IRC §45B Tip Credit Recovery
Your business has already paid this tax credit. Now it's time to claim it back.
Restaurants, bars, salons, and spas with tipped W-2 employees qualify for the FICA Tip Credit under IRC §45B. We calculate, file Form 8846, and recover up to 3 prior years — specialist and CPA reviewed.
IRC §45B
Qualified Credit
Form 8846
Filed With Return
3 Years
Look-Back Available
CPA + Specialist
Reviewed
Shared expertise. Full results.
10-employee restaurant • 3-year look-back
Total estimated benefit
$55,080
Annual credit
$13,770
Retro recovery
$41,310
Qualifying tips / yr
$180,000
Per employee / yr
$1,377
Illustrative only. Your actual estimate is calculated below.
CPA + Specialist
Reviewed
Form 8846
Filed with your return
Look-Back Available
Amend prior 3 years
Specialist-Reviewed
Engineer + CPA verified
● FREE · 30 SECONDS · NO SSN
See how much your business has already earned and never claimed.
Threshold applied: $5.15/hr (§45B frozen rate)
Total estimated benefit
$0
Annual credit
$0
Retro (3 yr)
$0
Qualifying tip base / yr
$0
Per employee / yr
$0
Estimate is informational. Final credit is determined after specialist + CPA review of payroll and tip reporting documentation.
How it works
From intake to credit here's the process.
01
1
Tell us about your business
Quick 10-minute intake employees, tips, payroll basics.
02
2
Specialists calculate your credit
We compute qualifying tip base and credit per year.
03
3
We prepare Form 8846
04
4
File with your return
05
5
Credit applied refund issued
Reduces tax owed or generates a refund check.
Who This Is For
If your employees receive tips and you pay payroll taxes, you likely qualify.
Food & Beverage
Threshold: §45B frozen rate — $5.15/hr
Restaurants, bars, cafés, hotels, catering
- W-2 employees receiving reported tips
- Employer pays FICA on those tips
- Tips reported on Form 8027 or equivalent
- Currently filing or have filed past returns
Salons / Personal Care
Threshold: $7.25/hr — 2025 expansion (One Big Beautiful Bill Act)
Salons, barbershops, nail salons, spas
- Tipped W-2 stylists, barbers, technicians
- Employer-paid FICA on reported tips
- Service-based business with consistent tipping
- Newly eligible under 2025 expansion
The §45B program
A federal tax credit Congress wrote specifically for tipped-employee businesses.
Under Internal Revenue Code §45B, the employer’s share of FICA (Social Security and Medicare) tax paid on tip income above the federal threshold is returned as a dollar-for-dollar tax credit — not a deduction. It’s claimed on Form 8846 and flows into the General Business Credit on Form 3800.
Most owners never claim it. We recover what you’ve already paid — and amend up to 3 prior years.
The §45B program
Qualifying Tip Base
x
7.65%
=
Annual Credit
Annual Credit
x
Prior Years
=
Retro Recovery
Annual
x
Retro
=
Total Credit
Filed via Form 8846 → General Business Credit (Form 3800)
Common Questions
What business owners ask before starting.
Do we qualify if our employees make more than minimum wage?
Yes. The FICA Tip Credit under IRC §45B is based on tips reported above the federal threshold ($5.15/hr for food & beverage, $7.25/hr for salons under the 2025 expansion), not on whether your wages exceed minimum wage. Most tipped employers qualify.
Can we go back and amend prior years?
Yes. The IRS allows you to amend up to 3 prior tax years to claim the credit retroactively. Our specialists prepare the amended returns and Form 8846 for each year.
How is the credit calculated exactly?
We calculate the qualifying tip base (tips above the wage threshold), multiply by 7.65% (employer FICA rate), and apply across active years. Total Credit = (Qualifying Tip Base × 7.65%) × Years.
What forms are involved?
Form 8846 (Credit for Employer Social Security and Medicare Taxes Paid on Certain Employee Tips) is filed with your business return and flows into the General Business Credit (Form 3800). For prior years, Form 1120-X or 1040-X is used to amend.
Does this affect our employees' tax returns?
No. The FICA Tip Credit is an employer-only credit. It does not change employee W-2s, their reported tips, or their personal tax obligations.
How long does the process take?
What does Opscale Exchange charge?
Our fee is a performance-based percentage of the credit we recover for you. There are no upfront costs if we don’t recover a credit, you don’t pay.
Find out exactly what your business has earned.
Free estimate. Specialist-reviewed. No upfront cost.