How do you tip your food server when you are paying with credit card?

[question everything]

We used to just add it to the total bill, calculated on pre-tax amount.

Lately I was told that it is better to leave the tip in cash, since the servers do not have to pay tax on it. I am not sure how it works. I think that their employer have to calculate something like 10% tip when they get their W-4 or equivalent at the end of the year..

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. We usually leavecash

that way we know the servers get the money.

[Name removed]

80. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RB TexLa]

2. Why should they not pay taxes on it?

[question everything]

4. Perhaps calculated differenetly?

[MercutioATC]

12. Because (sometimes) they don't claim it.

...which is fine with me.

I tip in cash whenever possible.

[michreject]

68. They still get taxed

There is a tax on the total of the bill. If you don't leave a tip, then the tax comes out of their pocket.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

70. TEFRA does tax them based on the bill

but not nearly as much as they would normally be tipped by a decent human being...

sP

[michreject]

84. My point was if you don't tip

the wait staff has to dip into their pocket to pay the taxes, thus having a negative income.

[laylah]

139. Actually,

we do have to claim tips. Either self-claim 10% ourselves or via our employer program/agreement with the IRS. Self reporting is usually better as the other way often has more reported than is made. Just an FYI.

[MercutioATC]

140. Yes, but if I tip 20% on a credit (or debit) card, you pay tax on that 20%...

...and you wait until you're paid to get it.

If I tip 20% in cash, you' have the option of claiming only half of it...and you get it immediately.

[marshall]

147. They should, but some people don't if they can get away with it

That's one reason we're in the mess we're in--too many tax loophole and not enough oversight.

[KDFW]

3. Add it to the bill. We do not carry cash around.

I hope servers aren't getting shafted but don't think reputable places would do that. :shrug:

[question everything]

6. Several years ago I had three instances where, when I got the statment

only to original total was included. Apparently they first submit the bill and then modify it to add the tip. Since the restaurants were in the city and they had the server name, I went there, asked for the server and gave her the amount of cash. In one case she said that yes, this sometimes happens and there is nothing she can do. So she goes home minus $10 or so..

[KDFW]

15. Well I commend you for that but how do you recognize that your tip wasn't on the bill?

My credit card statements aren't itemized that way. :shrug:

[question everything]

25. It was an item from... say, California Pizza

and it had the total before the tip.

Of course, I do keep all the receipts until I get the statement, to reconcile it. So my copy said something like $26.51 and I added by hand, $4.00 and totaled it to $30.51. The VISA statement just had California Pizza - $26.51 instead of $30.51.

[KDFW]

28. Oh, I see...I guess it never occurred to me to do that.

If I see a charge like "$46.24" from Cann's Steak House, I just think well that sounds about right and don't give it another thought. Is there some nefarious thing going on here?...like a hidden way for the restaurant to pocket the tips? I'm trying to figure out why they would do that...
crap...it's always somebody screwing someone. grr

[question everything]

35. I don't think it was nefarious. Rather being in a hurry

and forgetting about it. I just don't think that the servers should be the one paying because the manager forgot or was in a hurry.

Oh, and welcome to DU

:hi:

[KDFW]

44. Hi thanks. I guess I'm a little confused on this though, I was a part owner

in a restaurant a while back, not exactly a silent partner just mostly as investor with my friend who was the entrepreneur but I did spend a fair bit of time there, not cooking (god forbid) but with the financial aspects.
I can't remember ever submitting a charge before the customer looked it over and added a gratuity.
Maybe doing that is common these days...? I don't think it's good biz.

[Statistical]

113. Everyone does that.

1) Waitstaff brings the check
2) You give CC
3) Waitstaff swipes CC and rings up total.
4) The CC puts hold on the card for just the meal and restaurant gets authorization code.
5) You sign receipt + add tip
6) Waitstaff uses computer to update the authorized charge to include tip
7) End of the night computer auto closes all open charges
8) Business gets paid 2-3 days later

So if it is busy and waiter forgets #6 or loses the signed receipt then the business just processes the meal only.

[bertman]

135. Not around here, Statistical. We get the bill with subtotal as the amount of the meal,

a blank for "gratuity", then the total which includes the tip and meal.

Then sign the credit card receipt.

North Carolina.

I usually tip 15 to 20% minimum even for okay service. Good service, 25%. Really good, 30%. Super exceptional service, undisclosed amount.

I've waited tables before. Hard work that I don't ever want to have to do again.

[Statistical]

112. When I waited tables the policy was....

if the waitstaff lost the signed receipt the restaurant still charged the meal but the tip was nothing.

Also sometimes (I don't know why) people put a tip in and forget/don't sign the CC receipt. Same deal = $0.00 tip.
It was enough to ruin your day if you had a couple of those in same night. One night I still remember I somehow lost 5 CC receipts, shafted myself likely $40-$50 and it was the week before rent was due. Funny how years later that is still vivid for me.

[On the Road]

150. Credit Card Recipts Are Usually Left on the Table

and brought up the cashier by the waiter, so if there was an error it means both parties overlooked it.

Things may have changed, but my experience was that waiters get reimburse immediately for tips put on a credit card. Plus there's a written record so a busboy can't pocket part of the tip.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

5. We use debit cards,

but we always leave cash tips.

If I can help anyone duck the IRS - yes, Agent Mike, it's me, TANGERINE LABAMBA - I'm there.

And we always tip at least 20%. Those people work hard.............................

[cherokeeprogressive]

7. Always cash

[Horse with no Name]

8. I generally leave cash

unless the only thing I have is my debit card and then I don't have a choice.

[MrsBrady]

9. um..servers have to pay tax on all of their tips.

....it's just that the credit card tips are "known".
I have a friend who is a full time server for a high end steak house in Dallas.
She keeps track of all her cash tips, writes the total down in a ledger each night.
Her credit card tips are given to her with her paycheck....you know, that big paycheck (sarcasm) where she makes 2.whatever per hour.
On everyone's W2 form, you will see a place for tips, that will show her total credit card tips for the entire work year.
She claims the cash tips as well, when she fills out her 1040.

Now does everybody claim their cash tips? I couldn't tell you.
I just know my friend keeps a record.

[KDFW]

18. Very few people are that honest.

Maybe if everyone was, we wouldn't need such high tax rates...?

[MrsBrady]

69. personally I'm more concerned with the top 2% not paying enough into the system--

I'm sure that it has an impact all around when income is not claimed.
But the trillions stashed and hidden by the uber rich probably doesn't compare to the middle class income not claimed.

Welcome to DU, by the way :hi:

[nini]

98. NO NO NO.. it's the waitresses that are breaking the system here

Just think if every corrupt waiter/waitress actually claimed 100% of their tips! The rich would then be able to not pay and reinvest all their money creating jobs and all that good stuff they do for society. There's no way they can do that on their 100 million dollar salaries if they have to pay some taxes!

I wish you libruls would wise up and figure out how the system really works.

:evilgrin:

[question everything]

26. There are restaurants where all the tips are collected and

than distributed among the servers, the bus boys, the hosts and, the barmen, etc. I have heard of servers very unhappy with such an arrangement.

[Obamanaut]

10. We leave cash. If I don't have cash before we get there, I go to the

ATM.

[MissDeeds]

11. We don't use credit cards anymore

So we pay cash and figure 15% of the total bill, including taxes. That gives the server a bit more than the 15% they would get from the food/bar bill alone. If we can't afford that, we stay home.

[safeinOhio]

21. Good idea

I never hand my card to anyone that takes it out of my sight. ID theft.

[question everything]

86. Ten years ago, in Copenhagen, when we were ready to pay

with credit card, the "cashier" came with one of those machines that dispense change but also to slide our credit card - at our table. We added 15% and the machine would not accept it. Apparently in Europe - where servers probably are paid better and all have universal health - the common tip was 10%, perhaps still is.

We finally let the machine determine how much a tip was acceptable.

[aikoaiko]

13. If I use a card, I add tip to bill. hardly ever leave cash tip when using card

just a matter of convenience.

[rocktivity]

14. I always try to leave cash simply to ensure the server gets it.

One night, as I was signing my credit card, I "apologized" for not being able to tip in cash, and the waitress very quickly assured me, "Don't worry about THAT--we just put our names on the credit slips, so we know EXACTLY what the boss owes us!"

:headbang:
rocktivity

[marmar]

16. Cash.....for expediency's sake.

My assumption is that's what the server prefers.

[firehorse]

17. I definately leave cash, and usually 20%

Servers live off their tips.

Some restaurant houses pool the tips and distribute it. In NYC, I remember in the news a few times of waiters having to sue some restaurants occasionally for having their tips witheld. And yes, servers have to pay taxes on their tips.

[question everything]

87. On the other hand if you have several servers

in an expensive restaurant, someone from the bar, and someone with the desert or simply someone takes the order and someone else brings the food - shouldn't all have part of the tip?

Perhaps, then, it is expected of the server to share it.

[brendan120678]

95. My wife used to work in a higher-end...

restaurant back when we were dating.

She got to keep her tips (cash & credit), but she was the one who was expected to pass on a portion of the tips to the bus boys and others who would not necessarily get tipped.

The bartenders got to keep whatever tips they received at the bar.

[question everything]

111. Oh, thank you. A good explanation (nt)

[annabanana]

19. cash, always. . . n/t

[grantcart]

20. The IRS now has a standard assesment for tips - so how you pay them for it is irrelevent.

[johnaries]

46. Actually, if it's on the Credit Card receipt they pay for full amount. nt

[Statistical]

58. Not true.

Almost all chain restaurants report on the hybrid model.

If tip is unknown standard assessment (10% of check) is assumed.
If tip is known (CC) then restaurant reports full amount to IRS.

[WolverineDG]

142. And it doesn't matter if you stiff them or not

8% of the tab is added to the server's taxable income

dg

[handmade34]

22. cash (given directly to the server)

...having waited tables for many years, I know that restaurants differ in how they handle tips. I always leave cash so that the server gets it and can do as he/she sees fit - keep it, share it, report it, not report it, etc...

[question everything]

30. Thank you. This is valid coming from your own experience

I think that this is what my friend had in mind.

[Motown_Johnny]

23. If you tip in cash they pay less tax on it, assuming you tip reasonably well

I used to work in Restaurants (for 25 years) and I remember when the law was changed. I don't remember the exact numbers now but I think it is something like.......



The credit card tips are taxed the same way any other income is taxed.


Cash tips are estimated based on sales. I forget the exact percentage so I won't guess at it, but I think it is something fairly low (like 7%, ok ok... I took a guess)

[question everything]

33. IRS wants 10% to be calculated by the owners

since most of us tip more: 15 -20, depending on the restaurant - the servers can keep more of this.

[deaniac21]

24. Yes, help them break the law.

[ejpoeta]

29. screw that!! servers make jack shit. they basically are working for the tips and that's it.

if I can help them squeeze through the week, then I will.

[deaniac21]

31. Wish someone would do that for me.

[Maru Kitteh]

101. Perhaps if you were a nicer person, it might help.

Few people will go out of their way to help a jerk.

[snooper2]

114. ZING

:rofl:

[johnaries]

47. Yep. When I was waiting tables my "paycheck" was about $20

after taxes for 2 weeks.

[JI7]

65. you didn't get paid by the hour ?

[Statistical]

73. Waitstaff gets $2.12 an hour. Even when min wage goes up Congress doesn't care about waiters.

Now $2.12 is gross. You pay all your taxes out of everything (including tips) out of the $2.12.

So if you make/report $10 an hour in tips your tax witholdings can easily be $2.00 an hour or so.

It isn't uncommon to end up with a $11 check after taxes for a 40 hour week.
Sometimes I had a negative check that rolled forward and was deducted off the next check.

[question everything]

88. Modern day slavery!

I don't go to Starbucks. $5.00 for a cup of coffee? But someone once noticed that they have a tip jar that the "barists"(?) to share and wondered why we should subsidize Starbucks. Why can't the company pay their employees a decent wage so they should not be dependent on tips.

Upstream I commented how, 10 years ago, the credit card machine in a restaurant in Denmark rejected our 15% tip as "too high." We had to let the machine determined, I think it accepted a maximum of 10%. Of course, in Europe everyone has a universal health plan and, I suspect, wages are decent for servers. Thus a tip is really an indication of satisfaction with the service, not a supplemental to income.

[tinkerbell41]

148. I wait tables and I don't tip Starbucks

No way will I tip them. The work is not the same. First they make a higher wage, and have benefits
most waitstaff get 3.15 an hr no benefits. Taxes are taken out of that for your tip wages we are really paid nothing by the restaurant, in fact we supplement or even pay the busboy wages, and salad people. Don't tip any food service unless you are being waited on at a table. Or a Bar(sorry)

[Regret My New Name]

118. That's screwy...

Is that typically how it's handled?

[Statistical]

120. Yup. The only reason they even have the stupid $2.12 is something to deduct taxes from.

In an average year of waiting tables 30-35 hours a week I think my net take home "wages" was maybe $250.

[ejpoeta]

66. I know. bob's best friend is a manager at a restaurant. i never realized

how little servers make until he would tell us about his job and how much the servers made and such. Ever since then I have been mindful of the amount of the tip I leave in general... If it is really great service, I'll give more than the standard... I try not to skimp no matter what.... but I will admit I don't feel obligated to go out of my way to not put it on the check and leave the minimum when I get crappy service.

[Hannah Bell]

62. in some states, servers can legally be paid less than federal minimum wage,

the assumption being their tips will bring their wages up to minimum.

with that in mind, i'd be happy to help them break such a stupid law.

[ejpoeta]

67. yeah, that's insane.... they are at the mercy of the customer.... and you could be the best

server there is and that won't change the fact that people will come in and order $100 worth of stuff and leave a $2 tip. oh the stories i have heard....

[Maine-ah]

81. if by the end of the week a server has not made at least minimum

wage, the restaurant has to make up for it. Here we get paid 1/2 of minimum wage which equals 3.63 an hour. My paycheck averages about $100 per week after I have paid for health insurance which is $70 a week. But, I also bartend at the same restaurant which is minimum wage, and I also have some manager shifts which are $11.50 an hour. A restaurant (in Maine) can not legally make servers tip anyone out. So when I bartend I don't get tipped out by everyone, but I have some regular servers that do, and they get better drinks and faster service out of me.

[Statistical]

122. Sadly it is in almost all states.

Federal minimum wages does not cover those who make majority of income by tips or commissions.

Federal law requires only $2.12 in wages and that is simply a place for govt to deduct taxes from (to avoid needing to pay taxes weekly w/ cash).

So the only states where employers are forced to pay minimum wage for waiters is states where the state has specifically passed a min wage that includes waiters.

[PVnRT]

83. Yeah, damn overpaid servers

Walking around with their order pads and pens and whatnot...God, they just piss me off so much.

:sarcasm:

Even the IRS knows nobody reports all of their tips, that's why they have a standard method to calculate them.

[ejpoeta]

27. they are supposed to claim it, but i try to leave cash so that they don't HAVE to...

I mean, if it is on the bill, they don't even ahve the chance to get around it at all. So, whenever I can, I leave cash.

[dflprincess]

37. That's what I do too

better not to leave a paper trail.

Pity the IRS isn't as diligent at collecting corporate taxes as they are from the servers at your local Applebee's.

[BlooInBloo]

32. (a) The listed menu amount (b) cash if I have it (c) on the credit slip if I don't....

(d) And I start at 15% and go up. Except if the service was shitacular, in which case it's just zero.

[question everything]

89. I have never not leave a tip. I was told, however, that if it is really bad

to leave something, like a dime. This way the server knows that you did not simply "forget."

[BlooInBloo]

107. To my mind, that's like twisting the proverbial knife. But different strokes for different folks.

[sazerac]

34. Most use credit cards

Most people pay with a credit card so just about all tips have to be claimed. I leave a cash tip. I don't think waiters should be paying taxes.

[handmade34]

43. I do not wait tables now, but

I pay my taxes gladly and when I waited tables I paid taxes when I could. Some waitstaff make very little, some make good money. There are many servers who make much more money than I presently make and I would expect them to pay their taxes. No hard and fast rule on this, but I give tips in cash so the server can decide for themselves what to do.

[question everything]

91. Eventaully, they should

if they are decently paid. Though I think that with our progressive income tax - but not the payroll one - the first $10,000, or so, are exempt.

And, welcome to DU.

:hi:

[Fuzz]

36. I usually leave cash, if I have it on me.

[SoCalDem]

38. We double the tax & add $1.00 & in cash

our tax is 9.25% :(

[tomm2thumbs]

48. bingo-rama

makes it easier - thanks for the add-a-buck idea

[Nye Bevan]

39. 20%, in cash, for good service

I have heard that servers prefer cash because they get the money right away; with credit cards I have been told they have to wait a couple of weeks to get it.

Any DUers who are or have been servers please weigh in; I would like to know if this is true.

As for taxes, that is absolutely none of my business. I am not an IRS enforcement agent.

[Madrone]

45. I've worked in a lot of restaurants/bars over the years -

in fact, it was what I did until I sort of lucked into a "real job" about 8.5 years ago.

CC tips are usually given out at the end of the shift. The only way we didn't get ours at the end is if there were still customers eating, or if we were in an extra big hurry to bug out.

[johnaries]

49. We always carried our own "bank" (which we had to provide)

that we made change from. Then we would pay all our tickets at the end of the night. Then we had to tip the hostess and the busboys. Whatever was left was ours. If someone did a dine and dash, we had to pay for it.

[Madrone]

50. Dang. You were robbed!

Making us pay for a dine and dash was illegal - so while I'm sure they WANTED to, they couldn't. I worked with a bank when I did cocktail waitressing - but most jobs were the standard restaurant types, with a cash register.

[Maine-ah]

71. In Maine it's illegal to make a server pay for a short check

we carry our own banks and payout at the end of the shift. We get all credit card tips immediately. It's also illegal in Maine to force a server to tip-out.

[Statistical]

72. Most places you get credit tips at end of the night.

Where I worked periodically (at once at end of the shift) you "settle up" with either a manager or bartender.

The computer keeps track of all the cash you owe for cash check - all the CC tips the stores owes you from CC checks.

You settle up by paying it back to $0.00 balance.

Example you only have 2 tickets that night.

One is a $15 check and couple pays cash leaves $20 and says keep the change ($5 tip)
One is a $15 check and they pay by CC, $18 total ($3 tip).

You owe the restaurant $15 for the first check, the restaurant owes you $3 (tip from check #2). You settle up by paying the restaurant $12. You had $20 bill - $12 = $8 in cash. You got all the tips in cash as the end of the night.

The only difference is likely you reported $1.50 on the second check as income (so you got a $1.50 "Tax free"). The first check the computer notified the IRS you got exactly $5.00 no way to under-report it.

[question everything]

94. How does the computer knows that you got $5.00 in cahs?

That $20 bill could have been yours from home? Or you have $15 on you and this is what you gave the restaurant?

[Statistical]

105. It doesn't.

I messed up my own example. :)

The computer knows you got $3 on the CC tip is what I mean to say. The CC tip is 100% auto-reported as income.

The $5 cash tip depends on the situation. Most places force you to report at least 10% of sales as tips at end of the night (and everyone reports the min), some just have flat reporting agreements with IRS and auto report 10% of all non CC receipts. So the $5 tip on $15 check looks like only $1.50 to IRS.

Cash is better if you tip more than 10% because the waitstaff can fudge the numbers.

There is a limit on what they can get away with though.

If your annual sales are $200,000 and you report $80 in tips:
1) most restaurants won't let you report less than 10%
2) if you do you will get audited. restaurants reports sales data to IRS.

[SheilaT]

40. I try to tip in cash, try to tip 20%.

I was once told that some restaurants do not give the tip to the servers if it's on the credit card. I want to feel certain the server gets the money.

It doesn't bother me at all if servers don't pay all the taxes that maybe they should on their tips. I don't want to wait tables, and I'm happy to support (in my own small way) those who do.

But due to my own current financial circumstances I've eaten out perhaps five times in the past six months.

[BeHereNow]

41. WITH CASH and ALWAYS ABOVE the estimated 10% that they ARE taxed on.

WE, the people, must screw THEM, every chance we get.
And we have to stick together and help one another.
I ALWAYS tip with cash in the amount of 20%, in order to help
the servers.
Put yourself in their hard working shoes.
BHN

[IdaBriggs]

128. You do realize the THEM is US, right? nt

[MicaelS]

42. Always on my card, I carry very little cash. n/t

[musicblind]

51. Hmm, I've always just added it to the card

But this has certainly been an interesting thread to read.

[KDFW]

52. Apparently the standard opinion here is that food servers should be exempt from income tax.

I think that is very interesting.

[Statistical]

57. No food server is exempt.

Most restaurants report the total receipts to IRS so you are warned is you report less than 10%.

Waiters generally under report. If you think it is so bang up amazing plenty of places are hiring waitstaff. Then you can under report to so that below poverty wage is slightly above poverty on a post-tax under reported basis.

For even more fun, wait some tables and report 100% of your tips. It is really fun to get a negative paycheck. If you get a couple in a row (do to too high reporting) you need to pay your employer to cover your negative balance. Nothing like opening up a negative paycheck.

[Bill McBlueState]

78. So far I've seen only one person say that. n/t

[Maru Kitteh]

115. You know what's interesting? You. - You, are interesting. KDFW channel 4 (Fox) in Dallas.

[Ilsa]

53. Hubby almost always pays with Visa, 15%. I am usually more generous,

and for certain things pay more than 20% if the meal total is small. Also, hubby forgets to add back the value of the free entrees if there are free kids' meals or two-for-one deals. I have to remind him to tip based on the what the total bill would have been without the freebies.

[question everything]

97. That's right. We had a $15 gift certificate for

dare I say it here? Applebee. We calculated the tip based on the complete meal, including the $15.00.

Recently we have settled on 18% for regular restaurant, 20% for the expensive ones. We've never paid more than 20%, except when we choose an easy number to round, and we round it up.

[seabeyond]

54. 20%. 5% over what suppose to get, they can use it for taxes. i use card. nt

[tinkerbell41]

55. In the biz for 20 + yrs.

Off and on. We never claim all of our tips. Some places you tip out to salad girl, busboy, bartender, expeditor and would get taxed on that money. Some places make the servers pay the 2 or 5% credit card fee. So all the checks that were paid with credit cards they would charge us 2% of the total and take it out of our tips. One place I worked at had a class action lawsuit filed because they would take money out of our checks for employee meals and we never got food.I have seen alot of shit, and in the biz it seems everyone is scamming ALL the time. I've never worked where they pooled tips and I would never want to. Good Service is an art and I like to be rewarded
for my effort, there is no motivation when tips are pooled. Needed to make another comment, if I don't receive more than 20% on a bill I'm in shock. You come to my table and you won't have to ask for a thing, or look for me.

[question everything]

102. That's the best reply on this thread

and, I suppose, these days, the owners/managers probably squeeze even more.

What would be the average price on an entree that you serve? I ask because we've kinda reserved the 20% to the top of the line restaurant - the once a year anniversary date - and 15%, now 18% for the rest.

I don't know if anyone is tipping above 20%, though. Perhaps in NY, LA, or Chicago?

[tinkerbell41]

130. Chicago

I've worked at various places, greek joints, high end steak houses, pizza places, casual family places. Really 20% is standard, usually you know within the first few minutes how your table will behave and how they will tip. When it starts off like shit and quickly goes downhill I usually get extremely nicer, just to let them know they can't rattle me. I learned pretty quickly to take control of my tables, so I am not running all over .
You asked about price, last place I worked avg bill for 2 was 110.00 with wine. Funny thing is the more expensive the food the less you bust your ass. Some of the worst was Greek Restaurants, customers treat you like a step and fetch it girl. They need everything, even if you stay on top of it, always something. Sometimes I think they assume because they are tipping you, they need to make you run.

[question everything]

131. You probably were asked 100 times but: have your read "Nickled and Dimed"

by Barbara Ehrenreich?

She set out to see whether one can make a living on min. wage and one of her first job was a server, in Key West, I think. That chapter ends when there is a group of noisy, meddlesome uncontrollable diners and she just walked out.

Well, she could. That was the conclusion of the book. She could, while most Americans cannot.

[tinkerbell41]

133. YES!!!!

When it first came out, 5 -6 yrs ago. Loved it. I wish I knew how to make that section of the book store into a profession, Fascinating stuff. Like Contemporary Problems class in school. I've never walked out, I really love it. Even the bad days. My main job is in the building trades, I have waited tables since College, and return to it when the Trades don't have work. I love being with the girls, and putting make-up on to go to work. Silly I know, but sometimes it's better to be paid for being nice opposed to running a jack-hammer all day. I really love meeting new people and finding things out them.

[Statistical]

56. That is 100% true.

Restaurants either have waiters report tips (going away), report them along with sales (with warning if you try to report "too low" = audit, or just assume a flat 10% on sales.

Most waitstaff under report. I did it for 3 years, to all those thinking someone collecting $2.12 + tips should report them all go ahead turn me into the IRS.

I reported about 50% of my cash tips (the rumor is you are likely to get audited if substantially below the national average). 100% of credit card value was auto reported by the restaurants computer. Sometimes when I had a large CC (most checks & tips by CC) week I got a negative pay check.

Remember waiters only get $2.12 as wage. FICA, state, federal, on full reported income all come out of that (say 25% of gross).

So if I have $10/hr in reported tips then $12.12*0.25 = $3.00 ish but my pay is only $2.12. I owe $3.00 an hour in taxes but I am only paid a $2.12 wage. I get a paycheck that says "no pay due" -$128.75 or something like that.

Apples to apples a tip in cash is worth about 15%-20% more to a waiter who is under reporting (of flat reporting) which is 99.99999999999% of them.

I always try to keep cash for tips but we are moving more and more to a cashless society.

[question everything]

109. Thank you for a detailed explanation

We just started with this a few weeks ago and will continue with cash tips. Will make sure that when we go to a restaurant that we do carry enough cash.

One more questions. Have you seen or heard of a tip above 20%? I think that this is pretty much the upper limit.

[Nye Bevan]

123. Here are examples of when I have tipped more than 20%:

1. When the check is something like $95 and all I have in cash is $20 bills. I will pay the $95 by CC and just leave a $20 bill as the tip even though it is a little more than 20%. (I will probably do the same thing if the check is $105 so there is some luck involved for the server too).

2. When I am feeling guilty about something, like if one of my kids has made a *huge* mess which someone will have to clean up. Or if one of my kids has decided they don't want what they ordered and the server replaces it for free.

3. Truly exceptional food or service- if it is one of the most delicious meals I have ever eaten then I tend to be in a good mood and be feeling extra generous.

Here's another question for former or current servers- we are regulars at a restaurant in our neighborhood and are friendly with many of the servers. Once in a while they will give us a free round of drinks or free desert and say something like "that last round's on me". Do they have to pay for this themselves? And if so, I assume they do not have to pay the full menu price? In any case that is another thing that tends to make me generous with the tip.

[tinkerbell41]

132. Ha Ha!!

Sorry don't mean to laugh, but serving is all a show. We would just get the drinks and not ring them up. Or tell the cooks it's someone's birthday to bring you free dessert. Of course we tell you
it's on me, we get better tips. It's really a game every night what can we do to get the most money. Smile, share little things about ourselves, try to relate to you, act like your children are the most adorable things on earth, whatever it takes. What I love about waiting tables is you get paid to be nice. I've had horrible tables but I would make conversation with them, sympathize, whatever, it took and by the end of the meal they would be hugging me and writing letters to manager
telling him how wonderful I was.

[WolverineDG]

144. Depends on the restaurant

it means you're good customers/tippers & they want to keep you around. They could be getting it for free or a discount; either way, it's their way of telling you to keep coming back. :)

dg

[Statistical]

125. I pretty much agree with Nye on high level tips.

Exceptional service deserves exceptional tips.

Some people I know tip 25% of everything even crappy service but IMHO that defeats the purpose. We could just end tipping, and raise food prices 25%.

Tipping should reward good service.

Even though I struggled on tips I still do give a "bad tip" when service is downright bad (cold food, unable to get a drink, never see waiter for 30+ minutes, have to wait an hour for the check, food never comes up/they forgot to place order, etc).

My rule is if I am going to leave a bad tip I am going to talk to the manager first. If the problem isn't big enough to talk to the manager then I will always leave 15%-20%. More than 20% is for exceptional service or as we would say in the military "beyond the call of duty".

[tblue37]

59. Usually cash, unless Idon't have enough on me to leave a decent tip.

I was a waitress for many years, so I would never leave less than 20%. If I don't have that much in cash on me, I will sign for the tip.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

60. Always cash - always 20%

When I waitressed in college at 3 different restaurants, we were expected to tip out the bus boys, too. Back in those days, we usually had to wait to collect tips from credit cards, so cash was always much appreciated. Food servers are among the hardest working and underpaid people in the country, so be generous, folks.

[ContinentalOp]

61. I almost never carry cash. Why would you need to in this day and age?

And why should I help someone evade their income taxes!?

And why should I trust that the wait staff is going to tip the bus staff like they are supposed to, unless it's all there on paper?

[tinkerbell41]

75. You are being sarcastic, right??

If we don't tip our bus staff what they deserve, guess what??? Your tables will get ignored, no water refills, last to be wiped down, and they surely won't clear your tables of dirty plates, usually done when you just had a party of 12. And like I said before waitstaff are charged to process credit card charges, usually 2% of total charges then we pay taxes on that.

[ContinentalOp]

138. And guess what else?

Regardless of the inattention, the crappy service, etc. I still tip 20% on the credit card. I'm sorry for your 2% loss and I'm sorry that you have to pay taxes like everyone else, but I'm still not going to carry around a bunch of cash to make your life slightly easier.

[tinkerbell41]

145. Never asked for it.

I was replying to the inquiry of how do customers know that servers are properly tipping out their
bus, and bar help. I said if we didn't then our busboys would not take care of our tables and we would suffer. Could care less about paying taxes, that money comes out of the measly 3.40 an hr we make scale. I never see it, most of the time our checks are 20, 30 dollars every two weeks sometimes less. We don't rely on those they are a "bonus". So, tip 20% on card don't carry cash and grumble to yourself every time you dine out that your server is making out like a bandit. Cause we really are we are just secret little non-tax paying millionaires. In fact I really don't care how my customers tip, cash credit just make sure you do it and realize If I'm over 30 I did take care of you to the best of my ability at the moment. A restaurant should be a smooth running operation, if the host/ess went to use the facilities you had to wait, my busboy was in the back helping the dishwasher who has the flu, you didn't get timely water, my expeditor went in the back for a bump of coke, your food got cold, my bartender didn't wash glasses you will wait for drinks, I will tip all these people at the end of the night and you will have gotten pissed at me and said you got poor service.

[Bill McBlueState]

79. By tipping cash,

you're trusting the person who served you to do the right thing with the money. I think this is preferable to playing moral policeman.

[ContinentalOp]

137. I'm not playing moral policeman, I just don't carry cash.

Yet numerous people on this thread are telling me that I should inconvenience myself so that servers can avoid paying their taxes and save the 2% on credit card fees. Fuck that.

[tinkerbell41]

149. We are not asking for cash.

Most diners have no idea servers have to pay the credit card fee. Does your employer charge you for the paper your check is printed on every week??? Do you pay for the chair you sit in at work?
So when you leave a 15% tip we get about 11% after credit surcharge and tipping out to our helpers.
Most people have no idea. You leave 20% we get 16% maybe.

[TheKentuckian]

63. Of course and I usually try to have ca$h for them instead of putting it on the card.

I have little interest in making sure those being paid less than $3 an hour getting caught up in a bunch of taxes while the company owners get off for cheap or free.

[Lorien]

64. Cash if I have it, added to the bill if not. nt

[theHandpuppet]

74. Cash!

The govt sucks enough life out of the working class.

[dysfunctional press]

76. always cash, always at least 20% of the total bill.

i like to give cash, mostly because the serviceperson has it in their hand that night. with credit card tips, they don't see it until it gets to their paycheck.

[guitar man]

77. most always cash

I always tip cash unless I don't have any on me, which is pretty rare. If I know we're going out to eat I makes sure I have enough to tip with. And I always write "cash" in the tip line on the receipt. Never leave that line blank, I've had unscrupulous people write in some generous amounts in that line after I was gone.

[Orsino]

82. Usually cash. Always at least 30%. n/t

[closeupready]

85. Don't use credit cards, but when I did, I always tipped cash.

n/t

[havocmom]

90. cash

and I know they get billed for taxes on tips based on bill, so I tend to tip higher unless the service really sucked

[Iggo]

92. I always tip cash. (n/t)

[bridgit]

93. hubby does cash, he makes a little struck-through '0' with a note that says:

'tip on bar/table' whatever, then he just hands it to them or makes sure they see it

[KatyMan]

96. This always comes up around here

and we tip on the CC/Debit card bill. We just don't carry cash.
Why can't servers be paid a regular wage?

[nini]

99. I've seen tips stolen off tables

Always hand the tip to the server if you can.

But, to answer your question - I do both, but now will leave the cash when I can.

[Kansas Wyatt]

103. I always make sure the server is aware that they have money on the table.

I always pay cash and tip over 20%, and usually just wait to tell them how much change I need back or keep the change.

[question everything]

110. Same here (nt)

[nini]

129. I've seen people come out of a bathroom

walk by a table - pick up the tip and run out the door.

That's why I always make sure they pick it up or I give it to them before leaving. Sometimes they aren't able to get there quick enough. :-(

[FlaGranny]

100. We always tip in cash

and WAY more than the minimum - just to cover all bases for the wait staff. The waiters and waitresses usually are very appreciative. The only time they don't get a "great" tip is if they give lousy service.

[izzybeans]

104. It makes it easier to keep it off the grid. They technically do have to pay taxes. But like small

business owners, cash is easier to "expense".

[quiller4]

106. Add it to the total credit card bill. n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

108. I add it to the bill. I normally tip 25%. Sometimes more. If there's a tax liability, the server ...

.... is likely STILL ahead with my tip as compared to some cheap-ass fuck who leaves 10% or less.

Edit to add: All tips are taxable. The only reason cash is better is that the server can choose to not report it. While that's the fact, I could not care less what the server does with respect to tip reporting.

[Statistical]

116. Even the 10% isn't bad it is the person who just doesn't tip anything.

I worked at a restaurant with average of $80-$100 check for 2 people. Party of 6 is going to be $300-$400. If I got 10% flat from every ticket I would have been set. However for every 20% tipper there was 1 or 2 who tip nothing.

I even had a lady tell me I was best service she had in months and then say manager should give me a raise because she doesn't tip. :(

Some people just don't know / care.

I got a nice salaried job now but I always tip well (not always 25% like you, sometimes service does suck) mainly because I remember how much is sucks to have bills to pay, do a good job, and still get shafted.

My wife sometimes leaves tips on other peoples tables when they don't tip because it reminds her of when I worked for tips.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

126. Sorry, wrong reply topic - n/t

[Myrina]

117. I prefer to leave cash but if I don't have it/enough on me ...

I'll add it to my charge ... and I always round up to the nearest whole dollar.

I would be insulted if I were a server and the exact 18% came out to something weird like $4.62 and someone actually left me the 4.62. Leave me $4 or $5 ... then again, I never did like math. :)

[spiritsong13]

119. It's always best to leave a cash tip when possible.

I worked at a restaurant here in Nashville called "Miro District" that took 3 percent of my charge tips, (the amount that a credit card company charges the establishment for the ability to use their card service). It is of course illegal for them to charge me this percentage. Imagine tipping someone on your charge card and the company takes 3 percent of that tip, how pissed off would you be if you found this out as a customer.

Servers get the worst deal there is in the restaurant industry. We are paid a wage of $2.13 an hour plus tips. Then at the end of my shift I have to pay a number of people a percentage of the money I've made. If I've had $500 dollars in sales on my shift, I then have to pay one percent of my sales to my bartender, another one percent to my busboy, another one percent to my hostess (until the mid 90's hostesses were paid a good hourly wage, then restaurants saw a good way to save themselves labor cost by changing them to tipped employees, it doesn't matter to them that their servers pay all the wages.), and of course most places have food-runners now that we have to tip too.
At the end of my $500 sales shift that means that 20%, (if you still tip 15% these days you are a jack@ss, plain and simple), is $100. Now I have to pay all the other employees at one percent of my sales, that's $5 apiece times 4 people. Now if we go by the old 15% tip standard, I've made $75 and still have to tip the same people the same amount regardless of what I've made. That means at 15% I take home $55 of the $75 I busted my ass for, or at 20% I take home $80 of the $100 I busted my ass for.
Now do you see why I say only a jack@ss still tips 15%.

[Greyhound]

121. Always cash. n/t

[H2O Man]

124. I recommend

that they invest in silver.

Actually, I have never had a credit card. I tip well.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

127. between 15%-20% always on the card.

On the rare occasion I carry cash, about $2 per person is the norm. Otherwise, I always have a card and generally round the total to a nice even number between 15%-20% and that is thier tip. If the service sucks I'll only leave 5%-10%.

[donco6]

134. It would be illegal for them not to claim it.

So I put it on the card always.

[question everything]

136. As you can read many of the previous responses

most of us do not care how they report it. Of course they have to report, but the IRS and the owners calculate 10%.

Please read the testimonials of the people who actually work there, at $2.12 an hour to realize how unfair your comment is.

At least, for me, I am now convinced that paying cash is the least decent thing I can do.

[Bill McBlueState]

141. I typically put it on the credit card because it's more convenient

But I hadn't heard that employers often leech a percentage of the tip due to "credit card fees." I'm going to make an effort to start tipping exclusively in cash.

Sure, I don't carry a lot of cash with me, but when I eat out with my family, the bill is usually $30-40, for a tip of $5-7. I almost always have at least 10 bucks on me.

[lefthandedlefty]

143. I leave cash and pay cash for my meal

[greguganus]

146. Chick tracts? n/t

[tinkerbell41]

151. I've responded to several posts.

I've done this off and on for 20 yrs. It's usually a part time job for me, being in the building trades I'm usually laid-off every 6 mos. Servers, bussers, bartenders, and other BOH staff usually get screwed. One way or another, the pay is never straightforward, unlike working a regular job where they say you WILL be paid 15 an hour, and you are. Sometimes the rules change on a whim. Restaurant owners increasingly make the servers pay busboy wages. They take our tip-out money pool it together and hold on to it for 2 weeks and give the bus a paycheck. Really that money should be given every night on top of his/her hourly wage. The most recent place I worked at, made about 900 a week from Thanksgiving til Valentines day, for about 25 hrs a week, didn't give us paychecks from about May-Sept, it was a Steakhouse business was s-l-o-w. But it didn't matter to us since we made such great tips. We always get the shaft somehow, when we don't have any tables left at the end of our shift, we clock-out and do our sidework for no pay because we will be charged for taxes during that time. Restaurant figured your taxes at 8.00 an hour. If there is alot of sidework to be done you are basically doing that work for 3.15 an hour and getting taxed at 8.00.
Plus there is the problem of everytime a customer charges something some restaurants make servers pay the 2% processing fee that the card charges. On your total card charges for the night. And we have tipped our Salad girl, busboy, bartender, out of that money so the SERVER is getting TAXED and CHARGED on money she/he never sees. Please remember this while dining, all my family members know
in fact the first time my kid (19) went to a full service rest. with friends she came back with the receipt and asked me if she tipped enough. I love her.