How Much Should You Tip? (US Tipping Guide)

For sit-down restaurant service in the United States, tip 15–20% of the pre-tax bill, with 20% now considered the standard for good service. The right number shifts depending on where you are — delivery, rideshare, a hair salon, and a hotel all have their own conventions. This guide covers every common situation, explains why the norms exist, and helps you decide what feels right for your circumstances.

The quick-reference table

If you want the short answer, here it is. The ranges below reflect current etiquette guidance from consumer sources including Reader's Digest, Kiplinger, and Remitly's tip chart for 2026.

Restaurants: why 20% became the baseline

For decades the standard restaurant tip was 15%, and 20% was considered generous. That has shifted. In 2026, etiquette guides and consumer outlets widely cite 20% as the expected amount for solid service at a sit-down restaurant, with 15% now signaling that something went noticeably wrong.

A few things drove this shift. Inflation raised menu prices, which mechanically raised the dollar value of a 15% tip — but wages, rent, and food costs for workers rose at least as fast. Digital point-of-sale systems that prompt for a tip now default to 18%, 20%, or 25%, which anchors expectations upward. And a broader cultural conversation about service worker wages has made many diners more aware that a server's base wage in most US states is well below the federal minimum wage — tipped workers can legally be paid as little as $2.13 per hour federally, with tips expected to make up the difference.

The practical rule: tip 20% for good service, 15% if something was genuinely off, and more (22–25%) when service was exceptional or the bill is modest and 20% feels like a small dollar amount. You are never required to tip on a pre-tax basis, but the math difference between pre-tax and post-tax is usually under a dollar on a typical bill.

A worked example: dinner for two

Figro's free tip calculator handles this arithmetic instantly: enter the bill, pick your percentage, and split among however many people are at the table.

Food delivery and rideshare

Delivery and rideshare tipping follow restaurant norms roughly, but with a floor. A 15% tip on a $12 pizza order is only $1.80 — not meaningful to a driver who burned fuel and time to bring it to your door. Etiquette guides recommend a minimum of $4–5 for any delivery, rising to 15–20% for larger or more complex orders. In bad weather or when a driver has navigated stairs, long walks, or tight time windows, rounding up generously is widely considered good form.

For rideshare, the in-app tip prompt usually appears after the ride, which is the right moment to tip. Ten to fifteen percent is fine for a basic, no-frills trip; 20% makes sense when the driver was friendly, navigated well, offered amenities, or helped with luggage. Many drivers rely heavily on tips because base pay from platforms has declined in recent years as surge pricing has been tuned to benefit the platform more than the driver.

Personal services: hair, nails, and spa

Tipping for personal services — hairstylists, barbers, nail technicians, estheticians, and massage therapists — follows the same 15–20% convention as restaurants, with 20% being the widely recommended standard. The relationship angle matters here: if you see the same stylist regularly, a consistent 20% tip is part of what secures good appointment availability and the kind of extra attention that keeps a relationship healthy over time.

One situation that trips people up: if the salon owner cuts your hair, is it still appropriate to tip? Traditionally the owner was not tipped because they set their own prices and captured the full revenue. Today most etiquette sources say tipping the owner is entirely optional but not expected — ask around or follow the local norm.

At a spa, always check whether a service charge is already included in the bill. Many day spas automatically add 18–20% gratuity. Tipping on top of an included gratuity is your choice, but not necessary.

Hotels: who to tip and when

Hotel tipping is easy to forget because the interactions are quick. The main ones to keep in mind:

• Housekeeping: $2–5 per night, left on the pillow or desk daily with a note that it is for housekeeping. Daily tipping is better than one lump sum at checkout because the person who cleaned your room on Tuesday may not be there on Friday.
• Bellhop or porter: $1–2 per bag when they carry luggage to your room, with a $5 minimum for any trip regardless of how few bags you have.
• Valet: $3–5 when the car is returned to you. Tipping on drop-off is not expected.
• Concierge: No tip needed for a simple question or direction, but $5–20 for significant effort — hard-to-get dinner reservations, arranging tickets, or fixing a genuine problem.

When tipping is not expected (or is even declined)

Not every service interaction in the United States calls for a tip, even if you see a tip prompt on a tablet screen. Counter-service and fast-casual restaurants — think Chipotle, Panera, or a deli where you order at a register and pick up your own food — have no longstanding tipping tradition, even though digital POS systems now prompt for one routinely. Tipping is appreciated by workers in those settings but is genuinely optional and carries no social obligation.

Takeout orders from a full-service restaurant occupy a gray area. A small tip ($1–3 or 10%) acknowledges that someone packaged your food and had it ready, but 20% is not expected the way it would be for table service.

Outside the US, the calculus changes entirely. In Japan and South Korea, tipping is considered rude — it can imply the worker is underpaid or that you are trying to purchase special treatment. In much of Europe, a small rounding-up is polite, but American-style percentage tipping is not the norm. When traveling internationally, a few minutes of research into local conventions is worth the effort.

Pre-tax or post-tax? And other common questions

Should I tip on the pre-tax or post-tax amount?

Tipping on the pre-tax subtotal is technically the traditional etiquette, because the tax goes to the government rather than the server. In practice, the dollar difference is small on most bills, and tipping on the post-tax total is entirely acceptable — it is slightly more generous and much easier to calculate mentally.

How do I calculate a 20% tip quickly in my head?

Move the decimal point one place left to get 10% of the bill, then double it. For a $65 bill: $6.50 is 10%, doubled to $13.00 is 20%. For a 15% tip, find 10% ($6.50), find 5% by halving it ($3.25), and add them: $9.75.

Is it okay to tip less for bad service?

Yes — but think carefully about what caused the problem. Slow food, wrong orders, or a long wait are frequently kitchen and management issues, not the server's fault. A server dealing with a understaffed shift and a broken ticket printer is doing their best. Reserve a meaningfully reduced tip for service that was genuinely rude, inattentive, or negligent through the server's own choices. If something specific went wrong, it is also worth saying something to the manager rather than expressing it only through the tip, where the server may never learn why.

Figro's guides are educational and independent. They are not financial, legal, or professional advice. Some pages include affiliate links; if you purchase through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.