Tipping in Thailand
HOW
No law makes you tip. Many bars and restaurants add a service charge to the bill, and then you owe nothing extra. Elsewhere people round up or leave a small amount.
- VAT
- 7%
- ++
- ×1.177
- TIPPING
- custom
VAT 7% runs to 30 September 2027 (Revenue Department). 10% service charge is the venue’s own price.
Short answer
Guides read on 5 November 2026; there is no official tipping source · Last change: 27 July 2026
Tipping in Thailand is a custom, and nobody checks. If the receipt shows a “service charge”, the staff side is already covered and you do not have to add a tip. Where there is none, most guides say to round up or leave 20–100 baht.
A menu priced “++” (plus plus) usually adds a 10% service charge and then 7% VAT on top of the printed price; counted that way, as this site does for clubs, a 1,000 baht item costs 1,177. Use the calculator below before you order.
The amounts here are what guides report. The site owner’s own tips are shown in a separate column, dated, as one person’s experience.
Where the bill already has a service charge
From the menus this site has read for its club and rooftop-bar pages. If a place is not listed, read its menu or ask before you order.
| Place | Kind | What the menu says |
|---|---|---|
| Route 66 | Club | Prices as printed, nothing added |
| Dope & Dirty | Club | 7% VAT on top, no service charge |
| Salone di Vita | Club | 10% service charge and 7% VAT on top (“++”) |
| Upper House | Club | 10% service charge and 7% VAT on top (“++”) * |
| House of Savoy | Club | 10% service charge and 7% VAT on top (“++”) * |
| Baccarat | Club | 10% service charge and 7% VAT on top (“++”) * |
| GOT | Club | 10% service charge and 7% VAT on top (“++”) |
| Onyx | Club | Menu does not say |
| MUIN | Club | 7% VAT on top, no service charge |
| Sing Sing Theater | Club | 10% service charge and 7% VAT on top (“++”) * |
| Sky Bar | Rooftop bar | 10% service charge and 7% VAT on top (“++”) |
| Sky Beach | Rooftop bar | Prices as printed, nothing added |
| Red Sky | Rooftop bar | 10% service charge and 7% VAT on top (“++”) |
| Octave | Rooftop bar | 10% service charge and 7% VAT on top (“++”) |
| Tichuca | Rooftop bar | 10% service charge and 7% VAT on top (“++”) |
| ABar Rooftop | Rooftop bar | 10% service charge and 7% VAT on top (“++”) |
| Madura | Rooftop bar | 10% service charge and 7% VAT on top (“++”) |
| Above Eleven | Rooftop bar | 10% service charge and 7% VAT on top (“++”) |
* Where a menu says “service charge and taxes” without the rates, or does not print them, the page counts 10% and 7% as the club price comparison does.
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Menu price to what you pay
Type the price on the menu and pick what the menu adds. The numbers stay in your browser.
The 7% VAT rate is announced to 30 September 2027; after that the rate may change.
What people tip, by situation
Amounts are what the guides listed in the sources say. They differ, so each row gives the usual range. The last column is the site owner’s own tips, kept apart.
| Situation | What guides report | Site owner’s experience (4 November 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Receipt shows a service charge | Most guides: nothing extra. One suggests 3–5% of the total after the charge. (Backpack Bob, Radical Storage, Krabi Nature, IndoChina Tour) | — |
| Street stall, food court | Not expected. Some say round up to the next 10 or 20 baht. (Backpack Bob, tripthailan (blog), Krabi Nature, IndoChina Tour) | — |
| Restaurant with no service charge | Round up to the next 20, 50 or 100 baht, or leave 5–15%. (Backpack Bob, Radical Storage, IndoChina Tour, tripthailan (blog), Thailand Good Bad Ugly (blog)) | No tip. |
| Massage, one hour | Most: 50–100 baht. Some say 100–200 baht, or 10–15% at a spa. (tripthailan (blog), Thailand Good Bad Ugly (blog), Backpack Bob, IndoChina Tour) | 50 baht for one hour. |
| Metered taxi | Not expected: round up, or 10–20 baht; 20–50 baht for bags or a long ride. (tripthailan (blog), IndoChina Tour, Backpack Bob) | No tip. |
| Grab | 10–20 baht if you want to. (Krabi Nature, IndoChina Tour) | — |
| Hotel porter | 20–50 baht a bag; up to 50–100 baht at a luxury hotel. (tripthailan (blog), Thailand Good Bad Ugly (blog), Backpack Bob) | — |
| Hotel housekeeping | 20–50 baht a day, left where it is seen. (tripthailan (blog), Thailand Good Bad Ugly (blog), IndoChina Tour) | — |
| Tour guide | Group tour: 100–300 baht per person a day. Private guide: 300–550 baht a day. Guides differ. (tripthailan (blog), Radical Storage, Thailand Good Bad Ugly (blog), IndoChina Tour) | — |
| Bar (not table service) | One undated Bangkok guide: 10% of the tab or 50 baht a round at cocktail bars, 50–100 baht on a rooftop. (BarTipping.com) | — |
| Club table or bottle service | No figure in the guides read. | Usually 100–200 baht when taking a seat. |
One person’s experience, not a rule.
Is the service charge the law?
By the official sources we read, no law sets a tip and there is no Thai tipping guidance; by guides, ThaiPod101 (2026) says the 10% service charge “is not clearly mandated by law”.
Thai consumer articles say (Thairath, 2024, citing Price Notice No. 69 of 2022, clause 9 of the Central Committee on Prices of Goods and Services; Daily News, 2022, without a clause number) a charge must be shown, and a charge not shown need not be paid. Thairath calls 10% both a recommended ceiling and a legal limit, and we did not read the notice, so we do not state 10% as a legal rate.
If a charge was not shown and you want to dispute it, the sources give the Internal Trade Department hotline 1569 and the Consumer Protection Board hotline 1166.
STEP BY STEP
How to read a bill
Before you order and again before you pay.
Look for ++ on the menu
“++”, “plus plus” or “subject to 10% service charge and 7% VAT” means both are added to the printed price.
Read the lines on the bill
In order: items, service charge 10%, VAT 7% (counted on the total with the service charge), grand total. The calculator above follows the same order.
Decide the tip
With a service charge line, a tip is optional; leave coins or round up only for staff who did something extra. Hotel spas may keep the charge from the therapist, so some guides suggest a small cash tip there.
If a charge was never shown
Ask the staff calmly before you pay, and do not leave without paying. The hotlines above handle complaints afterwards.
What changed, and when
Rules, fees and counters that changed, oldest first. A row is added for every change; earlier rows are never rewritten.
| Date | Change | Basis | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 July 2026 | The Revenue Department announced the 7% VAT rate, extended to 30 September 2027. | Official | The Revenue Department |
Questions
- Do I have to tip in Thailand?
- No. Tipping is a custom and no law requires it. Staff in tourist places expect small amounts, but nobody follows you for it.
- Should I tip if the bill has a service charge?
- Most guides say no. A few suggest 3–5% on top for good service; it is your choice.
- What does ++ mean on a menu?
- Usually a 10% service charge and then 7% VAT are added to the printed price, which makes 17.7% in total (1,000 becomes 1,177, the way this site counts clubs).
- Do taxi drivers expect a tip?
- Guides say no: round up to the next 10 baht or add 10–20. The site owner does not tip taxi drivers.
- What do people tip for a massage?
- Guides most often say 50–100 baht for an hour; some say more. The site owner gives 50 baht for one hour.
- Is a tip expected at a club table?
- The guides we read give no figure. The site owner usually gives 100–200 baht when taking a seat.