Cafés & coffee shops
Baristas — counter staff — tips through payroll
NationwideTipped staff
Baristas and counter staff who report tips
Card or cash tips
Both count, once reported through payroll
Nobody did anything wrong. Claiming it just isn't anybody's job, so it doesn't happen.
Your payroll company pays the tax. It doesn't claim the credit.
Your accountant files the return, often without the tip data.
Nobody files it, so nothing happens.
Check for yourself tonight.
WHAT THE CPA LOOKS FOR
- Staff receive tips from customers
- Tips are reported through payroll
- You pay FICA on reported tips
- Forms 941 and 8027 are in place
- Open years: 2023, 2024, 2025
- Form 8846 not yet claimed for them
This is one year for a typical business, built line by line. Then run your own numbers.
The rush is on.
A guest adds an $18 tip on the screen. It's your staff's money, as it should be. Over a year, a typical business with 15 tipped employees reports about $327,600 in tips.
Every one of those tips comes with a tax.
Each tipped dollar runs through your payroll, and you pay 7.65% Social Security and Medicare on it. That's $25,061 a year, from your account. Every shift, for years.
A slice of it doesn't count.
Tips that only bring a $2.13 cash wage up to the $5.15 wage base in the Form 8846 instructions earn no credit. That part stays paid.
The rest, you can claim back.
Since 1993, the tax code (IRC §45B) has let you take it as a credit, dollar for dollar. For this business, that's about $20,016 a year, before CPA review.
And it isn't just one year.
Open prior years can generally still be amended. Across 3 similar years, that's up to $60,000. Your numbers will differ; that's what the estimate is for.
Your tab, one year
Example business · illustrative
Form 8846
- Tips your staff reported15 tipped employees × 28 hrs/wk × $15/hr × 52 wks
- $327,600
- Employer FICA you paid on them7.65% Social Security + Medicare, from your account
- $25,061
- Part that only covers minimum wageTips that lift a $2.13 cash wage to $5.15 earn no credit
- − $5,046
- FICA Tip Credit you can claimPer year, before CPA review
- $20,016
- Across 3 open years, if similar
- Up to$60,000
That was a typical business.
Move the sliders to match yours.
Your number carries into the questionnaire below, so the specialist sees what you saw. Nothing is sent until you finish it.
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FICA Tip Credit · IRC §45B
No. 8846
Estimate
- 15
- 28 hrs
- $15
- $2.13
Est. credit / year
$20,000
3 open years, if similar
up to $60,000
Illustrative estimate only; CPA review determines eligibility and amount. Uses the $5.15/hr wage base from the Form 8846 instructions.
Nothing is filed until a licensed CPA has reviewed your payroll records.
Run your numbers and answer a few questions. No SSN, no bank details, about a minute.
- No SSN, no bank details
- Your estimate, on screen
A Tip Credit specialist calls, usually within minutes, to confirm the basics and answer questions.
- A Tip Credit specialist
- The basics and your questions
You apply directly with Tip Tax Refund, the CPA firm that files the claim, on their secure application.
- Tip Tax Refund's secure form
- Your payroll tip report
Their CPA team reviews your payroll tip records and files Form 8846. Credits typically arrive in 16–24 weeks.
- Their licensed CPA team
- 25%, only if recovered
Restaurants, bars, cafés, caterers, food trucks and hotel F&B. The CPA confirms whether yours qualifies.
Cafés & coffee shops
Cafés & coffee shops
Bars & nightclubs
Full-service restaurants
If your tips don't go through payroll, or you've already claimed Form 8846 for every open year, this isn't for you.
Read about the credit straight from the IRS: the FICA Tip Credit for employers.
Yes. The FICA Tip Credit has been in the federal tax code since 1993 (IRC §45B) and is claimed on IRS Form 8846. You can read about it on the IRS website. Nothing is filed until a licensed CPA has reviewed your payroll records.
Many accountants don't, because it needs payroll tip data from your POS or payroll provider, and claiming past years means amending returns. Tip Tax Refund, a CPA firm, handles the tip credit only and can coordinate with your accountant; you don't have to switch.
Any return can be reviewed. The credit is a long-standing provision of the tax code, and the CPA claims only what your payroll tip records support.
No. Your employees' pay, tips and taxes don't change. The credit is claimed by the business on its own return.
The estimate is free. If a credit is recovered, Tip Tax Refund charges 25% of the credit recovered. If nothing is recovered, you owe nothing.
No, it is not a loan. It is a tax credit your business claims on its own return. Nothing is borrowed and nothing is repaid.
Tip Tax Refund. Tip Credit gives you your estimate and helps you get started; you then apply directly with Tip Tax Refund, a CPA firm, which reviews your records and prepares the filing.
Tip Tax Refund's application asks for the owner's details, including SSN, as part of their intake. You enter those only on their secure application, never on this site.
Generally, open tax years can be amended, usually within three years of filing. Right now that is mostly 2023, 2024 and 2025. The oldest year closes first.
Typically 16–24 weeks from a complete application to the credit, depending on your records and the IRS.
Payroll reports showing reported tips (Form 941, Form 8027 and your payroll system's tip report), your last three years of business returns (Form 1120, 1120-S or 1065), and Form 8846 if you have filed it before.
See what's on
your tab.
Usually within minutes
Your numbers, your estimate
A few taps, about a minute. A licensed CPA reviews every claim before anything is filed.
What kind of business do you run?
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NO SSN · NO BANK DETAILS · ABOUT A MINUTE
Every claim, before anything is filed
Never asked for on this site
Nothing upfront. Nothing if nothing is recovered