--- title: "How to Keep Track of Tips as a Server" description: "Write down your tips every workday: cash, card, noncash, and what you tipped out and to whom. Then report each month to your employer by the 10th." url: https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/how-to-keep-track-of-tips language: en publisher: TipMax (Entermaurs Incorporated) date_published: 2026-09-23 last_verified: 2026-09-23 --- # How do I keep track of my tips? **Short answer:** **Keep a daily tip record.** The IRS says to start it with your name, your employer’s name, and the business name. Then, each workday, write the date, your cash tips, the card tips your employer pays you, the value of any noncash tips, and what you paid out to other employees and to whom. Give your employer each month’s total by the 10th of the next month. ## Example math You’re a server. Here are three shifts from your log in one month (all amounts illustrative): | Date | Cash tips | Card tips | Noncash | Paid out, to whom | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Mar 3 | $85 | $140 | | $25 to Sam (busser) | | Mar 6 | $120 | $260 | Concert tickets, $40 value | $45 to Sam, $20 to Ana (bar) | | Mar 7 | $150 | $310 | | $50 to Sam, $25 to Ana | | **Total** | **$355** | **$710** | **$40** | **$165** | 1. Cash plus card: $355 + $710 = **$1,065**. 2. Take out what you paid to other employees: $1,065 − $165 = **$900**. That’s the number you report to your employer for March. 3. The **$40** in tickets doesn’t go on your report to your employer, but it still goes on your tax return. 4. The report is due by **April 10**, or the next day that isn’t a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. **Not tax advice.** Names and amounts are made up for the example. ## Plain English ### Why the IRS wants a daily record Publication 531 gives three reasons: so you can report your tips correctly to your employer, report them correctly on your tax return, and prove your tip income if your return is ever questioned. A log you fill in each shift does all three. One rebuilt from memory in April does none of them well. ### What to write down each workday - The date. - Cash tips you get directly from customers or from other employees (tip-outs and pool shares you receive count). - Card tips from credit and debit card customers that your employer pays you. - The value of noncash tips, like tickets or passes. - What you paid out to other employees through tip pools, tip splitting, or other arrangements, and the names of the people you paid. Put your name, your employer’s name, and the business name (if it’s different) at the top once. ### What stays out of the log A service charge your employer adds to the bill and pays you as wages is not a tip. Pub 531’s example is an automatic 18% charge on a large party. Leave that out. If the customer could write any amount on a blank tip line, or added extra on top of the service charge, that part is a tip and goes in. ### Two ways to keep it You can write your tips in a tip diary, or keep copies of documents that show them, like restaurant bills and card slips. A notebook, a phone app, or a printed sheet all work as a diary. If you use an electronic system your employer provides, the IRS says you must get and keep a paper copy of that record. ### Print a blank log This sheet has a column for each thing Publication 531 asks for. Print it, keep it with your apron, and fill in a row every shift. _The web page has a printable daily tip log (date, cash tips, card tips, tips paid out and to whom, hours)._ ### Report to your employer once a month Give your employer the month’s tips by the 10th of the next month. If your employer doesn’t give you another way to report, a signed and dated statement works. It needs your name, address, and Social Security number; your employer’s name, address, and business name; the month; and the total. Keep a copy. Your employer can ask for reports more often, but one report can’t cover more than one calendar month. If your tips from one job add up to less than $20 in a month, you don’t report that month to that employer. You still include those tips on your tax return. For what happens to tips you pass on or receive, see [How do I keep a record of my tip-outs?](https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/how-to-record-tip-outs) ### How long to keep it Keep the log with your tax records for as long as it matters for your federal taxes. Publication 17 has the IRS rules on how long that is. ## Common mistakes - Writing down only the total you kept, with nothing about what you paid out or who got it. - Leaving out tip-outs and pool shares you received from other employees. - Counting an automatic service charge as a tip. - Using your employer’s electronic tip system without keeping a paper copy. - Skipping noncash tips because they don’t go on the employer report. ## Official sources - [IRS Publication 531, Reporting Tip Income (daily tip record, electronic records, reporting by the 10th, the $20 rule)](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p531) - [IRS: Tip recordkeeping and reporting](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/tip-recordkeeping-and-reporting) ## Last verified September 23, 2026. Checked IRS Publication 531 (what a daily tip record contains, the two ways to keep one, the paper copy of an electronic record, service charges, the monthly report and its due date, the under-$20 rule) and the IRS tip recordkeeping page. ## Related - [How do I keep a record of my tip-outs for taxes?](https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/how-to-record-tip-outs) - [I get tip-outs from servers. Do I have to report them?](https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/reporting-tip-outs-you-receive) - [Why is my server paycheck so small, or even $0?](https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/server-paycheck-explained) - [How do I prove my income as a server?](https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/how-to-prove-income-as-a-server) - [What are allocated tips in box 8 of my W-2?](https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/allocated-tips-explained) ## How TipMax helps with this IRS Publication 531 asks you to keep a daily record of the tips you get and the tips you pay out, with the names of who you paid. TipMax is an iPhone app for servers and bartenders that tracks tips and tip-outs and turns a restaurant menu into study flashcards. - Log cash and card tips per shift in seconds. - Record tip-outs every shift, with tip-out rules for each job. - Download all your data as a CSV any time. Download TipMax free: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tipmax-study-track-earn/id6744850146 --- TipMax Answers explains public IRS guidance in plain English for tipped workers. It is **not tax, legal, or accounting advice**. Rules can change. Confirm figures on IRS.gov and with a qualified tax professional before you file. TipMax the app helps you track tips and true hourly pay; it does not file your taxes.