Enter the shift's tips, the tip-out, and how your house splits the pool — see your payout and check it against what you were handed.
Your payout
—
| Pool after tip-out | — |
| Your share of the pool | — |
| Per hour you worked | — |
House policy sets the split rules; managers and supervisors may not legally take from the pool.
The tip pool formula
pool after tip-out = total tips × (1 − tip-out %)
by hours: payout = pool × (your hours ÷ everyone's hours)
evenly: payout = pool ÷ people
Hours-weighting is the most common method because it pays the double the same rate as the short shift. The disputes almost always live in the tip-out line — know your house percentage and who receives it, because that's the number that quietly moves your payout most.
A worked example
A $1,200 night with a 25% tip-out leaves a $900 pool. You worked 7 of the team's 34 hours: $900 × 7/34 ≈ $185 — about $26.50 per hour on top of your wage. If the envelope says $150, now you know exactly which questions to ask: the tip-out math or the hours count.
Know the two federal rules
First: managers and supervisors can never take from the pool. Second: if your employer takes a "tip credit" (paying the lower tipped minimum wage), the pool may only include regularly tipped roles — kitchen staff can only join pools where everyone gets full minimum wage. If your house violates either, that's back pay the Department of Labor regularly recovers.
Frequently asked questions
How does tip pooling work?
Tips from a shift go into one pool, a tip-out percentage often goes to support staff (bussers, barbacks, kitchen where legal), and the rest is split among the pool — either evenly or weighted by hours worked. House rules set the method; federal law sets who may participate.
What is a typical tip-out percentage?
Commonly 20–30% of tips (or 3–5% of sales) distributed across support roles: bussers 1–3%, bartenders 5–10% of bar-drink tips, food runners 1–2%. It varies enormously by restaurant — the number that matters is written in your house policy.
Can managers take from the tip pool?
No — federal law prohibits managers and supervisors from keeping any portion of employee tips, including through a tip pool. Owners taking a cut of the pool is one of the most common wage violations in the industry.
Are pooled tips taxed?
Yes — all tips are taxable income and should be reported. Payouts through payroll are withheld like wages; cash payouts are still reportable. Note: recent federal law changes have created deductions for reported tip income, so reporting properly can actually pay off at filing time.