Tipping Guide
How much is customary, situation by situation. These are the commonly cited US ranges — orientation for a genuinely confusing custom, not rules. Wages, local law and house policy all differ, and customs shift over time.
| Situation | Usual range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sit-down restaurant | 18–20% | 15% for adequate service, 25%+ for exceptional. Figured on the pre-tax subtotal by convention. |
| Takeout / counter service | 0–10% | No tip is expected for picking up an order; around 10% is a common thank-you when the order was large or complicated. |
| Food delivery | 15–20% | Many regulars use a $3–5 minimum on small orders. The tip goes to the driver; app "service fees" are not the tip. |
| Bar | $1–2 per drink, or 15–20% of the tab | Per-drink tipping is customary when paying per round; a percentage works better on a running tab. |
| Coffee shop | Optional — loose change to $1–2 | Tip jars are genuinely optional. Regulars often tip on complicated orders. |
| Hair salon / barber | 15–20% | Of the service price. If several people worked on you, the front desk can usually split a tip if you ask. |
| Taxi / rideshare | 15–20% | Round up to a convenient amount on short rides; more for help with luggage or a long wait. |
| Hotel housekeeping | $2–5 per night | Left daily rather than at checkout, since different staff clean the room each day — a note marking it as a tip helps. |
| Hotel concierge | $5–20 | For real work — a hard reservation, tickets, an itinerary — not for answering a simple question. |
| Valet parking | $2–5 | Given when the car is returned to you, not when it is taken. |
| Tour guide | 10–20% | Of the tour price for a paid tour; on "free" walking tours, a tip is how the guide is paid, so tip what the tour was worth to you. |
Three things worth checking before you add a tip
1. A service charge may already be on the bill
Large parties often have an automatic gratuity added — 18% is common — and some restaurants add a service charge to every check. If the receipt already includes one, an additional tip is optional rather than expected. When in doubt, the reverse tip calculator tells you what rate was applied to your check.
2. Tip on the pre-tax subtotal
The conventional base is the bill before tax. Tipping on the after-tax total costs a little more and is never unwelcome, but the ranges in this guide all assume the pre-tax base. The tip calculator lets you switch bases and see the difference on your actual bill.
3. A percentage is a starting point, not a verdict
Ranges exist because service varies. A percentage gets you to a defensible number fast; adjusting a couple of points for genuinely great or genuinely poor service is what the range is for. What these ranges cannot tell you is local wage law — in some states tipped staff are paid the full minimum wage before tips, in others a lower tipped wage applies, which is part of why customs differ by place (see tipping by country).
Frequently asked questions
- Do I tip on takeout?
- It is not expected the way table service is, but 10% has become a common thank-you, especially for large or complicated orders. Zero is also a defensible answer for a simple pickup.
- Is 15% still acceptable at restaurants?
- It sits at the low end of the current norm for adequate service. Twenty percent has effectively become the standard for good service in most US cities, which is why the guide lists 18–20% as the main range.
- What if the service was bad?
- Most etiquette guidance suggests tipping something for table service even when it disappoints — and raising the problem with a manager, since a silently tiny tip reads as forgetfulness rather than feedback.