新的小费免税法案
想必大家都通过特朗普颁发的“大而美”法案，听到了小费收入免税的消息。是不是很振奋人心！是不是感觉很激动！当然是的！首先，据我们所知，老板那一边不会有任何改变，老板照样需要扣起工人税和收入税。工人层面，在报税的时候就多了一个新的项目：小费抵免。我们暂时没有看见实际的税单设计，但是这个做法会相对简单方便。另外，想提醒下大家，这个减税的项目是在标准免税额之前的减免。举个例子，一家四口标准免税额2025年是$31,500。如果你的工作收入里有$25,000的小费，你将会有免税额为$56,500（州政府方面暂时没有这个政策）。接下来，我们解释一下已经知道的要求：
- 一份税单最多可以有$25,000免小费收入税
- 单身收入超过$150,000或已婚收入超过$300,000，税额减免将会逐步减少
- 有效年份：2025-2028税单
- 你的工作要在 2025年1月1号之前就定为是通常且定期获得小费的职业（我们今天收到最新的文件，大家可以点开这个链接查看，但是还不是最终的决定。https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Tipped-Occupations-Detailed-8-27-2025.pdf）
在收入低的家庭里面，这个政策没有任何好处。比如两夫妻一年的收入少于$31,500，他们本身就不需要支付任何联邦收入税。就算多了这个$25,000的政策，也不会为他们提供任何的退税福利，基本上就等于没有发生过。再举一个例子，陈大虾先生年收入$50,000，单身，其分布是底薪收到$40,000，小费为$10,000。他的好朋友阿牛在学校工作，同样收入是$50,000，单身。让我们来做个简单的数学：
1）$50,000-$15,750=$34,250。阿牛的联邦税大概是$3878。
2）$50,000-$10,000-$15,750=$24,250，陈大虾的联邦税大概是$2678。
相比之下，陈大虾更收益于这个政策。当然，收入越高，税率越高，减免越明显！根据耶鲁大学的报告，截止至2023年，大约有400万人在有小费的行业工作，占全美总就业人士的2.5%。如果我们有任何新消息，我们会及时更新。下一篇文章，我们会介绍加班免税政策。
The New One, Big, and Beautiful Bill
I’m sure by now many of you have heard, through Trump’s newly passed “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the exciting news that tip income will be tax-exempt. Isn’t that uplifting? Isn’t it exciting? Of course, it is!
First, as far as we know, nothing will change on the employer’s side—employers are still required to withhold payroll taxes and income taxes. On the worker’s side, however, a new item will appear on tax returns: the tip deduction. We haven’t yet seen the finalized tax form design, but this deduction process is expected to be relatively straightforward and convenient.
Another important reminder: this deduction applies before the standard deduction. For example, the standard deduction for a family of four in 2025 is $31,500. If your work income includes $25,000 in tips, your total deduction would increase to $56,500. (Note: at this time, state governments have not adopted a similar policy.)
Next, here are the requirements we already know:
- A single tax return can deduct up to $25,000 of tip income from federal income tax.
- For single filers with income over $150,000, or married filers with income over $300,000, the deduction will gradually phase out.
- Effective for tax years 2025 through 2028.
- Your occupation must have been classified before January 1, 2025 as a job that “customarily and regularly” receives tips. (We just received the latest preliminary list of eligible occupations today—you can view it here: Treasury Tipped Occupations List (Aug 27, 2025). However, please note that this is not yet the final determination.)
For low-income families, this policy does not provide any benefit. For example, if a married couple earns less than $31,500 annually, they already do not owe any federal income tax. Even with the extra $25,000 tip deduction, they would not receive additional refunds—it’s essentially as if nothing changed.
Another example:
- Mr. Chen, single, annual income $50,000 (base salary $40,000 + tips $10,000).
- His friend Ah Niu, single, annual income $50,000 (school employee, no tips).
Let’s do the math:
- $50,000 – $15,750 = $34,250 taxable income → Ah Niu’s federal tax ≈ $3,878.
- $50,000 – $10,000 – $15,750 = $24,250 taxable income → Mr. Chen’s federal tax ≈ $2,678.
Compared side by side, Mr. Chen clearly benefits more from this policy. Naturally, the higher your income and tax bracket, the more significant the benefit.
According to a Yale University report, as of 2023, about 4 million people work in tipped occupations in the United States, representing roughly 2.5% of the total workforce.
If we receive any new updates, we’ll share them promptly. In the next article, we’ll introduce the new overtime tax exemption policy.