Recover the FICA Tip Credit You're Already Owed
You pay 7.65% in employer Social Security and Medicare tax on every dollar your staff reports in tips. Federal law gives a large share of it back, for this year and every prior year still open to amendment. Most owners never claim it.
No upfront cost · No obligation · Your accountant stays in place
The opportunity
The Tax Credit Most Tipped Businesses Miss
It isn't obscure and it isn't new. It's just nobody's job to claim it, so year after year, it doesn't get claimed.
What It Is
A dollar-for-dollar credit against the employer FICA tax you already paid on reported tips. This is not a deduction that shaves a bit off taxable income. It comes straight off the tax bill itself.
Who Qualifies
Restaurants, bars, hotels, catering and cafés have qualified since 1993. As of tax years beginning after 2024, hair and nail salons, barbershops, esthetics studios and spas qualify too.
Eligibility
Is Your Business Eligible?
If your staff receives tips from customers and you pay FICA tax on those reported tips, you are very likely eligible.
Full-Service Restaurants
Establishments where servers take orders and deliver food to guests at tables, including fine dining, casual and family restaurants.
Bars & Taverns
Venues primarily serving alcohol where bartenders and servers receive tips directly from customers.
Hotels & Catering
Hospitality operations where room service staff, banquet servers and event crews are customarily tipped.
Cafés & Counter Service
Beverage and light-meal establishments where baristas and counter staff receive tips.
Salons & Barbershops
Newly eligible for tax years beginning after December 31, 2024, with a different wage floor than restaurants and almost no industry habit of claiming it.
Spas & Esthetics
Body treatment and skincare businesses where tipping is customary, brought in under the same 2025 expansion.
How it works
You Send Records. We Do the Rest.
No switching accountants. No changing payroll providers. No forms for you to figure out.
Free Eligibility Review
We review your entity type, tipped employee count, and tip reporting systems. From there we determine whether a FICA Tip Credit claim exists, so you see the exact financial benefit before moving forward.
Payroll Analysis
To get started, just send us your payroll records. Our team runs a detailed, per-employee, per-month calculation for the current year and every open prior tax year to find your maximum savings.
Returns Prepared & Filed
Our affiliate firm handles everything by preparing and filing the amended business tax returns required by the IRS to claim your FICA Tip Credit.
Why Audit Group
Specialists, Not Generalists
This credit is all we do. That focus is the difference between a claim and a full claim.
Every Open Year, Not Just This One
Prior years are generally amendable for three years from the return's due date. Each filing season one more year closes permanently. We look at all of them while they're still available.
Documented, Not Estimated
Every FICA Tip Credit claim must be filed with detailed, exact, employee-by-employee wage schedules. Because amended returns face extra IRS scrutiny, that full documentation has to be in place before any credit is claimed.
Your Accountant Stays in Place
We are not here to replace your current accountant or payroll provider. Our team focuses on the FICA Tip Credit analysis, and our affiliate firm handles the required amended business returns and filings. Your existing professional relationships continue completely untouched.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers about the credit and how we work.
What is the FICA tip credit?
A federal tax credit under Internal Revenue Code §45B. Employers pay 7.65% in Social Security and Medicare tax on tips their employees report. The credit refunds a large share of that back to the employer, dollar for dollar against income tax.
How far back can I go?
Generally three years from the original due date of the return, so a calendar-year business filing in 2026 can usually still reach 2023, 2024 and 2025 alongside the current year. Beauty and personal care businesses only became eligible for tax years beginning after December 31, 2024, so their lookback starts at 2025.
Is this the same as "no tax on tips"?
No, and the two get confused constantly. The tip deduction under the 2025 law benefits your employees on their personal returns. Section 45B benefits you, the employer, on the FICA tax you paid on those tips. They're separate provisions and you don't choose between them.
Do I have to reduce my wage deduction?
Yes. Claiming the credit requires reducing the deduction you take for those wages by the amount of the credit, so the two interact. The net benefit is still substantially positive, and that interaction is part of what we model before anything gets filed.
Have more questions about the FICA tip credit? We're happy to walk through your specific situation.
Get Started Today