In the US, tip 15–20% at restaurants, $1–2 per drink at a bar, 15–20% at a hair salon, 10–15% to a taxi or rideshare driver, and $2–5 per bag or per night at a hotel. Fast-food counters and coffee shops are optional — a dollar or two, or nothing, is fine. This guide lists who to tip and how much.
Tipping in the United States is a system, not a suggestion. In most of the country it is how service workers are actually paid: the law allows a lower tipped minimum wage, and tips make up the difference. That is why the percentages feel non-negotiable at a restaurant and optional at a coffee shop — the custom follows the pay structure, and the pay structure is different in each job.
If you need the number for a restaurant bill, a free tip calculator works out 15%, 18% and 20% in one tap — on an $85 bill, 18% is $15.30 and the total is $100.30.
The Complete Who-to-Tip Table
This is the reference table for the whole post — every tipping situation most people meet in a normal month:
| Who | How much | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sit-down restaurant server | 15–20% of pre-tax bill | 20% for good service; see the full guide |
| Bartender | $1–2 per drink, or 15–20% of tab | $1 per beer, $2 per cocktail is the norm |
| Food delivery driver | 20% or $5 minimum | On the food total, not the fees |
| Hairdresser / barber | 15–20% of service price | 20% is standard; $5–10 for the shampooer |
| Taxi driver | 10–15% of fare | 15% for good service or help with bags |
| Rideshare (Uber/Lyft) | 10–15%, or $2–5 flat | In-app tip after the ride |
| Hotel housekeeping | $2–5 per night | Leave daily, not at checkout |
| Hotel bellhop / porter | $2–5 per bag | $1 per bag minimum |
| Hotel concierge | $5–20 | Only when they book something special |
| Valet | $2–5 | On return of the car |
| Coffee shop barista | $1–2, or nothing | Optional; tip jar, not expected |
| Fast-food counter | Nothing | No tip expected |
Two patterns explain the whole table. First, the tip is a percentage when the worker’s main job is serving you for a sustained period — a meal, a haircut, a ride. Second, it is a flat dollar amount when the service is a single small act — carrying a bag, parking a car, making a coffee. If you remember those two patterns, you can guess the right tip in a situation you have never met before.
Why Tipping Is Not Optional in the US
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, employers may pay tipped workers as little as $2.13 per hour, as long as tips bring them to the $7.25 federal minimum wage. The tip is not a bonus on top of a wage — it is a large part of the wage itself, which is why a 15–20% restaurant tip is a social obligation. At a coffee shop, the barista is paid a full hourly wage and the tip jar is extra.
The percentages have crept upward too: twenty years ago 15% was the standard restaurant tip; today 18–20% is.
Hairdresser and Barber: 15–20%
A haircut is the second most-tipped service after a restaurant meal, and the rate is the same: 15–20% of the service price. On a $35 haircut, 20% is $7.00; on a $60 cut and colour, $12.00; on a $120 salon visit, $24.00.
A few salon-specific rules:
- Tip the person who did the work. If one person cut your hair and another washed it, tip the cutter 15–20% and give the shampooer $5–10 in cash.
- The salon owner is the exception. Tradition says you do not tip the owner, because they set the prices and keep the profit. In practice, most people tip the owner anyway.
- Tip on the service, not the products. If you bought $40 of shampoo at the salon, tip on the $60 haircut, not on the $100 total.
- Cash is appreciated. Card tips are fine, but cash goes to the stylist directly.
Bartender: $1–2 per Drink
Bar tipping runs on a per-drink rule: $1 per beer or glass of wine and $2 per cocktail, or 15–20% of the tab if you run one. On a $40 tab, 20% is $8.00 — and $2 per drink on four cocktails is also $8.00, so the two methods agree.
Bartenders remember generous tippers fast: a $2 tip on the first drink is the cheapest way to get served first for the rest of the night. Tipping $1 on a $14 cocktail is technically 7% — well below the standard — and bartenders notice. If you open a tab, tip 20% when you close it; if you pay per drink, tip $1–2 each time.
Taxi and Rideshare: 10–15%
Taxi drivers expect 10–15% of the fare. On a $14.00 fare, 15% is $2.10 — and most people round to $3.00. On a $40.00 airport fare, 15% is $6.00. Round up to the nearest dollar and add a dollar or two if the driver helped with heavy bags.
Rideshare works the same way, except the tip is in the app, after the ride. Uber and Lyft suggest 10%, 15% or 20% of the fare, and 15% is the most common choice. A $20.00 ride at 15% is a $3.00 tip.
Hotels: Who Gets What
Hotels have the most separate tipping rules:
- Housekeeping: $2–5 per night, left daily. Leave it on the pillow each morning, not in a lump at checkout — a different person may clean your room each day.
- Bellhop or porter: $2–5 per bag. One bag is $2; three bags is $5–10. Hand it over when the bags arrive in your room.
- Concierge: $5–20, only for real help. Directions cost nothing. A hard-to-get restaurant reservation or theatre tickets is worth $10–20.
- Valet: $2–5 when the car is returned. Tip on return, not on drop-off — the driver who brings the car back is the one you are thanking.
- Room service: 15–20%, and check the bill first. Many hotels add a service charge of 15–20% to room service automatically. If it is there, that is the tip — do not add another one on top.
Coffee Shops, Fast Food and Tip Screens
The newest source of tipping confusion is the tip screen — the tablet at a coffee shop or food truck suggesting 15%, 20% or 25% for a thirty-second transaction. The rule is simple: a tip screen is a suggestion, not an obligation.
- Coffee shop: $1–2 in the jar, or nothing. The barista is paid a full wage, and the tip is genuinely optional. A dollar on a $5 coffee is generous.
- Bakery, food truck, counter service: nothing is expected. If you want to leave a dollar, do — but nobody tracks it.
- Fast food: no tip, ever. The workers are paid hourly and the custom does not exist.
- Self-checkout: no tip. If a screen asks you to tip at a machine you operated yourself, decline.
Tip screens feel pushy because they borrow the restaurant’s percentages for a counter transaction: 15% of a $6 coffee is $0.90, presented as if it were a restaurant bill. It is not — the worker’s pay structure is different.
When You Can Skip the Tip
There are situations where no tip is expected at all:
- Counter service and fast food — no tip custom exists.
- Retail stores — never tip a cashier.
- Professionals — doctors, lawyers, teachers. A gift is different from a tip, and tipping a professional can be awkward.
- Bad service that you reported — if the service was truly unacceptable and you spoke to a manager, a minimal tip or none is honest. But report it: a silent zero tip changes nothing.
- Automatic gratuity already added — if the bill includes an 18–20% service charge, that is the tip. Adding another 20% on top means you tipped 40%.
And one situation where people often over-tip: takeout from a counter. A dollar or two in the jar is plenty. Ten to fifteen percent is the norm only when a full-service restaurant packs your order — see how much to tip for delivery for the delivery version of the same question.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who should you tip in the US?
Tip restaurant servers (15–20%), bartenders ($1–2 per drink), hairdressers (15–20%), taxi and rideshare drivers (10–15%), delivery drivers (20% or $5), and hotel housekeeping ($2–5 per night). Coffee shops are optional; retail workers are never tipped.
How much do you tip a hairdresser?
15–20% of the service price. On a $35 haircut, 20% is $7.00. Give the shampooer $5–10 separately if someone else washed your hair, and tip on the service only — not on products you bought.
Do you tip taxi drivers in the US?
Yes — 10–15% of the fare. On a $14.00 fare, 15% is $2.10, and most people round up to $3.00. Add a dollar or two if the driver helped with heavy bags.
Do you tip at a coffee shop?
It is optional. A dollar or two in the tip jar is generous, and skipping it is fine — the barista is paid a full hourly wage, unlike a restaurant server.
How much do you tip hotel housekeeping?
$2–5 per night, left daily. Leave it each morning rather than in a lump at checkout, because a different person may clean your room each day.
Is it rude not to tip in the US?
At a sit-down restaurant, yes — 15–20% is a social obligation, because servers are paid a lower tipped wage and tips are most of their income. At a counter or a retail store, not tipping is completely normal.
Try It Yourself
Bookmark the table at the top of this post — it is the whole guide in one place. For the restaurant numbers, our free how much to tip tool gives you the tip and total at 15%, 18% and 20% for any bill, plus the per-person split. To learn the mental shortcuts, how to calculate a tip teaches the move-the-decimal trick in a minute. For the full restaurant guide, read how much should you tip at a restaurant, and for delivery — where the fee is not a tip — see how much to tip for food delivery. The same percentage steps power a grade calculator when you work out a weighted score.