As a chef, you may earn income both as regular pay and tips or bonuses. The tips you report to your employer are listed in Box 1 of your Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement. They will be added to your regular earning. Even though you don’t have to report tips totaling less than $20 per month, you are still subject to income tax on the amounts you earn, even if you don’t have to report them. If you get any compensation in a form other than cash, such as gifts, tickets, or passes, you have to include the value in your calculated income for tax time.

Allocated tips from your employer are listed in Box 8 of your Form W-2, and are separate from your regular wages and reported tips. Generally you receive allocated tips in the following circumstances:

• You work in a restaurant or longue that requires allocation of tips
• Your reported tips were less than your share of 8% of food and drink sales.

In most cases, you have you report allocated tips when filing a tax return. These tips may be subject to additional taxes to cover Medicare and Social Security taxes not withheld from your allocated tips. These are calculated on Form 4137, Social Security and Medicare Tax on Unreported Tip Income.

Additionally, you may be able to lessen your tax burden by deducting job related expenses, provided you have receipts to document them. Some of these deductions include:

• Occupational or licensing fees
• Medical exams required for the job which you pay out of pocket and are not reimbursed for
• Journal and trade publication subscriptions
• Uniform costs, including cleaning and upkeep, as long as they aren’t suitable for everyday wear and are required. White service uniforms generally apply, however black pants and a white shirt are not able to be deducted.