Tipping by Country
Tipping is one of the least portable customs there is. The same gesture that is obligatory in one country is unnecessary in a second and mildly awkward in a third. This overview covers restaurant tipping only, in broad strokes — customs vary by city, venue and year, so treat it as a starting point and check a current local source before you travel.
| Country | Restaurant custom | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 15–20% at sit-down restaurants | The strongest tipping culture on this list; tips form a large part of service workers’ income in many states. |
| Canada | 15–20% | Closely follows US practice at restaurants; card terminals often suggest rates, sometimes on the after-tax total. |
| Mexico | 10–15% | At restaurants. Check the bill — an added "propina" line is sometimes presented as optional. |
| Brazil | 10%, often already on the bill | A 10% service charge is commonly added to restaurant checks; paying it is customary even where it is technically optional. |
| United Kingdom | 10–12.5%, or nothing if a service charge is included | Many restaurants add a discretionary service charge, especially in London. It is normal to ask for it to be removed if service was poor. |
| France | ~5–10% extra, optional | A service charge is included in menu prices by law ("service compris"). Leaving small cash for good service is appreciated but not expected. |
| Germany | 5–10%, by rounding up | Tips are handed to the server while paying — you state the total you want to pay, rather than leaving cash on the table. |
| Italy | Small extra, optional | A cover charge ("coperto") appears on most bills and is not a tip. Rounding up or leaving a few euros for good service is common. |
| Spain | Rounding up, or 5–10% at restaurants | Tipping is modest and genuinely optional; leaving the coins from the change is normal. |
| Australia | Not expected; ~10% for good service | Service staff are paid full wages, so tips are a bonus, not a necessity. Fine-dining venues see 10% most often. |
| Japan | Generally no tipping | Tipping is not part of the service culture and can cause confusion or be politely refused. Excellent service is simply the standard. |
| China | Generally not expected | Tipping has not traditionally been customary; high-end international hotels are the main exception. |
| India | 5–10% at restaurants | Often expected in mid-range and upscale restaurants unless a service charge is already on the bill. |
Why the differences exist
Two forces explain most of the variation. The first is wages: where service staff rely on tips for a large share of their income — much of the US — tipping is close to mandatory, and where full wages are the norm, it fades into an optional bonus. The second is price structure: where law or custom builds service into the menu price (France's service compris, Italy's coperto, Brazil's 10% on the check), the bill already contains the money that elsewhere arrives as a tip.
Safe defaults when you are unsure
Check the bill for a service charge before adding anything. In a country with a strong tipping culture, follow the local percentage — the tip calculator works in any currency as long as you ignore the dollar sign. Where tipping is modest, rounding the bill up is almost never wrong. And in Japan, the safe default is simply not to tip: pay the bill, and let the service be the standard it already is.
This page summarises customs as commonly described in travel guidance. It is deliberately conservative, covers restaurants only, and will drift out of date — confirm with a current local source before relying on it.
Frequently asked questions
- Is it rude not to tip in the US?
- At a sit-down restaurant, yes, it is generally read as a statement about the service rather than a neutral act, because tips make up a significant part of servers' pay in many states.
- Why do card terminals suggest such high percentages?
- Terminals often compute suggestions on the after-tax total and start their presets high. You can always choose "custom amount" and tip the rate you intend on the base you intend — the pre-tax subtotal by convention.
- Do these customs apply to bars, taxis and hotels too?
- Roughly, with the same direction in each country, but the numbers differ by situation. The tipping guide breaks the US ranges down by situation.