Tips and Taxes

Do you work at a hair salon, barber shop, casino, golf course, hotel or restaurant or drive a taxicab? The tip income you receive as an employee from those services is taxable income, advises the IRS.

As taxable income, these tips are subject to federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes, and may be subject to state income tax as well.

You must keep a running daily log of all your tip income. You can use IRS Publication 1244, "Employee's Daily Record of Tips and Report of Tips to Employer," to record your tip income. To have a free copy of Publication 1244 mailed to you, call the IRS toll free at 1-800-TAX-FORM (1-800-826-3676).

If you receive $20 or more in tips in any one month, you should report all your tips to your employer. Your employer is required to withhold federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes and to report the correct amount of your earnings to the Social Security Administration (which affects your benefits when you retire or if you become disabled, or your family's benefits if you die).

For more information, check out IRS Publication 531, "Reporting Tip Income," or Publication 3148, "Tips on Tips." They are available by calling 1- 800-829-3676. For recorded tax information on tips, call the toll free TeleTax number, 1-800-829-4477, and select topic 402.

This daily Tax Tip has been provided by the IRS

Voice of the Editor

What would you do if one of your clients won the lottery? We asked several accountants to weigh in with their advice for the lucky Powerball winner, and the tips we received are useful for anyone who receives a windfall, whether it's a lottery win, an inheritance, a big bonus on the job, or a killing in the stock market.
ADVERTISEMENT

This Week on AccountingWEB

CPAs Mira Finé, Scott Hitchcock, Rob Keasal, Kathy Scorcio, and Ken Travis offer ten pieces of financial advice for the newest Powerball winner.
Hang Bower of BDO USA and Dan Black of Ernst & Young share their perspectives on why their firms made the Best Places to Work for Recent Grads 2013 list.
Herbein + Company, Inc. firm members talked with AccountingWEB about their year-round employee wellness program.
Bill Walter of Gross, Mendelsohn & Associates and Harold Gaar of TravisWolff LLP weigh in on mobile technology use while employees are at work.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT