The short version
For table service at a U.S. restaurant, the usual range is 15% to 20% of the bill before tax. Most other services that involve personal attention, such as hair, nails, massage and taxis, fall in that same 15% to 20% range. Quick or counter services carry smaller or optional tips.
No law sets tip amounts. Tipping in the U.S. is a custom, and the ranges below come from the Emily Post Institute, a long-standing etiquette authority, and the survey figures come from a 2023 Pew Research Center study of 11,945 U.S. adults. Local habits, the quality of service and your own budget all play a part, so treat these as typical ranges.
How much to tip, by service
Here are the common ranges for services most people pay for. Where a dollar amount is listed instead of a percentage, it is usually because the bill itself is small or there is no bill at all.
| Service | Typical tip |
|---|---|
| Sit-down restaurant server | 15% to 20% of the pre-tax bill |
| Buffet server | About 10% of the pre-tax bill |
| Bartender | $1 to $2 per drink, or 15% to 20% of the tab |
| Takeout | Optional; about 10% for a large or complicated order or curbside service |
| Restaurant delivery | 10% to 15% of the bill |
| Pizza delivery | $2 to $5, depending on order size and distance |
| Taxi | 15% to 20% of the fare, $1 minimum, plus a little for help with bags |
| Hotel housekeeping | $2 to $5 per day, left daily |
| Bellhop or skycap | $2 for the first bag, $1 for each additional bag |
| Valet parking | $2 to $5 when your car is brought back |
| Hair salon, manicure, massage | 15% to 20% of the service price |
| Counter service, tip jars, coffee | Not required; occasional tip for extra effort or as a regular |
A few services do not have a clear published standard. Rideshare apps prompt for a tip after the ride, and many riders use the taxi range as a guide. In the Pew survey, 61% of adults said they always or often tip for a taxi or rideshare. For movers, house cleaners and other home services, customs vary widely by region and job size. Asking the company whether its crews accept tips is a reasonable first step.
What people actually tip
Survey data shows a gap between etiquette guides and everyday habits. In Pew's 2023 survey, 92% of adults said they always or often tip at a sit-down restaurant. For an average meal, though, 57% said they would leave 15% or less, and only about a quarter said they would tip 20% or more.
Other services drew lower tipping rates. About 78% said they always or often tip for a haircut, 76% for food delivery and 25% for a cup of coffee. Pew also found that 72% of adults feel tipping is expected in more places than it was five years earlier.
These numbers describe what people do, and they set no rule. They show that 15% is common in practice and that 20% sits at the generous end of what many people leave.
Tip on the pre-tax amount
Etiquette guides advise figuring a restaurant tip on the subtotal before sales tax. Tax is money that goes to the government, not a charge for the service you received. In practice, tipping on the total adds only a small amount, so either approach is common.
Example: a $68.40 dinner
Your food and drinks come to $68.40. At an 8% example sales tax rate, the tax is $5.47, for a total of $73.87. A 20% tip on the pre-tax subtotal is $13.68. A 20% tip on the full total would be $14.77, a difference of $1.09. At 15% on the subtotal, the tip is $10.26, and at 18% it is $12.31.
Counter prompts, tablets and auto-gratuity
A tablet that suggests 18%, 20% or 25% at a counter is only a prompt, and you can pick any amount. The Emily Post Institute treats tip jars and counter prompts as optional, with a tip saved for extra effort or for places you visit often. Picking a lower option or skipping the tip is an accepted choice. The public is split on these screens. In the Pew survey, 40% opposed businesses suggesting tip amounts, 24% favored it and 32% were neutral.
An automatic gratuity is different. Many restaurants add a set percentage to bills for large groups. The IRS classifies an automatic gratuity for a large party as a service charge, not a tip, because the customer does not choose the amount. That matters for you in one practical way: check the bill before you add a tip so you do not pay twice.
Example: a large-party charge
A party of eight runs up a $240 food bill, and the restaurant adds an 18% service charge of $43.20. That charge already covers the usual tip. You can add more if the service was excellent, but you do not need to tip 15% to 20% again on top of it.
Automatic charges are not popular. In the 2023 Pew survey, 72% of adults opposed automatic service charges or tips regardless of party size, and 10% favored them. If a fee surprises you, ask what it covers. Some businesses add fees that do not go to the staff at all.
A quick mental-math method
You can figure most tips in a few seconds with one starting point: 10%. Move the decimal point one place to the left, and you have 10% of the bill.
- Find 10%. On a $68.40 subtotal, 10% is $6.84.
- For 20%, double it. $6.84 × 2 = $13.68.
- For 15%, add half of the 10%. Half of $6.84 is $3.42, so 15% is $10.26.
- Round to a convenient number. Many people round up to the next dollar to keep the math and the payment simple.
For per-item tips, such as drinks at a bar or bags at a hotel, count the items and multiply. Three drinks at $1 to $2 each comes to $3 to $6.
When to tip more or less
The ranges assume ordinary service. Many people tip toward the top of the range, or above it, for large or complicated orders, bad weather, holiday rush periods or a server who handled a special request well. Lower tips are generally reserved for real service problems, and it often helps to mention the problem to a manager so it can be fixed.
Pay rules also explain why restaurant tips run higher than counter tips. Under federal law, an employer can pay a tipped worker a direct cash wage as low as $2.13 an hour, as long as tips bring total pay up to the federal minimum wage, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Many states require a higher direct wage, but in much of the country tips make up a large share of a server's pay.