In just a few days, a new law will take effect in Quebec that changes how tips are calculated in restaurants, bars and cafés. Under Bill 72, gratuities must be based on the pre-tax subtotal — not the final total that includes GST and QST. In other words, people will no longer be required to tip on tax.
Recently, an Instagram post explaining the new law went viral, with hundreds of comments from users. Fair to say that most people were pretty happy about the news.
“Charging tip on tax is wild lol,” said one user. “This is exactly how it should be — if Europe does it just fine, so can we,” read another comment.
Others called out Quebec’s aggressive tipping culture.
“Now make it illegal to suggest specific percentages or require a minimum tip,” commented one user. “Why should we be tipping at all? Just pay your staff properly,” said another.
And our French-speaking neighbours to the east aren’t the only ones who feel like the rules around when to tip — and how much — are getting harder and harder to navigate.
Here in Toronto, it’s common to see tip prompts of 18 per cent, 20 per cent, or even 25 per cent — often calculated on the full post-tax amount. Some machines default to high percentages with no easy way to opt out. And we’ve all been there — you pop into a shop for a coffee and a cookie, then worry you’ll look cheap if you don’t tip at all.
There’s also a new wave of spots that are ditching tipping altogether — opting to pay staff fair wages and incorporate the cost into menu pricing.
Should Ontario follow suit? Should we stop tipping on tax? Or even stop tipping altogether? As more diners push back against confusing tip prompts and more restaurants rethink how they pay staff, Toronto might be closer to change than we think.
