diff --git a/cookiecutter/tap-template/{{cookiecutter.tap_id}}/{{cookiecutter.library_name}}/tap.py b/cookiecutter/tap-template/{{cookiecutter.tap_id}}/{{cookiecutter.library_name}}/tap.py
index df3f9f754..74c8927e9 100644
--- a/cookiecutter/tap-template/{{cookiecutter.tap_id}}/{{cookiecutter.library_name}}/tap.py
+++ b/cookiecutter/tap-template/{{cookiecutter.tap_id}}/{{cookiecutter.library_name}}/tap.py
@@ -50,6 +50,16 @@ class Tap{{ cookiecutter.source_name }}({{ 'SQL' if cookiecutter.stream_type ==
             default="https://api.mysample.com",
             description="The url for the API service",
         ),
+        {%- if cookiecutter.stream_type in ("GraphQL", "REST") %}
+        th.Property(
+            "user_agent",
+            th.StringType,
+            description=(
+                "A custom User-Agent header to send with each request. Default is "
+                "'<tap_name>/<tap_version>'"
+            ),
+        ),
+        {%- endif %}
     ).to_dict()
 {%- if cookiecutter.stream_type in ("GraphQL", "REST", "Other") %}
 
diff --git a/samples/sample_tap_dummy_json/tap_dummyjson/client.py b/samples/sample_tap_dummy_json/tap_dummyjson/client.py
index c946675f3..3f0ba2a91 100644
--- a/samples/sample_tap_dummy_json/tap_dummyjson/client.py
+++ b/samples/sample_tap_dummy_json/tap_dummyjson/client.py
@@ -28,10 +28,6 @@ def authenticator(self):
             password=self.config["password"],
         )
 
-    @property
-    def http_headers(self):
-        return {"User-Agent": "tap-dummyjson"}
-
     def get_new_paginator(self):
         return BaseOffsetPaginator(start_value=0, page_size=PAGE_SIZE)
 
diff --git a/singer_sdk/streams/rest.py b/singer_sdk/streams/rest.py
index 559389e8c..76e2abf5d 100644
--- a/singer_sdk/streams/rest.py
+++ b/singer_sdk/streams/rest.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 import copy
 import logging
 import typing as t
+from functools import cached_property
 from http import HTTPStatus
 from urllib.parse import urlparse
 from warnings import warn
@@ -100,7 +101,7 @@ def __init__(
         super().__init__(name=name, schema=schema, tap=tap)
         if path:
             self.path = path
-        self._http_headers: dict = {}
+        self._http_headers: dict = {"User-Agent": self.user_agent}
         self._requests_session = requests.Session()
         self._compiled_jsonpath = None
         self._next_page_token_compiled_jsonpath = None
@@ -150,6 +151,18 @@ def requests_session(self) -> requests.Session:
             self._requests_session = requests.Session()
         return self._requests_session
 
+    @cached_property
+    def user_agent(self) -> str:
+        """Get the user agent string for the stream.
+
+        Returns:
+            The user agent string.
+        """
+        return self.config.get(
+            "user_agent",
+            f"{self.tap_name}/{self._tap.plugin_version}",
+        )
+
     def validate_response(self, response: requests.Response) -> None:
         """Validate HTTP response.
 
@@ -553,10 +566,7 @@ def http_headers(self) -> dict:
         Returns:
             Dictionary of HTTP headers to use as a base for every request.
         """
-        result = self._http_headers
-        if "user_agent" in self.config:
-            result["User-Agent"] = self.config.get("user_agent")
-        return result
+        return self._http_headers
 
     @property
     def timeout(self) -> int: