# Tipping and coperto in Italy: the number is zero

> No Italian law fixes a tip percentage, so nothing is owed. The coperto is a separate charge, banned by regional law in Lazio, and it is not a tip.

URL: https://myitalia.it/plan/tipping-and-coperto
Last updated: 2026-09-02

No Italian law fixes a tip percentage, so the amount owed is zero, and the coperto is a separate charge that belongs to the restaurant rather than to the person who served you.

## The tip: legally a gift

Italian law calls a tip a sum given by customers to workers as a liberality, in article 1, paragraphs 58 to 62 of law 197 of December 29, 2022, interpreted by revenue agency circular 26/E of August 29, 2023. It applies to accommodation and to food and drink service.

Two consequences follow from that word, liberality. The amount is not owed, and no percentage is set anywhere, which is why any site giving you an Italian tipping percentage is giving you its own habit dressed as a rule. There is no legally mandatory service charge in Italy.

## The coperto: not a tip, and not the same thing twice

The coperto is a charge made by the restaurant for the cover, the bread and the table setting. It goes to the restaurant. A tip goes to the staff and is taxed on their side as employment income under a reduced substitute rate. Paying one has nothing to do with the other.

That distinction is the whole answer to a question that four different pages on the internet answer four different ways. The coperto is a price component; the tip is a decision.

## No national rule, which is why the arguments never end

There is no national Italian law on the coperto: it is neither prohibited nor regulated at state level. Anyone telling you it is illegal in Italy is wrong, and anyone telling you it is obligatory is also wrong.

What does apply nationally is transparency. Every element of the price, coperto and service included, has to be knowable before you order, through the displayed table or price list, and a service component has to be indicated clearly. A charge that appears only on the bill has failed that test.

## Lazio bans it, and Lazio is where you probably are

In Lazio the coperto is banned by law: article 16, paragraph 3 of regional law 21 of November 29, 2006 forbids charging extra for it, while allowing a clearly stated service component. Paragraph 2 of the same article bans extra charges for service, coperto, drinks and anything else advertised inside a fixed-price offer.

This is not a technicality for American readers. Rome alone takes 25.5 percent of all American nights in Italy, ahead of Florence at 14.6, Naples at 7.0, Venice at 6.7 and Milan at 6.5, with 60.3 percent of those nights in 5 comuni. So the single most likely place for an English-speaking visitor to see a coperto on a bill is the one region where it is not allowed.

Worth flagging honestly: whether other regions have equivalent bans is not verified here, and the Lazio text rests on a single primary source, the region's own consolidated law.

## What nobody publishes

Nobody publishes a typical coperto amount for Italy. There is no official statistic, no ministerial survey and no register, so this page prints no range and no average, and any range you read elsewhere was estimated by whoever wrote it.

What you can do is read the menu before you sit down, where the figure has to appear, and treat the number you see there as the only one that applies to your table. If the bill in Rome shows a coperto, the regional law above is the sentence to know. The rest of the bill, and the rest of the trip, is on [what Italy costs](/plan/travel-budget).

## FAQ

### How much should I tip in Italy?

Nothing is owed. Italian law defines a tip as a voluntary payment by the customer, under article 1, paragraphs 58 to 62 of law 197 of December 29, 2022, and fixes no percentage. Leaving small change or rounding up is common; a 15 or 20 percent rule does not exist here.

### Is the coperto a tip?

No. The coperto is a charge by the restaurant for the table setting, and it goes to the business. A tip is a voluntary payment by you, legally defined as a liberality and taxed as employment income for the person who receives it. Paying one does not discharge the other.

### Is the coperto legal in Italy?

There is no national law either way: it is neither banned nor regulated at state level. In Lazio it is banned by regional law, article 16 paragraph 3 of regional law 21 of November 29, 2006. So the same charge is lawful in Florence and unlawful in Rome.

### Does the coperto have to be written on the menu?

Yes. 1 national obligation survives on this subject: every element of the price, coperto and service included, must be knowable before you order, through the displayed table or price list. A charge that appears on the bill and nowhere on the menu has failed it.

### What is servizio, and is it different from coperto?

Servizio is a service component, which Lazio's law expressly allows while banning the coperto, provided it is stated clearly. In fixed-price menus Lazio bans extra charges for service, coperto, drinks and anything else advertised as included, under paragraph 2 of the same article.

### Do Italians tip?

There is no official measurement of what Italians leave, and we are not going to invent one. What the law establishes is that no percentage is due. The practical version is that a tip in Italy is a reaction to a specific meal, not a line item you calculate.

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| In Italia la mancia e' una erogazione volontaria del cliente e non un addebito dovuto: la legge la qualifica come 'somma destinata dai clienti ai lavoratori a titolo di liberalita'' e la tassa come reddito di lavoro dipendente con imposta sostitutiva agevolata (art. 1, commi 58-62, legge 29 dicembre 2022, n. 197). | [Agenzia delle Entrate](https://www.agenziaentrate.gov.it/portale/agosto-2023-circolari) | medium | 2027-12-31 |
| Il 'coperto' non e' disciplinato da una legge nazionale italiana: non e' vietato ne' regolato a livello statale, ma qualunque componente di prezzo, coperto e servizio inclusi, deve essere resa nota al cliente prima dell'ordinazione tramite la tabella o il listino dei prezzi. | [Consiglio regionale del Lazio - L.R. 29 novembre 2006, n. 21, art. 16](https://www.consiglio.regione.lazio.it/consiglio-regionale/?vw=leggiregionalidettaglio&id=9081&sv=vigente) | medium | 2028-12-31 |
| Nel Lazio l'addebito del coperto e' vietato per legge: l'art. 16, comma 3, della legge regionale 29 novembre 2006, n. 21 vieta espressamente di applicare costi aggiuntivi per il coperto, pur consentendo di indicare una componente di 'servizio'; il comma 2 vieta inoltre costi aggiuntivi per servizio, coperto e bevande nelle formule a prezzo fisso. | [Consiglio regionale del Lazio (testo coordinato vigente)](https://www.consiglio.regione.lazio.it/consiglio-regionale/?vw=leggiregionalidettaglio&id=9081&sv=vigente) | medium | 2028-12-31 |
| Il 60,3% delle notti statunitensi si concentra in cinque comuni: Roma 25,5%, Firenze 14,6%, Napoli 7,0%, Venezia 6,7%, Milano 6,5%. | [Banca d'Italia, Indagine sul turismo internazionale](https://www.bancaditalia.it/statistiche/tematiche/rapporti-estero/turismo-internazionale/) | medium | 2027-07-31 |

## Other languages

- it: https://myitalia.it/it/organizza/tipping-and-coperto.md
- es: https://myitalia.it/es/planifica/tipping-and-coperto.md
- fr: https://myitalia.it/fr/preparer/tipping-and-coperto.md
- de: https://myitalia.it/de/planen/tipping-and-coperto.md