How Much to Tip in Canada (2026): Before Tax, by Service

At a sit-down restaurant in Canada, the usual tip is 15% of the bill before tax. If the service was great, 18% to 20% is generous. Most other services where someone works for you, like a haircut or a taxi ride, follow the same 15% habit, and counter service doesn’t come with a tip expectation at all.

Canadians have their own ideas about this, though. In a 2025 H&R Block survey (opens in a new tab), people said 13% was the right tip for a restaurant server, and 94% said they were annoyed by card machines asking for a tip. This guide sorts out what’s expected from what the screen suggests.

How much should you tip at a restaurant in Canada?

Tip 15% of the pre-tax bill for good service at a sit-down restaurant, and 18% to 20% when it was great. Tourisme Montréal gives visitors the same 15% figure, before taxes, for waiters, taxi drivers and hairdressers (opens in a new tab). Tip on food and drinks together.

A few habits help at the table:

• Check the bill for a service charge. Some restaurants add one for large groups. If it’s there, it already covers the tip, so you don’t need to add another.
• Split bills are the same math. Each person tips on their own share before tax.
• Buffets get less. Around 10% is common when someone brings drinks and clears plates.

Do you tip on the amount before or after tax?

Before tax. The tip is for the service, and the sales tax goes to the government, so there’s no reason to tip on it. Card terminals outside Quebec often work out their suggested percentages on the total after tax, which makes each option bigger than it looks.

Here’s what 18% looks like on an $80 meal, using each province’s GST/HST rate (opens in a new tab) and Quebec’s 9.975% QST:

That gap is about $2 a meal in Ontario and Quebec. In the Atlantic provinces, where the HST is 14% or 15%, it’s slightly bigger. If the terminal won’t show you a pre-tax option, choose “Custom” and type in the amount.

What does Quebec’s tip screen law say?

Since May 7, 2025, any business in Quebec that suggests tip amounts has to work out the percentages on the price before GST and QST. The options have to be shown evenly, without nudging you toward one, and you must always be able to enter your own amount. A screen with only percentages and no custom option breaks the rule.

The rule is in section 91.8.1 of the regulation under Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act (opens in a new tab), and CBC reported (opens in a new tab) on it when the bill was tabled in September 2024. It covers delivery apps too. In June 2025, Quebec’s consumer protection office sent notices of non-compliance to Uber (in French) (opens in a new tab), SkipTheDishes (in French) (opens in a new tab) and Instacart (in French) (opens in a new tab) after test orders showed suggested tips that didn’t follow it.

If a screen in Quebec still adds tax into its percentages, you can report it to Quebec’s Office de la protection du consommateur (opens in a new tab). No other province has a rule like this yet, so elsewhere it’s up to you to check the math.

How much do you tip for delivery, hair, taxis and other services?

For most services where one person works for you, 15% is the common tip, with 10% to 15% for delivery and rides. Canadians themselves set the bar lower: in H&R Block’s 2025 survey, the tip people called fair averaged 9% across nine services. Both columns are below, so you can pick where you land.

Hotel porters usually get at least $2 per bag, the figure Tourisme Montréal (opens in a new tab) gives. For a hairstylist you see every month, a bigger tip at the holidays is common instead of raising each visit’s tip.

Do you have to tip at a coffee shop or counter?

No. When you order at a counter and carry your own food or coffee, there’s no tip expectation in Canada, even if the terminal shows you 18%. Choosing “No tip” is normal. Drop a loonie in the jar if a barista made something complicated, but nobody expects it.

More Canadians are skipping those prompts. In H&R Block’s 2026 survey (opens in a new tab) of 1,545 adults, 79% said they tend to type in their own amount instead of tapping a suggested percentage, and 65% said they feel less awkward choosing “No tip” than they did a year earlier. Two thirds said Canada should get rid of tipping culture altogether.

Does your tip go to the person who served you?

In Quebec and Ontario, the law says it does. Under section 50 of Quebec’s Act respecting labour standards (opens in a new tab), a tip belongs to the employee who served you, and that includes a service charge added to your bill. The employer can’t keep it or impose a way of sharing it. Staff have to agree on any tip sharing among themselves.

Ontario’s Employment Standards Act (opens in a new tab) bars employers from keeping or deducting from workers’ tips, except to share them in a tip pool. An owner can join that pool only if they regularly do the same work as the staff in it, such as serving tables.

Two more details apply in Ontario. An employer can’t take debit fees out of tips, and can take only a limited share of a credit card fee. And a service charge added to your bill counts as a tip under the same law, when a reasonable person would expect the staff to get it.

A little more room in the budget

Tipping on the pre-tax amount and skipping the counter prompts can keep a few dollars a week in your pocket. A few dollars a week doesn’t feel like much, which is why it usually gets spent on something else.

Lodavo makes that money more fun to keep. Connect the savings account you already have, and every $25 you keep saved earns a ticket for our weekly cash draw. Someone wins at least $100 every week, and the top prize is $10,000. Your savings stay at your own bank, and the app is free.

Get the app

Want your savings to come with a weekly draw? Download Lodavo free on the Apple App Store (opens in a new tab) or Google Play Store (opens in a new tab) and start earning tickets.

Terms and conditions apply. No purchase necessary (alternate method of entry available). Skill-testing question required. Open to legal residents of Canada who are the age of majority. Odds depend on the number of eligible entries received. Full rules and odds at our contest rules.