They are. However some bars & restaurants report the sales of bartenders, waiters, and waitresses to the IRS. I don't know if this is an IRS regulation, or just something the company I worked for did to keep the IRS off their back. As I recall (as it's been many years now), the IRS "assumes" that the staff that gets tips will receive a certain percentage, and it's reported as income to the IRS. I seem to recall that the percentage reported when I worked as a waiter was at least 12%. ow, maybe this was because I worked in a place similar to a TGI Fridays, and a national chain, we had to report it. But in this case, the waiter/waitress would be paying FICA, state, and federal tax on $7.12 (given a $60 bill). This is why GOOD wait staff do all they can to make the customer happy. Because the happier the customer, the more the waiter can make.
Mark
Tough for them. Perhaps they should develop a skill wherein they don’t have to rely on tip income in the future. No one can “make” someone tip.
Tips are ‘voluntary’? Only if you like stiffing the person feeding you.
‘Wages’ for wait staff is $2.something.
Which covers the IRS take of the servers pay!
So the ‘paycheck’ for most servers is $0.00
All that they make is WHAT YOU TIP.