PayNow or PayLah using just a mobile number, no bank details needed. Letting one person pay also keeps any card cashback or miles in one place instead of splitting a rewards-eligible transaction into tiny pieces. If you eat out in groups often, picking the right card for the payer matters more than the split itself; a dining rewards card can claw back a chunk of that 19.9% add-on, and our roundup of the best rewards credit cards in Singapore and the wider best credit cards guide go deeper.
Group dining is one of the easiest line items to track in a personal budget, precisely because the 19.9% add-on is invisible until the bill lands. If you eat at full-service restaurants twice a week, that surcharge alone can run past $100 a month. Counting it in your dining budget rather than your food budget keeps the surprise out of your spending.
GST is non-negotiable; it is a tax and every GST-registered business has to charge it. Service charge is different. There is no law in Singapore that mandates a 10% service charge. It is an industry custom, and a restaurant is free to charge it, change it, or not charge it at all.
That does not mean you can simply strike it off the bill. When a menu or signage clearly states that prices are subject to a 10% service charge, dining there is treated as accepting that term, so the service charge becomes part of your contract with the restaurant. If a dispute went to court, a diner would very likely be ordered to pay. The charge is not legally tied to good service either, so 'the service was bad' is not, on its own, grounds to refuse.
Two things are worth knowing. First, the service charge does not have to go to staff; it is the restaurant's revenue unless they say otherwise, so it is closer to a price increase than a tip. Second, if the food or service genuinely fell short, your recourse is to raise it with the manager, who often resolves complaints with a discount or goodwill gesture, or to file with CASE rather than to deduct the charge yourself.
You cannot avoid GST, but you can decide how often you pay the full '++' stack. A few practical moves:
It is the single number that adds both 10% service charge and 9% GST to a '++' price. Service charge goes on first (x1.10), then GST on that subtotal (x1.09), and 1.10 x 1.09 = 1.199. So a $50++ dish costs $50 x 1.199 = $59.95.
After. The 10% service charge is added to your food first, then 9% GST is charged on that larger subtotal. On a $100 meal, service charge is $10 (subtotal $110), and GST is 9% of $110 = $9.90, for a total of $119.90.
Hawker stalls and food courts do not impose a service charge. If a stall is GST-registered, the GST is already included in the displayed price, so you pay exactly what is shown. Many small stalls are below the GST registration threshold and charge no GST at all.
Because the 9% GST is calculated on the price after the 10% service charge is added, not on the bare menu price. That compounding pushes the real add-on to 19.9%, which is why the correct multiplier is 1.199 rather than 1.19.
Not if it is clearly displayed on the menu or signage. There is no law forcing restaurants to charge it, but once it is stated and you dine in, it becomes part of your contract and a court would likely order you to pay. GST, separately, is always payable.
Not necessarily. Service charge is the restaurant's revenue and there is no legal requirement to pass it to staff. Some outlets do share it, but unless they say so, treat it as a price increase rather than a tip.
Total each person's food at menu prices, then multiply each subtotal by 1.199. Everyone pays service charge and GST on what they actually ate, and the individual totals add back exactly to the bill. Settle the difference by PayNow.
Often yes. Service charge is meant for table service, so many restaurants drop the 10% for takeaway and pickup orders. You still pay 9% GST, but skipping the service charge takes about 9% off the door price, because you avoid both the 10% service charge and the GST that would have been charged on it.
Nett means the price shown is final, with both GST and any service charge already included. It is the opposite of '++'. If a menu prints '$12 nett', you pay exactly $12, no 1.199 multiplier needed. Casual chains and hawker stalls use nett pricing so the till total matches the menu.
Fast-food and quick-service chains like McDonald's, KFC and Subway charge no service charge, and several sit-down casual chains such as Saizeriya and Pastamania also skip it, showing GST-inclusive or nett prices instead. Hawker centres and kopitiams never add service charge. Policy can vary by outlet, so check the menu footer for a '++' or 'subject to service charge' line.
Divide the '++' total by 1.199 to recover the original menu price. A $59.95 charge was $50 of food before service charge and GST. If the place charged GST but no service charge, divide by 1.09 instead. To isolate the GST line on a '++' bill, take the total, divide by 1.199, multiply by 1.10, then take 9% of that.
Yes. Splitwise, Settle Up and Splid all split bills and can spread the service charge and GST across everyone in proportion to what they ordered. Enter each person's items at menu price and let the app apply the shared 19.9% charge, rather than dividing the grand total evenly.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.