🇺🇸Tipping in United States

At a glance

• 🍽Restaurants●●●Expected18–20%
• ☕Cafés●○○Optional$1, or 10–15%
• 🍸Bars●●●Expected$1–2 per drink, or 20% on a tab
• 🚕Taxis●●●Expected15–20%
• 🛎Hotel porters●●●Expected$2–3 per bag
• 🧹Housekeeping●●○Common$3–5 per night
• 🧭Tour guides●●○Common15–20%, or $10–20 per person
• 🚗Private drivers●●●Expected15–20%
• ⛵Boat & yacht charters●●○Common15–20% of the charter fee

Card tipping. Card tipping is universal — receipts have a tip line and terminals prompt with preset percentages. Cash is still welcomed but never required.

• —Sales tax is added at the register and is not a service charge. Tip on the pre-tax total if you want to be precise; most people just use the final figure.
• —Large groups (usually six or more) often have an automatic 18–20% gratuity added. Check before adding more.
• —Some restaurants now use a 'service fee' or 'kitchen appreciation' line. Ask whether it replaces the tip.

Common questions

Do you tip in United States?

Tipping is expected and forms part of the wage. The US is the one place where tipping is genuinely not optional. Federal law allows employers to pay tipped workers a base wage as low as $2.13 an hour, with tips making up the difference. Not tipping for table service is read as a complaint, not a saving.

How much do you tip at a restaurant in United States?

18–20%. 18–20% for table service. 15% signals a problem. Twenty percent is the working default in cities and 18% is the floor for acceptable service. Anything under 15% reads as deliberate criticism. Counter service, takeaway and coffee shops are far looser — the tablet tip prompt is optional and 10% or a dollar is fine.

Can you tip by card in United States?

Card tipping is universal — receipts have a tip line and terminals prompt with preset percentages. Cash is still welcomed but never required.

Other destinations

• 🇲🇽Mexico
• 🇦🇺Australia
• 🇭🇷Croatia
• 🇪🇬Egypt