Reception Service Charges & Fees

They'd both be on the base price. So take the base price and multiply by 1.26 for the total.

I would just ask the venue though so you have the most accurate estimate. For ours the 20% doesn't get applied to every line item on our final bill, so it's worth a quick email or call just to confirm.

Both percentages are off the base price and should be separate line items on your invoice.

The tax should not, depending on your state, be calculated on your service charge. That is something to find out.

That 20 % is the charge for the staff salary. Whether they call it a gratuity or not, it's not a tip.

You ask all the questions you need to get to an answer you truly understand.

If yours is calculated like min, it'll end up being 27.2% :-(

You should ask the venue. My father refused to pay tax on the service charge, but that's how they originally calculated it (base price plus 21% service charge then 6% sales tax). Also, check to see if the service charge is gratuity for the staff or not (it was gratuity for me). Also, does your state have alcohol tax? MD has 9% alcohol tax you have to pay on top of sales tax, so consider that as well.

Damn that alcohol tax, @annakay! I'm in Baltimore and it just makes the math more annoying. Especially since my open bar is $$$$

We asked our venue to provide to calculate the cost for us. This way, we have an exact amount of what is owed.

Same for us as well. It seems like a lot easier especially after they take their deposit.

My caterer charged as follows for an example:

-Food/beverage/equipment

-Staffing (3 servers, 1 supervisor, 1 bartender)

They charged a 20% gratuity and state tax against Food/beverage/equipment.

Why do you have to figure this out! Our vendor immediately created an invoice based on the services we wanted. We were able to see the total cost before we signed and paid the deposit. And every time we make another deposit we receive a new invoice with the remaining balance

I cannot figure out how to get ahold of wedding wire customer service. I was double charge for a Snapchat filter??? I wanted to fix this with them first before going tot the bank...