Tipping in Taiwan: What to Pay Restaurants, Taxis, Hotels and Guides (2026)

You don’t have to tip in Taiwan. If you arrive with a 20% habit, you can leave it at home. The one thing to watch for is a 10% service charge, which some restaurants and hotels add to the bill. Where you see it, that’s your tip. Where you don’t, pay the listed price.

Tipping in Taiwan at a glance

Situation	What to do
Local restaurant, night market stall	No tip. Pay the price on the menu.
Hotel or upscale restaurant with “10%” on the bill	That service charge is the tip. Add nothing.
Metered taxi	Pay the meter. Rounding up a little for change is fine.
Ride-hailing (Uber, LINE GO)	No tip expected.
Private guide	A tip is common. One Taipei travel site suggests NT$300 to 500 per person per day.
Private driver	One Taipei travel site suggests NT$500 to 1,000 per day.

Restaurants and night markets

At a standard restaurant, a noodle shop or a night-market stall, the price you see is the price you pay. Service is built in, and nobody expects extra.

Hotel restaurants and some upscale places work differently. They often add a service charge, customarily 10%, and it shows up as its own line on the bill. When it’s there, it does the job a tip would do. When it isn’t there, you still don’t need to add one.

Taxis and ride-hailing

Taxis run on the meter. Most people round up to the next convenient amount so the driver doesn’t have to count small change, and that’s as far as it goes. With Uber or LINE GO you can skip it entirely. If a driver helps with heavy bags or waits while you sort out a hotel check-in, a thank-you and a small round-up is plenty.

Hotels

Luxury and international hotels often add the 10% service charge to your room rate or to food and drink. If it’s included, you’re covered. A porter who carries your bags might get a small note if you like, though nobody requires it. Check the price line at booking so you aren’t surprised by a service charge at checkout.

Private guides and drivers

This is where tipping is most common. If you travel with a private guide or driver, for example on the Taroko and Alishan legs of a Taiwan itinerary, a tip at the end of the trip is a normal way to say thanks. One Taipei travel site gives NT$300 to 500 per person per day for a guide and NT$500 to 1,000 per day for a driver. Treat those as a rough range, since there’s no official rate. Hand it over in cash, at the end of the last day, ideally in an envelope.

Carry small notes for this so you can hand over the exact amount.

What if you forget

You haven’t broken a rule. At restaurants and in taxis, paying the exact price is the norm. With a private guide or driver, the tip is a thank-you for good service, so give what feels right.

Planning with Absolute Asia Tours

If you’d rather not work out who gets what, a private trip takes care of the ground side. Look at our Taiwan tour packages or tell us your dates, and we’ll tell you what to carry in cash.

Sources: Taipei Tourism (taipeitourism.org), “Tipping in Taipei”, updated October 2026. This is a commercial travel site, and we found no official Taiwanese rule on tipping, so amounts are guidance. Last checked 9 November 2026.

Tipping in Taiwan: FAQ

Do you tip in Taiwan?

Not in most places. Restaurants, night markets and taxis don’t expect a tip. Private guides and drivers are the usual exception.

What is the 10% service charge on Taiwanese bills?

Hotels and some upscale restaurants add it to the bill. When it’s there, it takes the place of a tip, so you add nothing on top.

How much do you tip a private guide in Taiwan?

One Taipei travel site suggests NT$300 to 500 per person per day for a guide and NT$500 to 1,000 per day for a driver. It’s a courtesy that nobody requires.

Do you tip taxi drivers in Taiwan?

No. Pay the meter. Rounding up a small amount is common but optional.