Tipping in Sweden

Tipping in Sweden is voluntary. The local word is dricks, and no law or wage rule requires it. Restaurant, bar, taxi, and hotel bills do not add a tip automatically, though some restaurant bills include a service charge, covered below. At a sit-down restaurant with good service, the most common guidance is 5 to 10 percent. In a taxi, most visitors round the fare up to the nearest 10 or 20 SEK. In a hotel, a small amount for a porter or housekeeping is appreciated but not expected.

These figures reflect practice in the capital. Habits in smaller cities and rural areas may differ. Use these amounts as a starting point, check the bill, and carry some cash.

Restaurants and cafés

At a sit-down restaurant, the usual practice is to leave 5 to 10 percent for good service. Stockholm Tourism’s 2026 tipping guide, published 3 October 2026, gives the same range and says around 10 percent is becoming more usual in central Stockholm. Visit Stockholm, the city’s official tourism board, gives 5 to 10 percent for excellent service. For a bill of 200 SEK, a tip in that range is roughly 10 to 20 SEK, and rounding up to the next convenient figure is a common way to do it.

Cafés and counter service work differently. Stockholm Tourism says nothing is expected when you order at the counter or carry your own tray. Visit Stockholm says rounding up to the nearest 10 or 20 SEK at a café is fine. Takeaway, self-service, and fast food need no tip at all. Some travel guides give small examples of rounding, such as a 58 SEK beer rounded to 60 in this Eurocheapo guide, which shows how little a rounded tip adds.

Service charges require a check of the bill. Stockholm Tourism says Swedish restaurants rarely add a service charge. When one appears, usually on large group bills, it should be clearly shown, and no further tip is due on top of it. The bill may read serviceavgift or "service charge." The Swedish hospitality industry body Visita said in a 2023 statement that Sweden has no service charge. Read the bill before adding a tip. If the service charge is already there, adding more is optional.

Cash is the simpler way to tip a server. Card tips can take longer to reach the staff member, and a card terminal may not show a tip prompt at all. Carry small notes and coins for the times you want to leave a tip on a card payment.

Bars and pubs

At a bar, the norm is to order at the counter and pay for each round without a per-drink tip. Stockholm Tourism says a rounded-up total or a small gesture at the end of the night is optional. Visit Stockholm says tipping is uncommon when you order at the counter.

Table service at a bar works like table service at a restaurant. Eurocheapo describes 5 to 10 percent as good form for a server who brings drinks to your table, and it says tipping has become more common. If you sit at a table and a server takes your order, leave the same 5 to 10 percent you would leave at a restaurant or round up. If you order at the bar, you need not leave anything.

Taxis

Tipping a taxi driver is not expected, but rounding up is the most common practice. Visit Stockholm gives the most specific guidance: round the fare up to the nearest 10 or 20 SEK, or add about 10 percent. A Swedish etiquette writer quoted by Sevenday says he usually rounds up to the nearest ten. Rounding up to the next convenient amount works under either approach.

Extra help is a reason to tip more. Tripmasters suggests a small tip when a driver helps with heavy luggage, drives a long way, or deals with obstacles. Stockholm Tourism also mentions extra for help with luggage. Add a little more when the driver does substantial work.

Taxi fares vary by company, so check the price before you ride. A commercial taxi guide says there has been no statutory maximum fare since 1990. Ask the operator for the fare when you book, and ask about the price before you get in if the total matters to you.

Online discussions in Sweden show a wider range of habits. Some people round up, some leave tips of around 15 to 20 percent, and some leave nothing, according to Swedish forum posts. Individual reports vary, so the norms above are the safer guide.

Hotels

Hotel tipping is not required. The question is how much to give for porters and housekeeping. Stockholm Tourism says nothing is expected for housekeeping or porters. Visit Stockholm says 20 to 50 SEK is appreciated. Porters are the most common place to tip. Campervan Sweden’s guide suggests 10 to 20 SEK per bag, and Nowah’s tipping guide suggests 20 to 40 SEK per bag as optional. A traveler who wants a single rule can give 10 to 20 SEK per bag and round up for heavy luggage or a porter who carries bags up stairs.

Housekeeping works the same way. Campervan Sweden says 20 to 50 SEK is customary at the end of a stay, and leaving cash in the room at checkout is the simplest method. A stay of several nights gives the housekeeping staff more reason to be thanked than a single night does. Stockholm Tourism’s view that nothing is expected is consistent with the rule that tipping is never required.

Hotel service charges are a separate question. Campervan Sweden says a service charge may already be included on a room-service bill, so no extra tip is needed when one appears. Check the bill before tipping on top of a room-service order.

Concierge tipping is less settled. No fixed amount applies, so a tip for a special booking is a judgment call. A traveler who asks the concierge to secure a difficult reservation can reasonably offer a tip, and the amount should match the effort involved.

How tips are taxed

Tips are taxable income for the person who receives them. Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency, says so in its frequently asked questions. Check the current page before relying on the details. For a taxi company, Bokio’s accounting guide to driver tips says card tips paid to a taxi company are treated as company income, and the driver’s pay comes through payroll. Cash tips to an employed driver must be reported by the driver.

Tips also stay outside VAT, the value-added tax that appears on the bill. FAR Online describes a voluntary tip as a sum the customer chooses to add, separate from payment for a service. Tipping therefore leaves the taxable sale unchanged. A 100 SEK tip on a 1,000 SEK bill leaves 1,000 SEK as the taxable amount. On the bill itself, restaurant food and non-alcoholic drinks eaten on site carry 12 percent VAT, and alcohol carries 25 percent, according to FAR Online’s summary of Swedish rates.

Staff pay in Sweden does not depend on tips. The union Hotel and Restaurant Workers (HRF) says tips appear in neither law nor collective agreements. Its contract secretary, Peggy Nyholm, said, in Swedish, "Vi vill att våra medlemmar ska kunna leva på sin lön," which means "We want our members to be able to live on their wages." Hospitality workers are paid under collective agreements, so a tip is a gift added on top of pay, and a wage is complete without it.

Tipping amounts at a glance

• Round up at taxis and cafés: Rounding a taxi fare to the nearest 10 or 20 SEK is the most common practice, and a café order needs only a small round-up.
• Leave 5 to 10 percent at sit-down restaurants: Stockholm Tourism says around 10 percent is becoming more common in central Stockholm for good table service.
• Check the bill for a service charge: Look for serviceavgift or "service charge," because a charge already on the bill makes an extra tip optional.
• Expect no tip at a bar counter: Order at the counter without tipping per drink. At a table, tip a server 5 to 10 percent or round up.
• Offer 10 to 20 SEK per bag at hotels: Published guidance ranges from nothing to 50 SEK, and 10 to 20 SEK per bag is a practical starting point for porters.