The holiday tipping guide
By Dean Last reviewed July 21, 2026
Year-end tipping is the one time of year when Americans thank the people who quietly made the previous twelve months work - the doorman who took your packages, the nanny who showed up at 7am, the housekeeper who knows which corners you never check. It is also the time of year when etiquette anxiety peaks: who do I have to tip, how much, and what if I forget someone? The honest answer is that almost none of this is mandatory, and the people you should tip are the ones you see every week - not everyone you encountered all year.
Two rules cut through most of the noise. Tip the people who serve you regularly, in proportion to how often you rely on them. And read the federal and employer rules before tipping anyone in uniform - your mail carrier is legally barred from taking cash, and many home-health agencies prohibit their aides from accepting gifts at all. The reference table below expands those two rules into specific amounts.
The reference table
Grouped by how often you actually rely on the person. "Regular" means they show up for you every week or two; "Occasional" means you see them on a schedule but not constantly; "Restricted" means there is a legal or employer rule that limits what they can accept. Ranges are cross-checked across multiple references and skew higher in expensive cities, especially New York.
| Recipient | Suggested amount | Notes | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nanny / full-time childcare | One to two weeks' pay, plus a small gift from the child | The largest single tip most families give. Two weeks if the person has been with you for years. | Regular |
| Housekeeper / cleaner | One week's pay, or the cost of one cleaning | If they come weekly, tip one full visit; if biweekly or monthly, scale up to a week's worth. | Regular |
| Building superintendent / resident manager | $75–$300 | Higher in NYC and large cities; the person who actually fixes things tends to be remembered less than the doorman. | Regular |
| Doorman / concierge | $20–$150 each | Tip each doorman you interact with. Buildings with 24-hour staff have 3–4 per shift; you are not expected to cover all of them. | Regular |
| Porter / handyman / maintenance | $20–$50 each | Often overlooked; remember the people who carried your packages or fixed the leak. | Regular |
| Regular dog walker / pet sitter | One week's pay, or one to two day's pay | Equivalent to a week of walks. A gift (dog treats, a mug) is fine on top of cash. | Regular |
| Private nurse / home health aide | One week's pay (check agency policy first) | Some agencies prohibit employees from accepting gifts. Always ask before tipping. | Restricted |
| Mail carrier (USPS) | NO CASH. Non-cash gift up to $20, capped at $50/year per customer | Federal rule (see below). Cash, checks, and gift cards that function as cash are prohibited. | Restricted |
| UPS / FedEx driver | $10–$25 (cash OK - private sector) | These are not federal employees, so the USPS rule does not apply. Tip only your regular driver, not every occasional delivery. | Occasional |
| Teacher (your child's) | Gift card up to $25–$50; never cash | Many school districts cap gift value and prohibit cash. A heartfelt note from the child is genuinely valued. | Restricted |
| Daycare worker | $25–$70 each, plus a small gift | Tip each caregiver who interacts with your child daily. | Regular |
| Hair stylist / barber | Cost of one visit, or a gift | If you see them regularly all year, the holiday tip is the equivalent of a normal visit. | Regular |
| Personal trainer | Cost of one session, or $50–$100 | Only if you see them regularly; not for drop-in classes. | Regular |
| Landscaper / gardener | $20–$50, or one week's pay for a regular crew | If you have a year-round contract, scale up. One-time summer crews are not typically tipped. | Occasional |
| Trash / recycling collectors | $10–$30 each | Hard to catch in person; tape an envelope to the bin or mail to the depot. Municipal crews may be under the same cash-gift rules as other local government employees. | Occasional |
| Newspaper delivery | $10–$30 | Largely historical in 2026, but if you still get physical delivery, tip the carrier. | Occasional |
| Regular barista / bartender | $20–$50, or a bottle of something | Only for a regular you see weekly; not for every coffee shop you walked into this year. | Occasional |
| Nursing home / assisted-living staff | A shared gift to the staff fund, not individuals | Most facilities have a policy against individual gifts. Ask the administrator before tipping. | Restricted |
The "Tier" column sorts recipients by relationship: Regular = weekly or near-weekly service; Occasional = you see them on a schedule but not constantly; Restricted = federal or employer rules limit what they can accept. See the section on mail carriers and other restricted recipients below.
The mail-carrier rule - and who else is restricted
The single most common holiday-tipping mistake is leaving cash for the mail carrier. Federal ethics rules prohibit USPS employees from accepting cash, checks, or gift cards that function as cash, full stop. The official allowance is narrow: a customer may give a postal employee a non-cash gift worth up to $20 per occasion, capped at $50 total from any one customer in a calendar year. Homemade cookies, a travel mug, hand warmers, or a thank-you card are all fine; a $20 bill in a holiday card is not.
This is the federal-employee version of a broader pattern. Several other recipients on the list are under similar restrictions, and the pattern is worth knowing in advance:
Cash is prohibited
- USPS letter carriers (federal rule; non-cash gift ≤ $20)
- Many public-school teachers (district policies)
- Home-health aides from some agencies (check first)
- Municipal sanitation crews in some cities (varies)
Cash is fine
- UPS and FedEx drivers (private-sector employees)
- Building staff in private buildings
- Nannies, housekeepers, dog walkers
- Hair stylists, barbers, trainers
When in doubt, ask. The agency, school district, or building management will tell you the rule, and the worker would much rather you ask than put them in the position of having to refuse or accept something that could cost them their job.
How to budget - and who you can skip
A useful way to think about the year-end budget: sort your list into the three tiers from the reference table, and spend most of your money at the top. The biggest single tip most families give is to a full-time childcare provider - the equivalent of one to two weeks of pay - followed by the regular housekeeper and the building staff. If the budget is tight, these are the people to take care of first; everyone else gets a card, a small gift, or nothing at all, and that is completely acceptable.
Who you can skip without guilt: the plumber who came once in March, the Lyft driver who was nice, the barista at the airport Starbucks. Holiday tipping is for the people whose wages depend on you specifically, week after week - and for whom a one-week bonus is genuinely meaningful, not symbolic. A small gift (baked goods, a thoughtful note, a $10 coffee card) is always appropriate for the broader list, but the cash budget should concentrate on the regulars.
One nuance worth saying out loud: in cities with doorman buildings, especially New York, the expected amounts skew significantly higher than the national ranges, and the doorman/concierge line can easily exceed the super line. If you live in such a building, the building's management office often publishes a suggested-range sheet in November; when in doubt, ask them.
How to actually hand the money out
For cash tips, the mechanics matter more than people expect. A few practical notes that prevent the awkward moments:
- Get new bills from the bank. Crisp currency in a holiday card feels like a gift; crumpled twenties fished out of a wallet feel like an afterthought.
- Hand the envelope directly to the person. Do not leave it at a front desk "for the super" and hope it gets there. For building staff, distribution happens in the final two weeks of December, ideally before people leave for the holidays.
- Label it. Write the recipient's name and role on the card ("Maria - 3rd-floor housekeeping"), and sign yours. Buildings have multiple staff members with the same first name, and you want the right envelope to land in the right hands.
- Include a short note. A handwritten "thank you for X this year" is the part most recipients actually remember. Cash is fungible; specific gratitude is not.
- Don't tip in front of other staff you are not tipping. Discretion avoids the dynamic of coworkers comparing envelopes.
For recipients you cannot catch in person - mail carrier, trash collectors, newspaper delivery - the conventions are different. Tape the small gift to the mailbox with a note for the carrier, mail a check to the sanitation depot addressed to the crew, or hand it to them on the first collection day in December. For doormen and supers, late December in person is the norm.
What if you can't afford it?
The most important thing to remember about holiday tipping is that it is a gratuity, not a debt. If money is tight - and a typical family's year-end list can easily run $300 to $800 in cash - the right move is to concentrate what you can give on the one or two people most central to your household (usually childcare and the housekeeper) and give honest, specific thanks to the rest. A handwritten card describing what their work meant to your family this year is genuinely valued and is never the wrong move.
Conversely, if your budget is comfortable, the same logic suggests tipping at the top of the ranges (or above) for the regulars rather than spreading smaller amounts further. The marginal value of $50 is much higher to a housekeeper than to a barista you see twice a month.
For the underlying norms behind the per-category amounts in regular tipping situations (the stylist's percentage, the bartender per-drink rate, the hotel-housekeeping flat tip), see the complete tipping guide. This page is the year-end layer on top of those basics.
Sources & references 5 sources
The dollar ranges and the per-recipient guidance above are synthesized from the following references. The three-tier "regular / occasional / restricted" framework and the per-recipient grouping are original to TippingUSA.
- Emily Post Institute - General Tipping Guide (accessed 2026-07-20) - Authoritative etiquette reference for who to tip and how much, including the "no obligation" framing for counter service, tip jars, and takeout.
- The Ultimate Holiday Tipping Guide - AARP (accessed 2026-07-21) - Year-end tip ranges for building staff (doorman, super), housekeepers, teachers, regular service providers; the "tip those who serve you regularly all year" framing.
- Emily Post Institute - Holiday Tipping Guide (accessed 2026-07-21) - Authoritative etiquette reference for year-end gratuities: who to tip, how much, cash-vs-gift norms, and the relationship-based framework (tip more for people you see regularly).
- Gifts from Customers - USPS Ethics (Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the U.S. Postal Service) (accessed 2026-07-21) - The federal rule that postal employees may not accept cash or cash equivalents; a non-cash gift up to $20 per occasion is permitted, capped at $50 per customer per year.
- Holiday Tipping Guide - Consumer Reports (accessed 2026-07-21) - Survey-based guidance on year-end tipping budgets and which service providers Americans typically tip at the holidays.