Tipping in Hungary – How much tip is expected?

Tipping culture around the world and in Hungary

Tipping is paying above the stated price when you receive a service, and the amount of the tip can reflect your satisfaction with the service. Tipping culture is not universal, however: depending on where your travels take you, you might not be expected to tip at all like in Japan; you might be expected to tip up to 40% like in some places in the U.S.; or you might be charged a service fee or coperto like in most parts of Italy. In Hungary, you are usually expected to tip around 10%, and it extends to all kinds of service providers, not just servers, so be prepared to tip not only waitstaff, but possibly hotel staff and taxi drivers, and if you stay longer, hairdressers and plumbers, just to name a few relevant fields.

If you dine out in Hungary, you might come across two kinds of payment expectations. The first is the tip, which is always optional, although it may be considered rude if you don’t round up your payment at least to the next thousand HUF. The tip will not be listed in your receipt. The second is the service fee, which may or may not be applied at the restaurant you chose. If service fee is charged, it will be mandatory and it will be listed on your receipt; it can be up to 15%.

While tips and service fees seem similar, there are some crucial differences between how they are tracked, taxed, and distributed among employees. As a result, if you are charged a service fee, you should probably still tip on top of it. More on this below.

Tipping in Hungary

While any business is allowed to ask for a tip in Hungary, tipping is supposed to express your satisfaction with the service. As such, you are actually expected to tip only when some kind of service is provided, like at a restaurant or café. You can see more and more tip jars in shops, or sometimes the machine might ask you if you want to give a tip when you pay by card, but the less human interaction you had, the less pressure you should feel to tip.

Standard tip is around 10%, which means the service was alright. Tipping 15-20% means that service was extraordinary and you were very happy with it, while tipping 5% or under translates to poor service (although you might also be considered rude for tipping so little). You can tip either in cash or by card. When you are given a receipt at the end of the meal, you can decide how much you want to tip – so the tip will not be listed on the receipt.

When you are tipping a freelancer like a beautician or a taxi driver, the tip will probably stay directly with them (unless they have some kind of agreement with the salon or the taxi company). When you are tipping a waiter at a restaurant, the tip will most probably go to the restaurant owner, who must manage tips separately from their basic revenues, and they will give the tip to the server later. Each restaurant has an internal rule book on how tips are collected, managed, and distributed. Tips are often pooled, meaning that additional employees can get tips too, such as kitchen staff. Distribution can be based on working hours, seniority, position, or various other factors. Tips are completely tax free, and must be paid out at least once a month.

Service fees in Hungary

Service fees are relatively new to Hungary. They were first introduced in 2005, but they gained more popularity over the last 10 years or so. You will also see them mentioned as service charge, “felszolgálási díj”, or “szervizdíj”. Service fees can only be applied at establishments where food or drinks are served, e.g. at restaurants, cafés, confectionaries, pubs, or nightclubs. The owner may decide whether they want to apply a service fee, but once a decision is made, service fees are applied to every sale. Prices should always be clear to customers, so service fees must be either advertised clearly, e.g. on the front page of the menu, or incorporated into the prices of the items. In either case, service fees will be listed separately on your receipt, and payment is not optional.

Service fees may be up to 15% (or 20% for B2B transactions). If an establishment charges a service fee, it must have an internal rulebook similar to the one on tips listing how service fees are managed and distributed. Just like tips, service fees can be pooled and distributed among all contributors, including not only kitchen staff, but even office or maintenance workers. Distribution can be based on working hours, seniority, position, or various other factors.

Unlike tips, service fees are taxed. They contain VAT, and employees pay an 18.5% social security contribution on their share. (This is still less than the regular payroll tax, which also includes 15% personal income tax paid by the employee, and 13% social contribution tax paid by the employer.)

Can you do without tipping in Hungary if there is a service fee?

Short answer: Probably not; you can politely discuss it with your server.

Long answer:

Service fees were introduced for two main reasons. First: to make “tipping” in Hungary taxable. Second: to make revenues more predictable both for restaurants and for waiters, since revenues from tipping can be quite inconsistent. At the same time, service fees should be distributed among employees in full, without any deductions (apart from VAT and the social security contribution). As a result, the logical conclusion should be that if you are charged a service fee, you should not be expected to tip.

However, while restaurant owners must spend the income from service fees on staff, they can decide how exactly to do that. As such, they may or may not decide to reward particular employees, e.g. the server you liked. As a customer, you have no way to know how this works at any given restaurant, and asking the server if they want a tip can be awkward. One way around this is to politely ask if they receive the service fee directly, and if they say no, offer a tip. If you are feeling generous, you may decide to tip anyway.

Let us help you better understand Hungary

Since tipping in Hungary is less than straightforward, we hope the above summary was able the shed some light on tipping expectations during your stay in Hungary. While standard tips are around 10%, you might be expected to pay up to 25% on the list prices (if there is also a 15% service fee). However, service fees must be indicated, so you can always have a clear idea in advance on how much you will need to pay at the end of the meal.

Helpers is committed to making life easier for everyone living, working, or doing business in Hungary. Our main profile is providing assistance with navigating Hungarian bureaucracy during residency application and business setup, but we also regularly create guides on the more mundane aspects of life, such as tipping in Hungary.

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Frequently asked questions

How much tip is expected in Hungary?

Standard tip in Hungary is around 10%. Tips are supposed to reflect customer satisfaction, so extraordinary service may be rewarded with a tip around 15-20%, while a tip of 5% or below reflects poor service.

What is a service fee in Hungary?

Restaurants and other establishments serving food or drinks can add service fees to their prices. It is a mandatory element, and it can be up to 15% of the price of each item.

Do service fees replace tips in Hungary?

The legislative intention was for service fees to replace tips, but that is not what you see in practice for cultural reasons. If you are not sure whether you are supposed to tip on top of the service fee, it is best to ask your server.