Is the 'subject distance' measured from the front of the lens or from the film plane?
This question is relevant only for close-up and macro photography. For other photography, any error caused by measuring subject distance from the wrong location is neglible.
The depth of field equations are derived from the "thin lens" equation, which assumes a single lens element with no thickness. And, subject distance is measured from the thin lens. So, technically, subject distance is measured from the front of a lens.
However, that doesn't apply directly to a photographic lens. These lenses have many elements, and the front of a lens isn't necessarily the location that subject distance is measured from. The actual location is something called the "front nodal point" of the lens. The location of the front nodal point isn't documented by lens manufacturers, nor is it easy to find experimentally.
I measure subject distance from the front of the lens. I believe that the nodal point would actually be somewhere between the front and rear elements. But, by assuming it is at the front of the lens, I get a conservative estimate of the depth of field from the calculator. In other words, the depth of field calculation shows less depth of field than will actually be seen in the photo.