Tipping in Italy is by no means a requirement or a custom.
I often come across the question on whether you should be tipping in Italy, or how much one should leave as a tip (or, as we say, a mancia) for a service, and the answer I give is always the same: we Italians don’t have a habit of tipping – not even when the service we have received was stellar – so please do as the locals do and avoid tipping.
Tipping in Italy is just not a thing – and sure enough it’s not done in the same way it may be done in other countries like the United States. And I honestly beg you to please respect this and listen to what Italians have to say about it (rather than asking your friends who visited once years back) because the long term implications may be deeper and more significant than you may imagine (more about this at the end of the post).
Continue reading to unveil the mystery on whether you should leave a tip in Italy and discover if – and how – to do it. Let me first start with some pointers on what you can expect to see on your restaurant bill.
Understanding Your Restaurant Bill In Italy
Like in the rest of Europe, the VAT in Italy (which amounts to 22% of the final price of things) is already built into the price of whatever item or service you are purchasing. If you go to a bookshop and find a book on sale for €10, that will be the final price you should expect to pay – easy peasy.
But in restaurants, it’s a different story.
Added to the price of what you have ordered and consumed, you may find some smaller charges in the range of €1 to €3 Euro per person for things such as coperto, servizio or pane.
What are those and do you have to pay for them?
First of all, not all restaurants in Italy add pane, coperto or servizio to your final bill. It pretty much is up to the individual restaurant to decide whether to charge for bread or coperto – save for some regions such as Lazio (where Rome is) where the coperto has been abolished by law.
Below is a quick explanation of these additional fees.
COPERTO – This charge dates back to Medieval times, when customers would spend endless time inside inns and restaurants so that they could escape the cold and stay “covered” (coperto, in Italian). Coperto refers to things such as table cloths, crockery etc. It usually includes bread, oil, salt and other things you may be using while at the table. It also covers the cost of cleaning. According to Article 18 of law 635/1940, coperto needs to be stated in the menu. It usually ranges from €1 to €3 per person.
SERVIZIO – Servizio is essentially a tip. It can amount to anything between 15 and 20% of the final bill and it is usually added automatically for groups of 8 or more persons. The menu should clearly state if a servizio fee will be added to the final bill for larger groups. Since this is a tip, you don’t need to leave an additional tip on top of that.
PANE – This means bread in Italian and it’s usually included in the coperto. Where there is no coperto, like in Lazio, you can expect to pay between €1 and €1.50 for bread. In theory, you don’t have to pay for it if you don’t eat it (in which case, send it back as soon as it is brought to the table). But do you really want to give up on your scarpetta? (Don’t know what scarpetta is? Find out here).
Why Tipping In Italy Is Not Necessary
There’s an old saying that goes like this: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
In other words, it means you should abide by local rules and customs. This is the responsible thing to do, and shows respect for the people of the country you are visiting – even when you’d do things differently back home.
Care to be a more responsible traveler? Read this post!
If you come here and stubbornly decide to break our customs, you may end up creating expectations that, in turn, may change our already unstable economic system.
So, just to sum up, let’s go through the reasons why tipping in Italy is not necessary.
Waiters are actually paid
In many countries – the US for example, but also Israel – tipping is a way of covering the wages of waiters and other workers who are otherwise paid a reduced hourly wage.
Waiters in Italy are paid a monthly salary. Which is why there is no custom of tipping them and when we do it, we don’t feel obliged to leave a set %. It’s more of a way of letting a waiter know he’s done an exceptional job.
The tip is included in the bill already
Most restaurants in Italy will charge a service fee that is either called coperto or – for larger groups – servizio. Before you reach out to your purse to get some change for a small mancia, carefully read the bill – chances are a service charge has been added already. If that’s not the case, just round up the final amount and leave the spare change.
Tipping creates (wrong) expectations
This is the main reason not to be tipping in Italy – at least, not large amounts as you may be used to in your home country. Tipping creates a whole set of expectations that may have a long term impact on our economic and welfare system, by which waiters feel entitled to a tip even when the customers are actually locals (and let me tell you, the average salary of an Italian who may be dining out is by no means as high as that of people in Northern Europe or North America).
Another thing to consider is that tipping may have a negative impact on wages too – whereby employers don’t feel obliged to pay waiters a fair amount, since they can work for tips.
Finally, tips can’t easily be traced and taxed, and this would in turn cause yet another issue of tax evasion – as if this was not a problem in Italy already!
Now that you know tipping is not necessary or expected, let’s see when leaving a tip is actually appreciated.
Tipping In Italy – When To Tip And How Much To Leave
Since we don’t have a habit of tipping in Italy, there is no set amount or percentage you are expected to tip in exchange of a service. It really is up to you if you want to leave something, and how much you leave.
Having said that, below are some tips on tipping (yeah, I really had to say that!).
If you really want to leave a tip it has to be cash – even when you pay by credit card.
In restaurants
Provided there is no coperto or servizio charge on the bill already, whether you leave a tip or not is totally up to you. Definitely do that if the service was stellar; but don’t feel obliged if the service was mediocre.
I invited my friends to my favorite pizzeria for my birthday. The waiter kept her cool despite our many (contradicting) requests; pizza was delicious and coperto not included, so I was happy to leave her a tip. Same thing when I invited my family to celebrate buying an apartment: the service was impeccable, the food mouthwatering, and I left a tip.
How much should you leave then? I’d say €1 per person is perfect, or else just round up the bill. So for example if I am expected to pay €38, I may decide leave €40.
Expect to receive the bill only after you have specifically asked the waiter (it’s considered rude to bring a bill to the table before the customer asks). Only some very busy pubs, bars and coffee shops will bring you the bill upon serving your drinks. You’ll have to pay at the desk at times.
We never tip the owner of a business for some reason. So, if you eat at a tiny local place where the same lady is the cook, the waitress and sits at the cash desk, a tip is really not required.
At a café
I have never left a tip at a café – but then, I usually drink my coffee at the counter. If you sit down, leave a small coin on top of the receipt or simply round up the bill. That’s more than enough.
The price of coffee in Italy varies depending on whether you drink at the bar or at a table. Make sure to read my post How To Order Coffee In Italy: The Best Italian Coffee for more.
Bartender
I don’t think I know anyone who leaves a tip to the bartender. It really isn’t something we do here.
Drivers
We don’t tip taxi drivers in Italy – not unless it makes getting the change easier. The same applies to shuttle drivers.
Tour guides
Factors to keep in mind when deciding if and how much to tip a guide should be the duration of the tour and the actual service you have received. If you feel the guide was outstanding, and you were out on a full day tour, leave a tip between €5 and €10. If it was a shorter tour (between 2 and 4 hours), leave no more than €5 Euro. If the tour or the guide were bad, just don’t leave anything.
Hotel staff
Tipping at hotels is not expected, but definitely welcome, so you may want to leave a little something to the staff. Here are some guidelines:
- Porter / bellhop / doorman – if the porter carries your bag up four flight of stairs all the way to your room, you will want to leave a €1 euro tip per bag;
- Concierge – leave a tip if you use the services and are given information that isn’t readily available elsewhere. For example, if you get an excellent tip to a local restaurant or receive help snatching last minute tickets to a show, you can leave between €5 and €10;
- Housekeeping – between €0.50 cents and €1 per day for a spotless room. Leave the tip daily in your room, or at the end of your stay at reception, in an envelope, asking for it to be split among the cleaning staff.
Beauty salons, hairdressers and spas
There’s no need for tip your hairdresser or your manicure. Likewise, no tipping is necessary at a spa.
Further Readings
Make sure to read my other posts about Italy:
- A Guide To The Best Places To Visit In Italy
- A Perfect Italy Itinerary: What To See And Do With 10 Days Or More
- What To Do And What To Avoid When Planning A Trip To Italy
- 67 Extremely Useful Travel Tips For Italy
- 17 Reasons To Visit Italy As Soon As Possible
- 25 Most Interesting Facts About Italy
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