📋 Tipping Norms Reference Chart

A quick reference for commonly recommended US tipping amounts by service type. Norms vary by region and situation — use this as a general guide.

Which number the percentage comes off

Every percentage in the chart is taken on the pre-tax subtotal. Sales tax goes to the state, not to the person serving you. On an $80 meal with 9% tax the check reads $87.20, and 20% is $16.00 pre-tax against $17.44 post-tax - the usual reason two people reading one check reach different totals.

Two other bases catch people out:

Discounts and comps. Tip on what the bill would have been. A coupon turning $60 of food into $30 does not halve the work, so the tip is $12, not $6.
Service charges. A mandatory charge is not a tip - the IRS treats it as wages - and where one has been added it counts toward the percentages here rather than sitting under them.

Why the ranges are ranges

Under federal law a tipped worker can be paid a cash wage of $2.13 an hour, with tips expected to carry them to the $7.25 minimum. A handful of states ban that and require the full minimum before tips, which is why expectations are softer on the west coast than elsewhere.

Where the work is priced per item rather than per dollar, the flat amounts are the honest guide: $1 to $2 a drink, $1 to $2 a bag, and $2 to $5 a night for housekeeping, left daily so it reaches whoever cleaned.

Check what a payment screen proposes. Suggested buttons are frequently calculated on the post-tax total, and at a counter the first option is often 18% where the chart says 0 to 10%.

Frequently asked questions

Do you tip on the pre-tax or post-tax total?

Pre-tax is the convention, because tax is not part of what the restaurant charged you for. At 9% tax on an $80 meal it is the difference between a $16.00 and a $17.44 tip.

Is a service charge the same as a tip?

No. A service charge is mandatory and treated as wages, so it is not guaranteed to be shared out as a tip would be. Read the bill before adding anything, or you tip twice.

Do you tip on a discounted or comped meal?

Tip on the full pre-discount amount. The kitchen cooked it and the server carried it whether or not you paid, and a comp is the one case where the printed total understates the work done.