A New Survey Says 9 in 10 Americans Think Tipping Culture Is ‘Out of Control’

Everyone has an opinion on tipping. Whether you add a standard 20% across the board or hate a tipping screen “on principle,” you might’ve noticed those opportunities popping up more frequently these days.

Nearly nine in 10 Americans think tipping culture has gone too far — a sharp increase from the around 75% who thought the same last year. That’s according to a new report from personal finance company WalletHub, which examined Americans’ current attitudes toward gratuity. Survey respondents shared their views on this tricky subject, and it shows just how annoyed (and ultimately confused) Americans might feel about adding an extra 20%.

“Tips have gone far beyond traditional establishments, which include sit-down restaurants, bars, and hair salons. Now, it’s everywhere you look,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo tells Food & Wine. “I think that’s part of the frustration, because people are at a point where they don’t know who to tip and how much to tip.”

Lupo says that if these survey results tell us anything, it’s that Americans are “fed up” with increased tipping opportunities.

Examining the pressure behind tipping

Social pressure can be powerful, especially if you’re aiming to impress new friends or a first date. More than half of Americans say they tip out of social obligation, the survey reports, rather than rewarding excellent service.

Tipping culture overall is rapidly changing, especially as Americans feel the squeeze from inflation and skyrocketing grocery prices. In fact, around three in five respondents believe businesses are actually replacing or supplementing employee pay with tips. (The federal minimum wage for tipped employees is a mere $2.13 in base pay.)

On the other hand, 83% of respondents also think automatic service fees shouldn’t exist, and some three in 10 Americans say they give less when they’re presented with a tipping screen.

“You’re tipping for personal service. If you have a cup of coffee pushed to the end of the counter or someone’s handing you a bag of fast food through a drive-thru window, that’s not traditionally what tipping should be about,” Lupo explains. “If they feel like these tipping screens are invasive, these respondents say they’ll tip less or not even tip at all.”

The future of tipping culture

A little less than half of Americans agree that tipping should be replaced altogether by an employee rating system. Still want to show your gratitude, yet don’t know where to add an extra tip? Lupo recommends tipping when possible for services (especially at restaurants and hair salons), as well as toward hotel hospitality, rideshare and cab drivers, and housekeepers. 

Respondents also tackled another side of this issue: taxation. More than one in four respondents think tips should still be taxed as income, despite political buzz and President Donald Trump’s promise to cut taxation on gratuity. As Lupo notes, removing this could “open the floodgates” for shady business and related questions about taxable income in the service industry.

“It’s a good soundbite, ‘no tax on tips,’ but I think it’s important to take a closer look into what the ramifications might be if a policy like that might go into effect,” Lupo says. 

This study was, admittedly, on the smaller side: Around 200 people were surveyed in an online form, and the results were normalized (by gender and income) to better mimic the national demographics. The survey was conducted over four days in early February of this year, per the methodology.

Where does tipping etiquette go from here? We’ll let you be the judge.