Tipping guide
Customary ranges in the United States. These are social conventions, not legal requirements, and no one is obliged to follow them. They vary by region, by venue and by what the person serving you is paid.
What is customary
Restaurants
- 15%
- Standard service
- 18%
- Good service
- 20%
- Very good service
- 25%
- Exceptional service
Table service, counter service usually less or nothing.
Food delivery
- 15–20%
- Typical order
- 20%+
- Bad weather or a long distance
- $5 min
- Common floor on a small order
The driver, not the restaurant. App defaults are often below these.
Bars
- $1–2
- Per drink
- 18–20%
- On a tab
- 20%+
- Complex cocktails
Per drink for simple rounds, percentage on a tab.
Hotels
- $3–5
- Housekeeping, per night
- $2–5
- Bell service, per bag
- $3–5
- Valet, on retrieval
Per service and per person, rather than a percentage.
Salon, barber and spa
- 15%
- Standard
- 20%
- Very good service
- —
- Owner-operators vary by region
On the service, not on retail products bought alongside.
Rideshare and taxi
- 10–15%
- Typical ride
- 20%
- Help with luggage
- —
- Some apps default to none
In-app tipping is usually available after the trip ends.
Before tax or after tax?
Either is normal, and the difference is smaller than most people expect. Tipping on the pre-tax subtotal is the stricter convention, because the tax is not the server's to earn. Tipping on the total is more common in practice, and is simply the easier sum to do.
On a $60 meal at a 9% sales tax rate, a 20% tip is $12.00 before tax and $13.08 after — about a dollar. Over a year of eating out it adds up for the person being tipped, which is the argument for the more generous reading. The calculator shows both at once so it is a decision rather than an accident.
A service charge is not a tip
Check the bill before adding more
The two are treated differently in law as well as on the receipt. A tip is voluntary and belongs to the employee; a mandatory service charge is the business's revenue, and in many states it is part of the taxable sale — so it can be taxed where a tip would not be. That is also why a service charge sometimes makes the tax on a bill larger than the same amount left as a tip would.
None of this is a rule about what you should leave. It is only worth knowing that "gratuity included" and "tip" are not always the same thing arriving in the same pocket.
Working out what a bill comes to including tax and tip: use the calculator. For why the tax part varies so much between towns, see how sales tax works and the rates by state.