Americans tip a lot. According to a 2024 Bankrate survey, 73 percent of Americans always tip at sit-down restaurants. The custom runs deep enough that tipped workers in many states earn a separate, lower minimum wage, with tips expected to bridge the gap. That context matters. Tipping in the US is not purely a reward for exceptional service. For most people who receive tips, it is a core part of their income.
That said, tipping norms are not uniform. They vary by service type, region, and how fancy the place is. Here is a practical breakdown of what is normal, with some notes on when you can reasonably do less or more.
Quick-Reference Tip Table
| Service | Typical Tip Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant (sit-down) | 18% to 22% | 20% is the current baseline; 15% for poor service |
| Bar (cocktails / draft) | $1 to $2 per drink, or 15% to 20% on a tab | Cash tips preferred by many bartenders |
| Hotel housekeeping | $3 to $5 per night | Leave daily; staff may change |
| Hotel bellhop | $1 to $2 per bag | $5 minimum if they do more than carry |
| Taxi / rideshare | 15% to 20% | Apps suggest 15%, 20%, 25%; 15% is fine |
| Hair salon | 15% to 20% | Tip the person who washes your hair too ($3 to $5) |
| Food delivery | $3 to $5 minimum, or 15% to 20% | Tip at checkout; not all platforms pass it through immediately |
| Coffee shop / counter | Optional, $1 or 10% | No strong expectation, but appreciated |
If you want to skip the table math entirely, the tip calculator on this site handles any bill total in seconds.
Restaurants
Sit-down restaurants are where most tipping confusion lives. The short answer: 20 percent on the pre-tax subtotal is the current standard. It was 15 percent for a long time, but that number has been climbing since roughly the early 2010s. Most payment terminals now suggest 18, 20, and 25 percent as the default options.
Tipping on the pre-tax amount or post-tax total is genuinely a matter of personal preference. The difference on a $60 bill with 8 percent tax works out to about $0.96. Most etiquette sources (including Emily Post Institute) say pre-tax is technically correct, but nobody is going to notice either way.
For a $100 bill, 20 percent is $20. If service was genuinely excellent, 25 percent is appropriate. If it was poor and you want to leave 15 percent rather than 20, that is considered acceptable, though a quick word to the manager tends to be more useful than a silent tip reduction if something went wrong.
Buffets are a gray area. Since you serve yourself, tipping is optional, but if a server is bringing drinks and clearing plates regularly, $2 to $3 is a reasonable acknowledgment.
For more on how the percentages break down, see our guide on tip percentage: 15, 18, or 20 percent.
Bars
Two common approaches: a dollar or two per drink for a busy bar where you are ordering at the counter, or 15 to 20 percent on a running tab when a bartender is looking after you all night. The running-tab approach tends to work out better for bartenders at higher-end cocktail bars where drinks cost $15 or more.
If you pay by card, the tip will be processed later, so many bartenders genuinely prefer cash tips when the option is there. Not essential, just worth knowing.
Skip the tip at self-pour taprooms or places where you grab a can from a cooler yourself. The tablet checkout screen will still ask. You can say no.
Hotels
Hotels have the most moving parts. The people you see the most are not always the ones who need a tip the most.
Housekeeping is probably the most overlooked category. These staff are often subcontracted, work hard in rooms where guests never see them, and do not share in any service charges added to your bill. The American Hotel and Lodging Association suggests $1 to $5 per night as a guideline, though $3 to $5 is the more common real-world range. Leave it daily in an envelope or on the pillow with a note that says "Housekeeping," because the person cleaning your room on day three may not be the same person who cleaned it on day one.
Bellhops typically get $1 to $2 per bag, with a $5 minimum if they are doing more than a quick cart ride to your room. Concierge tipping depends on what they did for you. A quick restaurant recommendation? Nothing required. Sourcing sold-out show tickets or arranging something genuinely complicated? $10 to $20 is fair.
Valet parking runs $3 to $5 when they retrieve your car. Room service often has a service charge already on the bill, so check before adding more. If no charge appears, 15 to 20 percent is standard.
Taxis and Rideshare
Rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft default to suggesting 15, 20, and 25 percent after a ride. Fifteen percent is widely considered appropriate for a normal trip. Twenty percent makes sense if the driver was particularly helpful, had a clean car, or handled a complicated route without complaint.
Traditional taxis work the same way, roughly. The meter fare is the base, and 15 to 20 percent on top is standard. If a driver helps with bags, add a couple of dollars.
Short trips are where the percentage calculation breaks down a bit. A $6 fare at 20 percent is $1.20, which most people round up to $2 anyway. On a very short ride, rounding to the nearest dollar or two is fine.
Hair Salons
The standard range is 15 to 20 percent of the total service cost. If your cut and color runs $150, a $25 to $30 tip is typical. One detail many people miss: if a different person washes and conditions your hair before the stylist takes over, they usually get a separate $3 to $5 tip.
There is a long-running debate about whether you should tip a salon owner who cuts your hair. Traditional etiquette said no, since the owner keeps the full revenue. In practice, most salon owners today accept tips without hesitation, and refusing to tip because someone owns the business reads as awkward. Tip them the same as anyone else unless you have a specific reason not to.
Food Delivery
This one gets more complicated than it should, mostly because of how delivery platforms handle tips. In general, tip at checkout rather than after delivery. Some platforms show drivers which orders have tips before they accept them, so a no-tip order at checkout can mean a longer wait while drivers skip it.
The suggested range is $3 to $5 minimum, or 15 to 20 percent of the order total, whichever is higher. On a $15 order, 20 percent is only $3, so the minimum-dollar rule matters more on small orders. For long-distance deliveries or bad weather, adding a couple of extra dollars is a reasonable call.
If you want more detail on figuring out tip amounts for any order size, the how much should you tip guide walks through it with examples.
Coffee Shops and Counter Service
This is genuinely optional, despite what every tablet checkout screen implies. Tipping at counter-service coffee shops became common as businesses added digital point-of-sale systems with built-in tip prompts. There is no strong social expectation to tip on a drip coffee or a bagel, though a dollar or rounding up is appreciated, especially at independent shops.
The "tip screen guilt" is real and worth naming: you are not a bad person for tapping "No tip" at a place where someone hands you a pre-made item over a counter. That said, if you are a regular somewhere and the staff remembers your order, tipping occasionally is a reasonable way to acknowledge that.
Situations Where Tipping Is Not Expected
Some contexts where you genuinely do not need to tip: picking up a to-go order at a full-service restaurant (the kitchen already makes a wage; some people tip a small amount anyway, but it is not an obligation), fast-food counters, and most retail stores. Self-checkout does not require a tip, though at least one airport terminal has managed to add a tip screen to a self-checkout kiosk, which is the pinnacle of the format's ambition.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do you tip for a $100 bill?
On a $100 restaurant bill, 20 percent comes to $20. That is the current baseline for table service. For exceptional service, 25 percent ($25) is appropriate. If service was genuinely bad, 15 percent ($15) is still considered acceptable, and it is worth mentioning what went wrong to the manager.
Is 20 percent a good tip?
Yes. Twenty percent is the expected standard for sit-down restaurant service in 2026. The norm was 15 percent for a long time but has shifted upward over the past 15 years. For other services like salons, taxis, and delivery, 15 to 20 percent is generally what people consider a good tip.
How do you calculate a 15 percent tip?
Move the decimal one place to the left to get 10 percent, then add half of that to reach 15 percent. On a $60 bill: 10 percent is $6.00, half of $6.00 is $3.00, so 15 percent is $9.00. You can also skip the arithmetic and put the number into the tip calculator on this site.
Do you tip on the total or subtotal?
Most etiquette sources say tip on the pre-tax subtotal. Tipping on the post-tax total is common too, and the difference is small. On a $60 bill with 8 percent tax, you are looking at a difference of about $0.96. Either approach is accepted.
Do you always have to tip at a restaurant?
In the US, yes, for sit-down service, tipping is a strong social norm rather than truly optional. Servers in most states are paid a tipped minimum wage (as low as $2.13 per hour federally, per the Department of Labor), with tips expected to bring them up to the regular minimum wage. Choosing not to tip at a sit-down restaurant in the US is a notable statement, not a quiet personal decision.