How much is a tattoo deposit: amounts by job size and how clients pay

What the deposit is paying for

A deposit holds the date, so you aren't keeping a Saturday open on someone's word. It pays for the drawing time that happens before the client ever sits down. And it comes off the final price. In US search data, “does a tattoo deposit go towards the tattoo” gets more searches than “how much is a tattoo deposit”, so put that last point in writing.

Those three jobs pull in different directions. The date is worth the same whether the piece is palm-sized flash or a full back. The drawing time isn't. Taking the deposit before you start drawing also protects the design itself, which is covered in sending designs in advance.

How much a tattoo deposit should be, by job size

For flash and small custom pieces, a flat amount is easy to explain and easy to remember. For larger work, a percentage of the session price grows with the hours you're putting into the drawing. For multi-session pieces, take a deposit on each session and let each one come off that session's price. It keeps the math simple when a sleeve stretches over five months and someone asks what's been paid.

The numbers below are examples to show the math. There's no reliable published average for tattoo deposits, and what works for a busy shop in Austin won't match a private studio in a small town.

Run two checks on any number. Losing it should sting enough that a client thinks twice before ghosting. It should also cover your drawing time if they disappear after seeing the design. If those point to different amounts, take the higher one. UK clients also search for it as a booking fee. The math is the same.

How US clients pay, and the catch with each

Start typing “do tattoo artists take” into Google and it finishes the question with Venmo, Zelle, Apple Pay and credit cards. Those are the options clients ask about, and each has a catch:

• Venmo charges a personal account 2.99% to receive a payment the sender marks as goods and services, and a business profile 1.9% + $0.10 (Venmo's fee page). On a $150 deposit, that's $4.49 or $2.95 off the top.
• Zelle payments can't be reversed, and Zelle's own FAQ tells people to send money only to people they know and trust (Zelle FAQ). That's fine for regulars. A new client who found you on Instagram has every reason to hesitate.
• Cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay go through a checkout page the client recognizes. Card payments carry processing fees, and a client can dispute a charge with their bank.

Google also suggests “tattoo deposit scam” as people type, in the US, the UK and Australia. That's the mood a first-time client brings to a request for money sent to a stranger's personal account, and a proper checkout page answers it better than any reassurance in a DM.

How clients pay in Canada, the UK and Australia

In Canada, Interac e-Transfer is the default way people send each other money: Interac reports 1.4 billion e-Transfer transactions in 2024 (interac.ca). Expect clients to offer it. In Australia, PayID lets clients pay to a phone number, email address or ABN through more than 100 banks and other financial institutions. If you take PayID, tell clients the only payment details that count are the ones you send them yourself. The official PayID site warns that emails or texts claiming to come from PayID are scams (PayID).

When the client has already paid another way

Sometimes the money arrives before the link does. A regular sends $100 by Zelle, or a client in Toronto e-Transfers the deposit the minute you agree on a date. In OpenInk Studio you log that against the booking with Record in-person payment. The label says in person, but it covers any money you took outside OpenInk, a transfer sent ahead included. It's free, with no service fee, and it counts toward your income report alongside the card payments.

Your plan decides how that works. On Free, every booking link takes a deposit online, although a client who has already paid you one deposit through OpenInk can book later sessions without one. Sending a link with No deposit, so the transfer can be recorded instead, needs a paid plan or the 14-day trial. The same button covers the balance: cash at the counter or a payment on your own card reader goes in the same way, so the month's numbers stay complete.

Refunds, no-shows and moving dates

How much comes back after a cancellation, what happens after a no-show and how many times a date can move all belong in your written rules. There's a deposit policy you can copy on our deposits page, and the no-show guide covers reminders and late cancellations.

If several artists work under your roof, decide as well how deposits and refunds count toward each artist's share. How tattoo artists get paid walks through a month of that, with a worked example.