I only tithe 10% to God....

[BlaqueKatt]

Tipping always makes me feel awkward. This is not to say I avoid it when I can, it's a case of I can never do the freaking math. >.<

easy way:

bill is $21.78

move the decimal point one space for 10%
$2.17

double it for 20%

for 15% round the 10% amount, in this case $2, and add half back, in this case $1.

[MoonCat]

easy way:

bill is $21.78

move the decimal point one space for 10%
$2.17

double it for 20%

for 15% round the 10% amount, in this case $2, and add half back, in this case $1.

That's what I do, although I also usually have a calculator in my purse, so if I'm feeling particularly brain-fried I can still figure out a fair tip (I always tip 15-20%).

[42_42_42]

I have a *very* basic cell phone and even it has a regular and a tip calculator built in. I'm sure there's a tip calculator app for the fancier phones.

[Jester]

Don't servers in the USA get taxed on their tips regardless of whether or not they actually receive them?

They tax you based on your total sales and assume you made at least ten percent. So they tax you on that ten percent.

It is true that you pay taxes whether you get tipped or not.

No, no, and no.

Let's set some things straight. Before I start, I'd like to establish my credentials. I've been working in the food service industry almost nonstop since I turned 16....in 1986. That's pretty much 25 years in the industry. In those years, I have worked as a server, busser, food runner, expediter, cook, bartender, and even management, in many establishments, on every level of the restaurant chain, other than fast food. In other words, I know what the fuck I'm talking about.

Servers get taxed on the tips they declare. Period. In most establishments, when you clock out, you are prompted to declare the tips you made that day. By law, you must declare all the tips you made. (Of course, by practice, virtually no server actually does that, but that's another story.)

A common misconception among servers is that they are taxed on their total sales. They are not. They are taxed on their regular hourly wage, as everyone is, and also on their declared tips. That. Is. It.

The misconception comes from how the IRS views tipped income. They do look at server's sales, and if their declared tips are below a certain percentage threshold when compared to their total sales, the IRS is going to have Questions That You Don't Want To Answer. For example, if a server sells $5,000 but only declares $5 as tips (0.1% of their total sales), the IRS is definitely going to have some probing questions for that server, especially if they are being paid a tipped employee wage, and other servers in the same establishment have declared an average of $750 (15%) for the same amount of sales.

Do servers get taxed whether they get tipped or not? Of course. We ALL get taxed whether we get tipped or not. If you make income, you are taxed. But the spirit of the question is more this: if you get stiffed on a table, are you still taxed on that table's total bill? Well, since you are not taxed on sales, the answer is of course not.

Look, in the food service industry, we are going to get stiffed from time to time. But the IRS does not look at individual sales. They look at pay periods. In other words, if in a two week period you get stiffed once, but overall you declare tips of (for example) 13.5% of your total sales, the IRS is going to be fine with that.

If you make under that, your employer is SUPPOSED to cover you for that, but it's been my experience that they rarely do, if they do at all.

Again, this is about pay periods, not individual sales. And all the employer has to do is insure that the tipped wage employee's pay, with tips factored in, comes to a total of at least minimum wage. In other words, if over the pay period (generally two weeks, but sometimes one week), if the hourly wage plus the declared tips of the employee do equal the minimum wage averaged out over all the hours worked by that employee, the employer must cover the difference. In all my time of working in the food service industry, I have only ever seen this happen in situations of remodeling, where an employee is paid to cover an area that has no customers, but still must be there. (The one time this happened to me, I brought a book to work, and read.) In normal situations, I have never seen this happen, with any employee who is being even vaguely realistic in their tip declarations, ever. In 25 years, covering several States.

Yes, the jackass that leave you a piss poor tip will hurt your average. The other rockin' mama that leaves you a stupidly awesome tip will help your average. In the end, it's just about what you made over the pay period. It is not, nor has it ever been, about individual checks.

Period, the end, fini, OVER.

[Racket_Man]

Wonderful. Using God to justify being cheap.

I have heard several stories from other drivers that a "church person" (priest, elder, nun, etc.) declared, after delivering a large ($200+) order, that the drivers "tip" was donated to the church to do God's work.

Jester, it depends on the restaurant IF the server just declares their total tips on their own (before tipout) (this is where most places fall) OR if the POS system is set up so the POS "calculates" the servers tip total automatically based on a predetermined % of total sales for that shift and uses that amount for IRS reporting pruposes (systems like that are somewhat rare but I have heard of them).

[Jester]

I have heard several stories from other drivers that a "church person" (priest, elder, nun, etc.) declared, after delivering a large ($200+) order, that the drivers "tip" was donated to the church to do God's work.

I'm sorry, that should be the driver's decision to make, if he/she wants to do so. Not someone else's.

Jester, it depends on the restaurant IF the server just declares their total tips on their own (before tipout) (this is where most places fall) OR if the POS system is set up so the POS "calculates" the servers tip total automatically based on a predetermined % of total sales for that shift and uses that amount for IRS reporting pruposes (systems like that are somewhat rare but I have heard of them).

You are correct. Most places have the server declare their tips earned (i.e., tips made minus any money tipped out) on their own. Sometimes a system will have a minimum threshold that the server cannot declare less than, either a percentage of total sales, or the total of charge tips for that shift. After all, if you made $50 in charge tips that are in the system, trying to declare $40 is just not going to fly, and a lot of systems are set up to prevent just that. I do believe the second version is more common than the first, but they both do exist.

By law, servers must declare all tips. In reality, most smart servers declare at least 10-12%, which keeps them above the threshold where the Tax Man is going to come knocking and asking questions.

[Mr Hero]

*Reads Jester's sig*
Let's hope the SC's pay tithes to ALL gods, and not just the Christian god.

[Yarnil]

Not possible, there are only 10 gods provided that way.... Or do oyu mean 10% spread over ALL the gods?

Have fun, see Deitielist

[Jester]

*Reads Jester's sig*
Let's hope the SC's pay tithes to ALL gods, and not just the Christian god.

Holy chipotle, I didn't even realize that. And it's my damn sig!

Sadly, it seems many of the SC's are realizing the godliness of bartenders, and are, in fact, tithing. I believe this to be so due to last week, when I had "Ten Percent Tuesday." Wheeeee!!!

[redleg]

Holy chipotle, I didn't even realize that. And it's my damn sig!

Sadly, it seems many of the SC's are realizing the godliness of bartenders, and are, in fact, tithing. I believe this to be so due to last week, when I had "Ten Percent Tuesday." Wheeeee!!!

thus why i pay tithes to my local bartenders weekly. based on the amount of time i spend there.

besides always be polite to he(or she) that serves you drinks.

[Racket_Man]

I'm sorry, that should be the driver's decision to make, if he/she wants to do so. Not someone else's.

and that was my point.

Most places have the server declare their tips earned (i.e., tips made minus any money tipped out) on their own.

I thought that a server had to claim ALL tips before tipout not after.

[ParkingWitch]

and that was my point.
I thought that a server had to claim ALL tips before tipout not after.

But wouldn't that mean the tipout money will be taxed twice, I'm fairly sure the person receiving the tipout would have to declare it as a tip.

[CaptainThrifty]

Yes, because tithing and tipping are the same thing.....

And you don't tithe to God...you tithe to your church. Also, not the same thing.

He's just a douche looking for an excuse to stiff you.

No you tithe to God (assuming that you are of that religious group). Most do so by the expedient of giving their 10% to the church they go to (which is used for the real world expenses), but you can give to charities, or even just to people you know need help. The point is to give back a portion of what you have received as and thanksgiving sacrifice. Thus it should not be towards something that benefits you.

The rest of the statement I completely agree with

[tropicsgoddess]

You should tell people like that The more you TIP the more I can TITHE!!

Nice one,Sheldon! :higfive: Cheapskates burn me up. I mean really, if you don't want to spend the money, then don't do it. There's a big difference in being frugal and a good parishoner paying their tithes to <insert church> versus a cheapskate!