# Tip pool calculator

Split shared tips by hours worked, take off card fees, and see who legally can and can't be in the pool.

A tip pool is split by a fair, agreed formula — commonly hours worked. Under federal law an owner or manager can never take a share of the pool, whether or not a tip credit is used. If the employer takes a tip credit, the pool is limited to employees in jobs that customarily receive tips; without one, staff who aren't normally tipped can be included. This calculator takes the card fee off card tips, splits the rest by hours among the people who qualify, and flags anyone who doesn't.

## How this calculator works

**1. The pool.** Card tips, minus the card fee you enter, plus cash tips.

**2. Who's eligible.** Owners and managers are never eligible. Staff who aren't normally tipped are
eligible only if no tip credit is used. Everyone else with hours above zero is in.

**3. The split.** The pool is divided by hours worked among the eligible people. Any leftover cents
are handed out so the shares add up to the pool exactly.

## A worked example

$400 card tips, $200 cash tips, 3% card fee, no tip credit. Three tipped employees work 20, 25 and
30 hours, and a manager who worked 40 hours is also entered.

| Person | Hours | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Employee 1 | 20 | $156.80 |
| Employee 2 | 25 | $196.00 |
| Employee 3 | 30 | $235.20 |
| Manager | 40 | $0 — can't share in the pool |

The pool is $588 ($400 less a $12 fee, plus $200), split across 75 eligible hours — $7.84 per hour.

## How to use it

1. Enter the card tips and cash tips going into the pool, and the card fee taken from card tips.
2. Say whether the employer takes a tip credit.
3. For each person in the pool, pick their job type and enter the hours they worked. Leave hours at 0 for anyone not in it.
4. Read each person's share. Anyone who can't share in the pool is marked with the reason and gets $0.

## Questions

### Can a manager or owner take part of the tip pool?

No. Federal law bars an employer, including managers and supervisors, from keeping employees' tips, whether or not a tip credit is used. A manager can keep a tip a customer gave them directly for service they alone provided, and can put their own tips into a pool, but can't take money out of it.

### Can non-tipped staff like a receptionist share in the pool?

Only if the employer pays the full minimum wage in cash, with no tip credit. If a tip credit is used, the pool is limited to employees in occupations that customarily and regularly receive tips. A state may be stricter.

### Is splitting by hours the required method?

No — federal law doesn't require a particular formula, only that the pool follows the rules on who may take part. Hours worked is common and easy to check, so it's what this calculator uses. Some workplaces weight by role or points, which this doesn't model.

### Can the employer take the card fee out of the pool?

Federal guidance allows reducing card tips by no more than the fee the card company actually charged, as long as that doesn't push anyone's pay below the minimum wage. Some states don't allow it at all.

### Does this apply to a booth or chair renter?

No. Tip-pool rules protect employees. Independent contractors who rent space keep what they earn and aren't part of an employer's pool.