A man says Texas Roadhouse’s tip kiosk suggested $16.28 as a 20% tip on a $66.66 bill, but the math looked off to him

A man’s TikTok video is raising questions about how Texas Roadhouse’s payment kiosks come up with suggested gratuities. According to BroBible, he says the screen offered $16.28 as a 20% option on a $66.66 bill, and he believes that number is wrong.

The math does look off at first glance, and the gap is easy to check with a calculator. Twenty percent of $66.66 is about $13.33, while $16.28 comes to roughly 24% of that amount. For $16.28 to be exactly 20%, the starting figure would need to be $81.40. The outlet contacted both the TikToker and Texas Roadhouse for comment.

The restaurant has addressed this kind of complaint before, and its explanation centers on how the suggested figure is built. In an earlier case, a kiosk suggested $21 on a $50 bill, and the chain said, “suggested tip amounts are calculated after tax and before any discounts are applied, which can affect the suggested totals you see on the receipt.”

How a suggested tip can end up above 20% of the bill

Under the method Texas Roadhouse describes, the suggestion is based on the total with tax included, and a discount does not lower it. A customer who receives a discount can therefore see a suggestion that looks inflated next to the amount actually charged. That difference is the kind of gap the chain’s statement describes.

That case was likely explained by discounts or a partial gift card payment, according to the account. In plain terms, the percentage on the screen applies to the chain’s own starting total, which may not match the subtotal printed on a receipt. The two dollar figures in the video cannot settle which starting amount the kiosk used.

The coverage puts the man’s total after tax at $82.94 and says 20% of that is about $16.6. That total, however, is exactly the $66.66 bill plus the $16.28 suggestion, so it is unclear how much of it is tax. It is also unclear whether any discounts applied to his meal.

Also cited is a Reddit post from a diner whose $68.61 bill had no discounts. The diner claimed the kiosk’s 20% tip option actually amounted to 32%. The manager reportedly couldn’t explain the discrepancy and said he would raise it with his boss, so the diner entered a custom tip instead.

Tipping disputes between restaurants and diners have come up in other recent stories as well. For anyone who wants to check a kiosk, the calculation is simple: multiply the bill by 0.20 for a 20% tip and compare it with the amount on the screen. Texas Roadhouse itself calls the on-screen figures suggested tip amounts, which leaves the final number up to the customer.

The same report notes that anyone with concerns about the figures can politely raise them with their server.