Tipping in North America: How Much to Tip in 17 Countries

Tipping in North America splits into two habits, and knowing which one you are in settles almost every decision. In the United States and Canada you add 15% to 20% yourself and the staff are paid on the assumption that you will. Across the Caribbean and Central America a service charge of 10% is usually already printed on the bill, and 10% is also the figure people use when it is not.

That second half is where most visitors go wrong, because a Costa Rican or Dominican bill can carry a service charge and a sales tax before you have added anything at all. This guide gives the practice for 17 countries and island nations, says where a charge is required by law rather than by custom, and flags the numbers that are conventions rather than rules. Sources are national tourism boards and the relevant tax and labour rules where they exist, and everything else is described as convention.

Hotel figures below assume a mid-range or higher-end hotel. There is no need to tip a bellboy if the hotel has not got one. For other continents, see tipping etiquette around the world. If something reads wrong for a country you know well, let me know and it goes into the next update.

Service charge, tax and tip are three separate lines

A North American bill can carry three additions and only one of them is up to you, which is why “is service included” is the wrong question to ask on this side of the Atlantic.

A service charge is a percentage the restaurant adds and distributes to staff. In Costa Rica it is 10% and required by law. In the Dominican Republic it is 10% and also required by law. In the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Jamaica, Panama, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago it is common but not universal, usually 10% to 15%. Where it appears, you have tipped.

A sales tax is not a tip and never reaches the staff. Costa Rica adds 13% IVA on top of its 10% service charge, so a menu price of $20 becomes about $24.60 before you decide anything. The Dominican Republic adds 18% ITBIS, Nicaragua 15% IVA, Jamaica 15% GCT, and US and Canadian sales taxes vary by state and province. Work your tip out on the pre-tax total.

A tip is what you add voluntarily. In the US and Canada it is the largest of the three and it is genuinely expected. Everywhere else on this page it is a bonus on a bill that has usually already been settled.

Tipping in North America at a glance

The table below gives the restaurant convention, whether a service charge is likely to be added for you, and the taxi convention for all 17 countries covered. Percentages are conventions rather than rules except where the text says a charge is required by law.

Tipping in North America, country by country

Bahamas

Tipping in the Bahamas is straightforward because almost every restaurant adds the service charge for you. Where one is printed on the bill, nothing further is expected.

Restaurants and bars: A service charge of around 15% is on most bills. Where there is none, 15% is the convention, and more in a fine-dining restaurant. At a bar, $1 to $2 a round covers it.

Taxis and tour guides: Bahamian taxi rates are set by the government and most cabs are unmetered, so agree the fare before you set off. Round up a short ride, and add a dollar or two on a long one. Taxis hired by the hour or the day to tour the islands are commonly tipped around 15% on top. Guides are usually given 5% to 10% of the tour price.

Hotels: About $1 per bag for porters at the airport and the hotel, and around $2 a day for housekeeping.

Local note: The Bahamian dollar is pegged one to one with the US dollar and both circulate freely, so a tip in either is equally welcome. Older guides suggesting British pounds are wrong; sterling has not been Bahamian currency since 1966.

Barbados

Tipping in Barbados runs at 10% to 15%, and most restaurants add it to the bill themselves. Check before you tip twice, because the charge is easy to miss.

Restaurants and bars: Most restaurants add 10% to 15% for service. Where none appears, 10% to 15% is the convention, in cash or added to the card total. Bartenders are commonly given about $1 a round.

Taxis and tour guides: Barbadian taxis are unmetered with government-regulated fares, so agree the price before the journey. About 10% of the fare is the convention, plus a dollar a bag for help with luggage. Guides are usually given 10% of the tour price.

Hotels: Many hotels add a 10% service fee. Beyond that, around $2 a day for housekeeping and $1 a bag for the bellhop.

Local note: Some all-inclusive resorts discourage tipping outright and others expect it. Ask at reception on arrival rather than guessing, because the policies are genuinely different from one property to the next.

Belize

Tipping in Belize is a growing habit rather than an old one, and 10% to 15% is the figure in restaurants. Service is rarely added to a restaurant bill, so what you leave is the whole tip.

Restaurants and bars: Leave 10% to 15% in a sit-down restaurant, and small change or up to 10% in a cheaper one. Bar staff do not expect anything outside upscale places.

Taxis and tour guides: Tipping drivers is not customary, and a few dollars for real help with luggage is courteous. Guides get a few dollars on a short tour, or 10% to 15% of the price on a diving, caving or wildlife trip.

Hotels: Many hotels and resorts add a 10% service fee and split it among bellhops, porters and housekeeping. Where that charge is on the bill, nothing more is needed.

Local note: The Belize dollar is pegged at two to one with the US dollar and US cash is accepted everywhere, so either currency works for a tip.

Canada

Tipping in Canada works like the United States, with 15% to 20% expected in a restaurant. Service staff are paid on the assumption that tips will follow.

Restaurants and bars: Leave 15% to 20%, and more only if you thought the service was exceptional. At a bar, telling the bartender to keep the change is the usual move rather than a set amount per drink.

Taxis and tour guides: Drivers expect 10% to 15%. On a coach tour, around 15% to 20% of the tour price is split between the guide and the driver.

Hotels: About C$2 for a doorman who hails you a cab, C$2 to C$5 a bag for a porter, C$2 to C$5 a day for housekeeping, and C$5 to C$10 for a valet. Room service is commonly tipped around 15% where no service charge applies.

Local note: Sales tax in Canada runs from 5% to about 15% depending on the province, and card terminals often calculate the suggested tip on the total after tax. Work your tip out on the pre-tax figure and use the custom button if the defaults look high. Hotel tipping adds up over a week, which is worth factoring in when you compare Canadian hotel rates rather than only comparing the nightly headline.

Costa Rica

Tipping in Costa Rica is usually already done for you, because a 10% service charge is added to sit-down restaurant bills by law. Add something extra only when the service genuinely deserved it.

Restaurants and bars: The bill carries the 10% servicio and 13% IVA, roughly 23% on top of the menu price. An extra 5% to 10% is a real compliment rather than an expectation. In a small soda, leaving the small change is normal. Cocktail servers and bartenders are commonly given 5% to 15% of the bar tab.

Taxis and tour guides: Round the fare up on a short ride, and add a few dollars on a long one. Guides are commonly given a few dollars per person on a group tour and more on a small one, and adventure guides on rafting, zip-line or surf trips are tipped a little more than that.

Hotels: About $1 a bag for a porter and $2 a day for housekeeping.

Local note: Both US dollars and Costa Rican colones are accepted for tips. The service charge is pooled and split across the staff, including the kitchen, so it does not go straight to your server.

Cuba

Tipping in Cuba matters more than almost anywhere else on this page, because state salaries are low and a tip can be worth a meaningful share of a month’s pay. Around 10% in a restaurant is the convention, and it has to be cash.

Restaurants and bars: Leave about 10%, or 15% after very good service. Musicians playing in a bar or a paladar pass a hat or a basket, and a small note for the band is normal.

Taxis and tour guides: Around 10% of the fare, or the rounded-up total. Guides are tipped per day, and museum guides a small note per person.

Hotels: A small note for a porter who carries bags to the room, and the same per day for housekeeping.

Local note: The convertible peso, the CUC, was abolished on 1 January 2021 and withdrawn from circulation that year. Any tipping guide still quoting CUC amounts predates 2021 and cannot be acted on. Cuba now uses the Cuban peso, and in practice US dollars and euros are widely accepted for tips and often preferred. Bring notes rather than coins, which cannot be exchanged locally, and bring enough cash: US-issued cards do not work in Cuba at all, and other foreign cards work unreliably.

Dominican Republic

Tipping in the Dominican Republic is largely settled by the bill, because restaurants add a 10% service charge required by law. Anything on top is discretionary.

Restaurants and bars: The bill carries 18% ITBIS and the 10% service charge. A small extra amount for good service is welcome and not expected. At an all-inclusive resort, $1 to $2 a round for the bartender is the usual gesture.

Taxis and tour guides: Around 10% of the fare. On a full-day private tour, the guide and driver are both tipped, with the guide getting the larger share.

Hotels: About $1 a bag for porters and $1 to $2 a day for housekeeping.

Local note: Dominican pesos are the most useful currency for staff, though dollars are accepted. Convert at a fair rate rather than handing over a round dollar figure that is worth less than it looks.

El Salvador

Tipping in El Salvador is optional and light, and 10% covers a restaurant meal when nothing has been added. The word for it is propina.

Restaurants and bars: Many bills already carry a 10% gratuity, so check before adding. Where none appears, 10% is the convention.

Taxis and tour guides: Drivers do not expect a propina, so round the fare up. Guides earn only a small share of the tour price, so a few dollars each is genuinely useful.

Hotels: Hotel bills carry about 18% in taxes, which is not a tip. Around $1 a bag for a porter is still normal.

Local note: El Salvador has used the US dollar as its currency since 2001, so there is no conversion to work out and no local coins to worry about.

Guatemala

Tipping in Guatemala is not compulsory and matters a great deal, because service wages are low. Around 10% is the figure in cafes, bars and restaurants.

Restaurants and bars: Leave about 10%. Some upscale restaurants add it for you, so check the bill first.

Taxis and tour guides: Tipping drivers is not customary, and rounding the fare up is a courtesy. Guides on a park or museum walk get a few dollars, and rather more on a full-day tour. A driver on a day tour is tipped separately.

Hotels: About $1 a bag for a bellhop and $1 to $2 a night for housekeeping.

Local note: Handing a guide’s tip over in an envelope is a common local courtesy rather than a requirement.

Honduras

Tipping in Honduras is worth doing because hospitality wages are low, and 10% to 15% is the working figure. Read the bill first, because Honduran restaurants label the two cases differently.

Restaurants and bars: A line reading “servicio” is a mandatory charge already added. A line reading “propina voluntaria” is a suggestion you can accept, change or decline. Where neither appears, 10% to 15% is the convention.

Taxis and tour guides: Drivers are not tipped. Guides on rafting, zip-line or hiking trips are commonly given a few dollars each.

Hotels: At least $1 a bag for a porter, and $2 to $3 a night for housekeeping.

Local note: Tip in lempiras where you can. Staff can spend them straight away, which is not true of small foreign notes.

Jamaica

Tipping in Jamaica has grown steadily with American tourism and now sits at 10% to 15% in restaurants. Some places add the service charge and some do not, so ask if the bill does not say.

Restaurants and bars: Leave 10% to 15% in a modest restaurant and up to 20% in an upmarket one, where nothing has been added. Counter service is not tipped. Bartenders and cocktail servers are commonly given 10% to 20%.

Taxis and tour guides: Drivers expect 10% to 15%, and more on a late-night or early-morning run. Guides are given around 10% when they were good, and on a coach tour the guide and the driver are usually tipped separately.

Hotels: About $1 to $2 a bag for porters, $1 to $2 a day for housekeeping, and something for a concierge who made a booking happen.

Local note: All-inclusive tipping policies vary by brand rather than by country. Some Jamaican resorts prohibit tipping outright and others build it into a service charge, so ask at reception rather than assuming the whole island works one way.

Mexico

Tipping in Mexico is a normal part of eating out, and 10% to 15% is the standard in a restaurant. The word is la propina, and staff wages assume it.

Restaurants and bars: Leave 10% to 15% of the final bill, or a little more in a fine-dining restaurant. Where a tip is already included, servers still often hope for a small addition. In a bar or cantina with table service, a few pesos a round is normal.

Taxis and tour guides: Street taxis in Mexico City are metered and app rides are priced in advance, so a tip is optional in both and a small amount for a helpful driver is normal. Guides are commonly given a percentage of the tour price rather than a fixed amount, and the figure rises with the length of the day.

Hotels: Around 25 to 50 pesos a bag for a porter and 30 to 50 pesos a night for housekeeping.

Local note: Small tips reach further into daily life in Mexico than in most countries, including restaurant musicians, petrol station attendants, grocery baggers, street parking attendants and windscreen washers. A handful of small notes and coins is worth carrying.

Nicaragua

Tipping in Nicaragua is normal and unforced, and 10% is the figure in a sit-down restaurant. Check the bill first, because the tax and the service charge look similar and are not.

Restaurants and bars: Leave about 10% where no service charge has been added. Smarter restaurants often add one, in which case nothing more is needed. The 15% IVA on the bill is a sales tax, not a service charge. At a bar, small change in the tip jar is the convention.

Taxis and tour guides: Tipping drivers is not common. Guides on an excursion are commonly given around 10% of the price.

Hotels: Around $1 a bag for porters, $1 to $2 for a doorman who hails a cab, and about $1 a night for housekeeping.

Local note: Airport exchange rates are noticeably worse than in town, so change only what you need on arrival.

Panama

Tipping in Panama is relaxed and around 10% in restaurants where nothing has been added. It is a reward rather than an obligation.

Restaurants and bars: Check whether a propina has been added, then leave about 10% if it has not. Bars follow the same rule.

Taxis and tour guides: Tipping drivers is not customary. Guides are commonly given a few dollars each, more on a long day.

Hotels: Most hotels add a 10% service charge, and tipping individually on top is still common: 50 cents to $1 a bag for porters, and $1 to $2 a day left for housekeeping.

Local note: Panama uses the US dollar as its paper currency, with balboa coins alongside it at one to one, so there is no conversion to think about.

Saint Lucia

Tipping in Saint Lucia has settled at around 10%, in line with the rest of the eastern Caribbean. Check the bill first, because many restaurants add the service charge themselves.

Restaurants and bars: Leave about 10% where nothing has been added. Bar staff and cocktail servers are commonly given around 10% as well.

Taxis and tour guides: Drivers expect about 10% on top of the fare. Guides are commonly given 10% of the tour price at the end.

Hotels: About US$1 a bag for a porter, and US$1 a day for housekeeping.

Local note: The local currency is the East Caribbean dollar, and US dollars are widely accepted. Some all-inclusive resorts prohibit tipping their wait staff, so check the policy on arrival.

Trinidad and Tobago

Tipping in Trinidad and Tobago is a bonus rather than an expectation, and most restaurants add the gratuity for you. Where they have not, 10% to 15% is the convention.

Restaurants and bars: Nothing further is needed where a gratuity is on the bill. Otherwise leave 10% to 15%. Bartenders in smarter bars are commonly tipped.

Taxis and tour guides: Trinidad taxis run on fixed fares and drivers are not usually tipped, while drivers in Tobago often expect about 10%. Guides do not expect a tip and will welcome one.

Hotels: About $1 a piece for luggage, and a few dollars a day for housekeeping.

Local note: Hand a tip to the person rather than leaving it on the table, and carry cash, because adding a tip to a card payment is often not possible.

United States

Tipping in the United States is expected rather than optional, and 18% to 20% is the working figure in a restaurant. The reason is the wage structure: the federal cash wage for tipped workers has been $2.13 an hour since 1991, with tips making up the rest.

Restaurants and bars: Leave 18% to 20% in a sit-down restaurant, calculated on the pre-tax total, and 20% or a little above in a large city. Parties of six or more often have an automatic gratuity of 18% to 20% added, in which case you have already tipped and should not add again. At a bar, $1 to $2 a drink is the convention, and the same where drinks come to your table. Counter service and coffee to go carry no obligation, whatever the screen suggests.

Taxis and tour guides: Tip drivers 15% to 20%, and add a couple of dollars for real help with bags. Guides are commonly given 15% to 20% of the tour price.

Hotels: About $1 to $2 a bag for porters, $2 to $5 a day left for housekeeping, and $1 to $5 for a valet each time. Room service is tipped 10% to 15% where no service charge appears. A concierge who secured a table or tickets is commonly given $10 to $20 at the end of the stay. Those daily amounts add up over a week, which is worth allowing for when you compare US hotel rates.

Local note on wages: Seven states no longer allow the tip credit at all and require the full state minimum wage in cash before tips: Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Your server in Seattle or Los Angeles is not on $2.13 an hour, though tipping convention in those states has not fallen to match. As Cornell professor Michael Lynn, who has studied tipping for decades, puts it, “Servers work in the U.S. with the expectation to be tipped, it’s a social contract.” Nothing obliges you legally, and leaving nothing is read as a complaint.

Local note on tax: The tax law signed in July 2025 created a federal deduction of up to $25,000 a year on qualified tips for tax years 2025 through 2028, phasing out above $150,000 of income for single filers. Payroll taxes and often state income tax still apply. It changes what staff keep, not what you are expected to leave.

Local note on the terminal: Tip prompts now appear at counters, food trucks, self-checkout screens and shops that involve no service at all. The percentages on those screens are set by the merchant or the payments provider, not by custom, and declining at a counter is entirely normal. Carry small notes, because a stack of $1 bills solves most American tipping situations faster than any calculation.

Tipping tour guides in North America

Tipping a tour guide in North America is normal in every country on this page, including the ones where restaurant tipping is not. Guiding is one of the few jobs across the region where gratuities are a designed part of the pay rather than a bonus.

1. United States and Canada: 15% to 20% of the tour price. On a coach tour the guide and the driver are tipped separately, with the driver receiving less.
2. Caribbean islands: about 10% of the tour price. This holds in the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago.
3. Central America: a few dollars per person on a group tour. Guides here earn a small share of the price, so a modest tip is a large proportion of what they take home.
4. Adventure and activity guides: more than a walking guide. Rafting, diving, zip-line and caving staff carry the safety load, and are tipped above the standard rate everywhere from Belize to Costa Rica.

Tour prices and availability move constantly, so the widget below shows current options rather than figures that would be out of date by the time you read them.

Driving yourself removes the taxi tip entirely

Driving yourself in North America removes both the fare and the tip from the trip, and the region is set up for it in a way most of Europe is not. Costa Rica, the American West, the Yucatán and the Canadian Rockies are all easier with a car than without one, and in Costa Rica in particular a hire car costs less over a week than a run of tourist shuttles and their tips. DiscoverCars compares hire cars across North American suppliers in one search, including the insurance line that catches people out in Mexico, where third-party liability cover is compulsory and a foreign policy will not satisfy it.

Where you do take a cab, the rule is simple and holds across the region. Tip 15% to 20% in the United States, 10% to 15% in Canada, around 10% in the Caribbean, and round up in Central America.

Tipping in North America FAQ

How much do you tip in North America? In the United States, 18% to 20% in a restaurant. In Canada, 15% to 20%. Everywhere else on this page, about 10%, and often nothing extra because a 10% service charge is already on the bill.

Do you tip in the Caribbean when the bill has a service charge? No. A service charge of 10% to 15% is the tip, and it is added by most restaurants in the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. Adding a second tip on top is a choice, not a duty.

Which countries require a service charge by law? Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic both require restaurants to add 10% for service. In Costa Rica the 13% sales tax comes on top of it, so the bill runs about 23% above the menu prices.

Can I tip with a card in North America? Yes in the United States, Canada, Mexico and most Caribbean resorts. No in Cuba, where foreign cards are unreliable and US-issued cards do not work at all, and often not in Trinidad and Tobago. Carry cash for those.

Is it rude not to tip in the United States? Yes, in a sit-down restaurant, a bar or a taxi, where leaving nothing is read as a complaint about the service. At a counter, a coffee stand or a self-checkout screen, declining the prompt carries no such meaning.

WonderfulWanderings Pro Tips

The 5 tips below come from checking this page against the US Department of Labor, the IRS and each country’s own billing practice, and they mark the places where a visitor either loses money or gives offence.

1. Ignore every Cuba tipping guide that prices anything in CUC. The convertible peso was abolished on 1 January 2021 and withdrawn during that year, so tips go in Cuban pesos, US dollars or euros. Carry the cash, because US-issued cards do not work in Cuba at all and other foreign cards are unreliable.
2. Read the bill for an automatic gratuity before you write a tip on it. US restaurants commonly add 18 to 20% for parties of five or more, and adding your own line on top means paying the tip twice.
3. Separate the service charge from the sales tax before you decide what to add. Costa Rica puts a legally required 10% service charge and 13% IVA on a sit-down bill, and the Dominican Republic puts 10% service and 18% ITBIS. The service charge reaches staff, the tax does not, and neither is a tip you chose.
4. Do not assume every US server is on $2.13 an hour. That federal cash wage has been unchanged since 1991, but 7 states ban the tip credit outright, so in Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington staff get the full state minimum in cash before any tip.
5. Decline the counter prompt without guilt. A screen that asks for 20% on a coffee or a pastry in the United States is asking for something no convention requires, and skipping it carries none of the meaning that skipping a sit-down restaurant tip does.

About the author. This guide is written and maintained by the Wonderful Wanderings editorial team. Wonderful Wanderings was founded in 2012 by Sofie Couwenbergh and has been covering independent travel from a base in Belgium ever since. The team tracks tipping practice, service-charge law and wage rules across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, including the tours, hotels and hire cars worth booking, and updates this page when the rules and the currencies move.