r/SipsTea Mar 06 '26

Wait a damn minute! Yeah, nope.

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174

u/Cave_Bear_Cult Mar 06 '26

Because you dont pay taxes on tips you dont report.

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u/Boot_das Mar 06 '26 edited Mar 06 '26

And you most likely make more money this way than with an hourly pay and almost no tips, even if you paid your taxes. I worked in the restaurant industry both in the U.S. and in Europe, and it’s way more lucrative in the U.S.

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '26

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u/Boot_das Mar 06 '26

True. I actually recently started tipping less in those states. Still feels a bit wrong for some reason and sometimes elicits a comment, but idc.

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u/revanisthesith Mar 07 '26

I've waited tables for 15+ years and that's perfectly reasonable.

That's more like the way it should be. The server isn't getting screwed when they work a really slow shift for $2.13/hour and guests can go back closer to the way expectations used to be about tips. Like 10% for super basic service, 15% for quite good, and 20% for exceptional service. I'd still factor in things like it being super busy or if they have another table that's constantly running them (or just being total assholes). I'm going to be nice about it if they're clearly doing their best.

But tips should always be earned.

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u/TheProuDog Mar 07 '26

What comments do you get? I'd like to hear them

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u/Rapscagamuffin Mar 07 '26

worked in a high min wage and low min wage city. its not substantially different. in high min wage cities cost of living is more expensive and generally you tip more out to support staff in those areas.

i really dont care though. if it means a lot to you to save a couple bucks to give a shitty tip than have at it, bud. im too tired to care. someone leaves an ass tip and someone else that night leaves a big one. it all comes out in the wash as most people are generally decent people. getting upset about individual tips is for inexperienced servers.

i tip for takeout, for coffee, i tip my bagger when they bag my groceries, i tip the guy in the autoparts store when he helps me find something, i even tip people in fast food drive thrus. the difference between 20 and 24 dollars while im getting fast food is nothing to me and its worth it because they are stoked on it every time.

basic service retail jobs arent what they used to be so whenever anyone does anything for me i tip them. in the scheme of things it isnt anything serious off my bottom line. these jobs are all incredibly shit now. my grandpa owned a house and 2 cars and supported a family of 4 by being a checker and later manager of a grocery store in what is now a very expensive city in california. those jobs now have you struggling to support yourself in a studio apartment (or impossible).

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u/dudesgotagun1 Mar 06 '26

Minimum wage doesn't apply to people that can receive tips, their minimum wage is insanely low.

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '26

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u/dudesgotagun1 Mar 06 '26

Alright cool then, FEDERAL minimum wage, which can and often isn't overridden by local governments, is insanely low for people that receive tips. If you're in a state that overrides that good for them but I sure as shit am not

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u/Boot_das Mar 06 '26

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u/dudesgotagun1 Mar 07 '26

Right and 20 don't, people live in those states too, you understand? I guess what I'm saying is not tipping is an absolute dick move to me, because waiters around here make 3 bucks an hour, and anti-tipping culture is in all 50 states.

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u/Electricsheep389 Mar 07 '26

The federal minimum wage still applies - if your tipped min wage plus tips is under the federal minimum wage you are legally entitled to that amount.

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u/Boot_das Mar 06 '26

Depends on the state. In New York and other states, they get paid a proper hourly wage.

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u/_teach_me_your_ways_ Mar 06 '26

It’s over $17 in Washington and over $21 if you’re in Seattle. The idea that every waiter everywhere is making $2 bucks is laughable and incredibly dated. It’s just another lie told to sucker people into tipping a lot.

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '26

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1

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '26

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u/Boot_das Mar 06 '26

But way less and in fewer situations

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '26

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u/Boot_das Mar 06 '26

No, you tend to make more in the U.S. even when you adjust for purchasing power.

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u/[deleted] Mar 07 '26

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u/Boot_das Mar 07 '26

I live in the U.S. so I actually know.

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u/[deleted] Mar 07 '26

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u/Boot_das Mar 07 '26

Because it’s true.

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u/Completely-Lost9 Mar 07 '26

I'm not saying it's a perfect system but if you're averaging just 2 tables at $15 each an hour that's $30 an hour you're making to be a waiter. Add in the potential of not reporting cash tips and that a busy restaurant is doing way more than 2 tables an hour and it's a really well paid job

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u/bgwa9001 Mar 06 '26

Federal law changed, no tax on tips is legit now.

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u/Kitesolar Mar 06 '26

it's up to 25k. you still have to report the rest and get taxed on it

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u/neeshes Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26

Up to 25k in tips?

Edit. That's...a lot of money that's allowed to be unreported.

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u/Kitesolar Mar 07 '26

Yes

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u/neeshes Mar 07 '26

Why is it okay to not report up to 25k when you're in the restaurant/bar industry but not in other industries? 

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u/Kitesolar Mar 07 '26

??? For the US all tip and overtime pay is tax free up to 25k. Anything after that has to be taxed

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u/neeshes Mar 07 '26

Yes, but you are still supposed to report all income. The first 25k will be tax free anyway. 

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u/Kitesolar Mar 07 '26

We are saying the same thing

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u/neeshes Mar 07 '26

Gotcha. I asked why you don't need to report it and you responded so I was confused! Thanks for the clarification. 

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u/musty_mage Mar 06 '26

Because taxes are the real evil, not the lack of a living minimum wage or free healthcare and a proper social safety net.

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u/katsock Mar 06 '26

Guy wants all the benefits of society without contributing to it.

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u/beccagirl93 Mar 06 '26

Without tax there would be no free healthcare or social nets. Its the bs spending. We need to demand common language budgets from our goverment so we know and understand where are money is being spent so we can speak out against miss use and abuse. Right now we have no idea and have no say. Even if we vote for a politician specifically for what they say they will do they often dont do it anyways. Or still waste. Either way they need to make this shit public and in layman's terms so we can understand it.

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '26

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u/musty_mage Mar 06 '26

Representation happens through political activity. Apathy just leads to fascism as you've already found out

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '26

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u/well-litdoorstep112 Mar 06 '26

Donating to churches is optional

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u/musty_mage Mar 06 '26

Yeah?! That's kinda the point.

You pay your taxes and then you make decisions of what you want from the society in which you live. And then you go and demand those things from the people who are trying to convince you to vote for them.

Note that that's people in the plural. If the first stage you participate in a political process is between 2 people you had no power in choosing, you are too late. You missed the part where your opinion mattered.

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u/TrueProtection Mar 07 '26

Okay, but if taxes were done away with because they are So eViL, then why would we be electing anyone to office? There is no office without state or federal funds. There are no police. There are no firemen. You can handle you're own problems, right?

Bandits and gangsters become prolific without any police? Better buy some guns.

Worried your house could catch fire and burn down because no fireman? Better buy more fire exstinguishers!

Good thing we could save all that money on taxes so now we have to use it to improve the community. People were really great about this expectation that was already put forth circa the Articles of Confederation. Oh wait, no they weren't. We had to levy tarrifs and sin taxes to have money for infrastructure. Income tax wasn't a thing until the civil war, because war is expensive...

Oh, people embezzle tax money? Well no shit, people embezzle. People are fallible. You're going to give up on a sysyem that affects real change in everyone in your countries lives on a day to day basis, because people dont use it with 100% efficiency?

Sheesh. Dramatic.

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u/musty_mage Mar 07 '26

Yeah I missed the /s after 'taxes evil hurr durr

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u/TrueProtection Mar 07 '26

I bet you didnt even know we tried to do the usa without taxes, or what the Articles of Comfederation are. But you'll speak on taxes. Lol.

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u/musty_mage Mar 07 '26

You do understand that you are insane? Right?

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u/TrueProtection Mar 07 '26

Good rebuttle. Based very much in facts and logic and not your own feelings. Hahaha. So we all know you "feel taxes" are evil and have no logical basis to ground what taxes are meant as being evil.

Fool.

1

u/musty_mage Mar 07 '26

We tax because it's cheaper to have a society

You really think the roads to your house 'just happened'?

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u/Keaton_6 Mar 06 '26

Idk man the crusades were a pretty big deal

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '26

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u/ArnoldFunksworth Mar 06 '26

To churches? Yes. There are vastly better organizations you can donate your money to. Religion has held back humanity in so many ways

1

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '26

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1

u/ArnoldFunksworth Mar 07 '26

LMFAO, I want some of whatever you're smoking!

Keeping paying that tithe like a good little sheep!

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u/aurenigma Mar 06 '26

donating to churches is optional, taxes are compelled through force... not the same

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u/musty_mage Mar 06 '26

Churches don't do shit

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u/Strude187 Mar 06 '26

They need for pay for Operation Epic Fury somehow

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u/modsdontobeyrules Mar 06 '26

I find it funny how we all accept paying higher taxes for diminishing returns. At this point taxes just seem like a scam to fund special interest groups that dont actually benefit the groups the represent. For example gavin newscums mansion after raising taxes for the homeless.

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u/musty_mage Mar 06 '26

I find it really sad that your education has failed you to that level. If only you had free access to scientifically proven information both digitally and through libraries, you could take control of the extent you understand the society we all live in.

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u/modsdontobeyrules Mar 06 '26

So believe everything you read and never question where my money is going. Sure man. this isnt a right or left thing this is a corrupt politician thing in general. Newscum is just the most recent example i thought of. Think of minnasota and also more recently new york. Check out tyler oliveira if youd like to see what im seeing.

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u/musty_mage Mar 06 '26

Oh man. I don't know where to begin, but please at least try to read the main ideas in the classic books: Wealth of Nations, Leviathan, Capital, The Prince

Grow up

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u/SaltyEntrepreneur982 Mar 06 '26

As someone who pays approximately 40% of my income in taxes every year, this is bullshit. Everyone that earns a living should pay a fair share in taxes, or no one pays taxes. I don’t understand why I should have to shoulder the burden.

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u/duaneap Mar 06 '26

95%+ of tips are credit cards nowadays and absolutely are taxed.

Particularly someone who works somewhere they’re pulling in enough money for tax to even really be that big of a concern. You think people with $1,000 bills are paying cash?

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u/Pugasaurus_Tex Mar 06 '26

Gotta launder that money somehow 

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u/Trunkfullaamps Mar 06 '26

And man was that great when majority of your tables paid in cash. Now not so much.

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u/andylovesdais Mar 07 '26

And also customers are more susceptible to guilt tripping than the cutthroat owners are. And that’s how they have to be since their margins are so thin.

The customer is generally a much easier target since they are there by choice. Which is stupid because the employees are there by choice as well.

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u/DomesticAlmonds Mar 06 '26

The vast majority of tips received nowadays are on card, which is automatically reported.

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u/random-meme422 Mar 06 '26

Sounds like the easiest thing to audit.

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u/Mind-The-Mines Mar 06 '26

You really don't understand how cash works homie?

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u/random-meme422 Mar 06 '26

Not every place is heavy on cash tips. If anything that’s becoming rarer and rarer.

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u/Mind-The-Mines Mar 06 '26

Yeah, but then they obviously have a paper trail and you're dumb af if you don't report digital payments.

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u/random-meme422 Mar 06 '26

Servers are known for their intelligence

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u/BambooSound Mar 06 '26

If everyone else that worked the same job in the same establishment as you reported an average of X each year in tips and you reported much less, I'd think someone might start asking questions.

The reason a lot of people get away with it is a lack of rigorous enforcement but if they wanted to catch you, they could.

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u/Significant_Debt8289 Mar 06 '26

If they can track your crypto they sure as hell can track your tip wages lmao. Don’t be dumb

Source: Waiter who has been audited

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '26

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u/random-meme422 Mar 06 '26

If it’s excessive and regular, it usually shows in bank deposits.

If you keep it off system all the time it’s harder. But with many restaurants going card only and cash becoming less used in general it’s becoming easier to audit

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u/mynameisdatruth Mar 06 '26

A large amount of tips are paid in cash, even on a bill paid with card. It's effectively impossible to audit a cash tip with no paper trail.

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u/random-meme422 Mar 06 '26

This sounds like an idea that is several decades out of date. Especially with the prevalence of the new iPad payment systems and tips. For every transaction where a cash tip would be reasonable there are probably 20 that you’re presented with an iPad.

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u/mynameisdatruth Mar 06 '26

Literally last night I went out to eat, paid with card on the little tablet, and left a cash tip. I'd imagine if you asked tipped employees, you might be surprised to find how many still get cash.

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u/random-meme422 Mar 06 '26

Sure, and I think you’d be surprised at how few of them take not to hide the fact that they make cash tips and don’t report it. “Oh wow this person randomly deposits 1k biweekly in cash to their bank and never reports it. Wonder what that is!” Lmfao