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See what your business is owed from the FICA Tips Credit (plus a few others that you don't even know about but already qualify for).
Yesterday I attended another awesome food show in Duluth Minnesota. There were many restaurant owners (and related businesses); some my clients and guess what? They are qualified for the FICA Tips Credit. Did you see me? Did we talk? NO worries, you didn't miss your opportunity. I have an "easy button". Click the link, go to my GMG website and plug in your numbers to see what you are owed. It doesn't get easier than this. Do it now (then get back to work doing what yo love).
Terry Scott, America's #1 Business Resource Consultant
A practical guide for business owners who may qualify for the FICA Tip Credit and want an easy way to find out what they are owed.
Take just a few moments today to plug in a few basic business details and find out what your company may be owed through the FICA Tip Credit and other related business incentive opportunities our GMG team can automatically review for you.
If you own or operate a business with tipped employees, there may be dollars sitting on the table that you have already earned the right to claim.
The FICA Tip Credit is one of those incentives that many business owners have heard about in passing, but never fully pursued. Others assume their CPA, payroll company, or bookkeeper already handled it. Sometimes they did. Sometimes they did not. And sometimes the opportunity was only partially captured.
As a Senior Advisor for GMG, my role is to help business owners take a few simple steps to see whether they qualify, what they may be owed, and how our specialized team can help identify not only the FICA Tip Credit, but other related incentive dollars that may be available.
What Is the FICA Tip Credit?
The FICA Tip Credit is a federal tax credit for certain employers who pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on employee tips. The IRS states that food and beverage employers with tipped employees may be eligible, and that the employer share of FICA tax is currently 7.65 percent. The credit is a non refundable general business tax credit, and unused credits may generally be carried back one year or carried forward up to 20 years. ([IRS][1])
In plain English, this matters because your business may have paid employer payroll taxes on tips your customers gave to your employees. The FICA Tip Credit can help you recover a portion of those costs.
Who May Qualify?
Many business owners immediately think of restaurants, but the opportunity can include more than just full service dining.
Businesses that may want to check eligibility include:
Restaurants
Bars and taverns
Coffee shops
Cafes
Catering businesses
Food service operations
Certain delivery or service models where food and beverage tipping is customary
Certain salons, spas, barbering, nail care, esthetics, and body or spa treatment businesses where tipping is customary may also now be part of the broader Section 45B opportunity under updated law. Cornell’s Legal Information Institute lists qualifying service categories under 26 U.S. Code Section 45B, including food and beverage service, barbering and hair care, nail care, esthetics, and body and spa treatments. ([Legal Information Institute][2])
The IRS explains that eligible food and beverage employers generally must have employees who receive tips from customers for providing, delivering, or serving food or beverages, and the employer must have paid or incurred employer Social Security and Medicare taxes on those tips during the tax year. ([IRS][1])
Why This Credit Gets Missed
The FICA Tip Credit can be missed because it is not always obvious. It is not simply a payroll button. It requires the right review of tips, wages, payroll taxes, and business tax filings.
The IRS says employers generally claim the credit by completing Form 8846, Credit for Employer Social Security and Medicare Taxes Paid on Certain Employee Tips, and attaching it to the tax return. The IRS also notes that employers need information about the tips employees received and the Social Security and Medicare taxes paid on those tips. ([IRS][1])
That is where many business owners stop.
They are busy running the restaurant, managing staff, handling food costs, watching margins, hiring, training, scheduling, solving customer issues, and keeping the doors open. Digging through tax credit rules is not usually at the top of the list.
But that does not mean the money is not worth checking.
What Could You Do With the Money?
For many businesses, recovered tax incentive dollars are not just “extra money.” They can become working capital.
Depending on the amount recovered, a business owner could use those dollars to:
Improve cash flow
Upgrade equipment
Invest in payroll stability
Fund marketing
Refresh signage or branding
Pay down business debt
Add staff hours during busy periods
Improve employee retention
Build a rainy day reserve
Renovate a dining room, lobby, patio, salon, or service area
Launch a new product, menu item, service, or location improvement
Sometimes the best money is not borrowed money. Sometimes it is money your business already qualified for, but never claimed.
What Happens If You Do Nothing?
If you do nothing, nothing changes.
The IRS is not likely to call and say, “You may have missed a credit.” Your payroll company may not be responsible for claiming it. Your CPA may not have had the right tip detail, payroll documentation, or specialized incentive review process in place. Your internal team may assume someone else handled it.
Meanwhile, time continues to pass.
The IRS states that prior year FICA Tip Credits may be claimed by filing amended returns and attaching Form 8846 when applicable. ([IRS][1]) That means there may be an opportunity to review previous years, but waiting can still cost you options, time, and potential value.
Doing nothing may mean leaving dollars unclaimed that could have supported your business, your staff, your improvements, your debt reduction, or your next growth move.
How Easy Have We Made It?
The process starts with a simple check.
You do not need to become a tax credit expert. You do not need to know every rule before asking the question. You do not need to guess whether the amount is worth pursuing.
As a Senior Advisor for GMG, I can help you start the review by having you plug in a few basic details. From there, our specialized team can help evaluate what you may be owed, how to claim it, and what related monies or incentive opportunities may also apply.
That is one of the strongest advantages of working with a specialized team. We are not looking at only one narrow possibility and stopping there. We are helping business owners uncover dollars that may be hidden inside payroll, taxes, operations, and business activity.
The Real Question
The real question is not, “Do I know for sure that I qualify?”
The better question is:
“Is it worth taking a few moments to find out?”
For most tipped businesses, the answer is yes.
A short review could reveal that nothing is owed. But it could also reveal meaningful dollars that your business can use now.
Take just a few moments today to plug in a few basic details and find out what your business may be owed.
As a Senior Advisor for GMG, I can help you check your potential FICA Tip Credit opportunity, learn how to claim it, and allow our team to automatically review for related incentive dollars your business may also qualify for.
Do not leave earned money sitting unclaimed.
Start the simple check today and find out what your business may be owed.
[1]: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/fica-tip-credit-for-employers "FICA Tip Credit for employers | Internal Revenue Service"
[2]: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/45B "26 U.S. Code § 45B - Credit for portion of employer social security taxes paid with respect to employee cash tips | U.S. Code | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute"
