How Much Should You Tip?

Few small social rituals cause as much quiet anxiety as tipping. Tip too little and you feel like a villain; tip too much in the wrong country and you look lost. The rules are unwritten, inconsistent, and vary enormously depending on where you are standing. This guide lays out what is actually expected, and the mental shortcuts that let you work it out in a couple of seconds.

The quickest mental shortcuts

Almost all tipping maths reduces to finding 10% and adjusting. To find 10%, just move the decimal point one place to the left. On a bill of $64.00, 10% is $6.40. From there:

• 15% = 10% + half of 10% → $6.40 + $3.20 = $9.60
• 20% = double 10% → $12.80. Easiest of all.
• 18% = 20% minus a bit. Close enough is close enough.

The 20% shortcut is why it has quietly become the default in the United States — it is simply the easiest number to compute in your head.

The United States: where tipping is not optional

This is the crucial thing for visitors to understand. In the US, tipping is not a bonus for exceptional service — it is how service staff are paid. Federal law permits a “tipped minimum wage” far below the standard minimum, on the assumption that tips make up the difference. Not tipping does not send a message about the service; it takes money out of someone's wage.

• Restaurant with table service: 18–20% is standard. 15% now reads as a mild complaint.
• Bar: $1–2 per drink, or 15–20% on a tab.
• Taxi or rideshare: 10–15%.
• Food delivery: 15–20%, minimum a few dollars.
• Hotel housekeeping: $2–5 per night, left daily rather than at the end — the person who cleans on Tuesday may not be the one working on Friday.
• Hairdresser or barber: 15–20%.
• Counter service (coffee, takeaway): genuinely optional. Rounding up is a kind gesture, not an obligation.

How much the rest of the world differs

Applying American norms everywhere is the classic traveller's mistake — sometimes generous, occasionally rude.

• United Kingdom:10–12.5% in restaurants, and often already added as a “discretionary service charge.” If it is on the bill, do not tip again. No tipping in pubs where you order at the bar.
• Most of Europe: service is typically included by law. Rounding up, or leaving 5–10% for genuinely good service, is plenty. There is no expectation of 20%.
• Japan: do not tip. It is not a nice gesture there — it can cause real awkwardness or be quietly refused. Excellent service is simply the standard, not something bought.
• South Korea and China: similarly, not customary.
• Australia and New Zealand: staff earn a full wage. Tipping is uncommon; rounding up for great service is welcome but not expected.
• South Asia and the Middle East: tipping is appreciated and often expected, but the percentages are far lower — 5–10% is generous.

The one universal rule: check the bill before you tip. A service charge added automatically means the work is done.

Should you tip on the tax?

A genuinely contested question, so here is the honest answer: it does not matter much.

Strictly, the tip is for the service, and tax is not service — so calculating on the pre-tax subtotal is the more logical approach. But on a $50 meal with 8% tax, tipping on the post-tax total changes the tip by around 80 cents. Nobody is keeping score over that.

Most people simply tip on the total because it is easier. If you want to be precise, use the pre-tax subtotal. Either is entirely acceptable.

Splitting the bill without arguments

Splitting is where friendships briefly wobble. A few approaches, from simplest to fairest:

• Even split. Total (including tip) ÷ number of people. Fast and fine when everyone ate similarly.
• Itemised split. Each person pays for what they ordered, plus their share of tax and tip in proportion to their subtotal. Fairest, and the only decent option when one person had a salad and water while another had steak and three cocktails.
• Round up per person. Split evenly but have each person round up slightly — it covers the tip with no arithmetic and no awkwardness.

The one thing to avoid: splitting the food evenly but having one person “cover the tip.” It sounds generous and quietly makes them pay significantly more than everyone else.

Tricky situations

• Bad service.In the US, tipping 10% instead of 20% is the recognised signal — but consider whether the fault was the server's or the kitchen's. A slow kitchen is not the server's doing.
• Using a discount or voucher. Tip on the original amount, not the discounted one. The server did the same work either way — this is the single most common tipping mistake.
• Large groups. Many restaurants add an automatic gratuity for parties of six or more. Check before adding another tip.
• A very cheap bill. Percentages break down at the low end. On a $6 coffee, 20% is $1.20 — most people simply leave a dollar or two.
• Cash or card? Cash usually reaches the server faster and more completely.

Frequently asked questions

Is 15% still acceptable in the US? It is at the low end now. 18–20% is the expectation for table service.

Do I tip if a service charge is already included? No. That is what it is for.

Should I tip on takeaway? Optional. Rounding up is a nice gesture, particularly if staff assembled a large order.

What if I genuinely cannot afford to tip?In a tipping culture, budget the tip as part of the meal's cost. If 20% puts the meal out of reach, the meal is out of reach.

Calculate the tip now

Use our Tip Calculator to work out the tip and split a bill between any number of people — instantly, in your browser. For the percentage maths behind it, see how to calculate percentages, or use the Percentage Calculator directly.