Of my allocated tips, I tip-out 15% to the busboy and 5% to the
bar. Where do I deduct this on my tax return?
You cannot deduct tip-outs (the tips you split with other employees) on
your tax return. Nor can you deduct them from your allocated tips. The practice
of tipping-out is one of the reasons you should keep a detailed daily log
of your tips. If you document that you tip-out, and you reported all your
tips to your employer, then you do not include in your income the allocated
tips in box 8 of Form W-2.
Tipping-out, by itself, should not cause an allocated tip situation. First,
when you report the cash tips you receive, you should report the total tips,
then the amount tipped-out. Publication 1244 (PDF), Employee's
Daily Record of Tips and Report to Employer, includes Forms 4070 and
4070A, Employee's Report of Tips to Employer that provides the following lines:
Cash tips received, line 1
Credit card tips received, line 2
Tips paid out, line 3
Net tips (lines 1 + 2 - 3), line 4
The detail of the information provided should enable your employer to develop
a reasonable, fair, and accurate method for determining whether tips need
to be allocated, and, if so, how much. Employers who operate large food and
beverage establishments are only required to allocate tips if the total tips
reported by all the employees who customarily receive tips are less than 8%
of gross sales. Thus, when there is a tip-splitting arrangement, it is important
that all tips, including those received through tip-splitting, be reported
to the employer by each employee who receives $20 or more in a month.
For more information, refer to Publication 531, Reporting Tip Income.
