4137

Social Security and Medicare Tax on Unreported Tip Income

Agency
IRS
Revision
2025
Fillable fields
34
Pages
2
Official source
IRS form page
Checked
October 21, 2026
Fill 4137 online
Page 1 of form 4137

Form 4137: Social Security and Medicare Tax on Unreported Tip Income

Form 4137, Social Security and Medicare Tax on Unreported Tip Income, is attached to an individual's tax return. The form says it is used only to figure the social security and Medicare tax owed on tips not reported to the employer, including any allocated tips shown on Form W-2 that are reported as income. It also says that by filing it, the social security and Medicare tips are credited to the person's social security record, which is used to figure benefits.

This is the 2025 form. It says the maximum wages and tips subject to social security tax for 2025 is $176,100 and the social security tax rate on tips stays at 6.2%. The unreported tips on line 4 are included as income on Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR, line 1c, and the tax on line 13 goes to Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 5, or Form 1040-SS, Part I, line 6a.

The instructions are printed on the PDF itself. You can fill out the PDF free in your browser on this page and download it without an account.

What's on Form 4137

Name and social security number

The name of the person who received tips and that person's social security number.

Line 1: employers and tips

Rows A to E for each employer's name, EIN, total cash and charge tips received, and tips reported to that employer.

Lines 2 to 6: unreported tips

Total tips received and reported, the difference included as income, tips under $20 in a month that were not required to be reported, and unreported tips subject to Medicare tax.

Lines 7 to 10: social security limit

The 2025 maximum of 176,100, social security wages and tips from Form W-2, boxes 3 and 7, plus RRTA compensation, and unreported tips subject to social security tax.

Lines 11 to 13: the tax

Line 10 times 0.062 for social security tax, line 6 times 0.0145 for Medicare tax, and the total that goes to the return.

Instructions on the form

General and specific instructions printed on the form cover allocated tips, reporting tips to an employer, payment of tax and the penalty for not reporting tips.

How to fill out Form 4137

  1. 1

    Line 1

    Complete a separate row for each employer, with the employer's name and EIN exactly as shown on Form W-2. With more than five employers, the instructions say to attach a statement in a similar format or line 1 of additional Forms 4137.

  2. 2

    Columns (c) and (d)

    Include all cash and charge tips received: tips reported on time, tips reported late, tips not reported at all including allocated tips, and tips under $20 in a month. The instructions explain which year timely and late reported tips belong to.

  3. 3

    Lines 2 to 4

    Add the column totals on lines 2 and 3 and subtract. Line 4 is included as income on Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR, line 1c. The instructions say lines 2 through 13 are completed on only one Form 4137.

  4. 4

    Lines 5 and 6

    On line 5, enter only tips not required to be reported because the month's total was less than $20. The instructions say these tips are not subject to social security and Medicare tax. Line 6 also goes on Form 8959, line 2, if that form is filed.

  5. 5

    Lines 8 to 10

    Enter social security wages and tips from Form W-2, boxes 3 and 7, plus RRTA compensation, without more than $176,100 of RRTA compensation. Government employees whose pay was subject only to the 1.45% Medicare tax follow the line 10 instruction and write 1.45% tips beside it.

  6. 6

    Lines 11 to 13

    Multiply as shown and add lines 11 and 12. Line 13 goes on Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 5, or Form 1040-SS, Part I, line 6a.

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Where it goes, deadlines and penalties

Attach to the return

The form says Attach to your tax return. It also says not to use Form 4137 as a substitute Form W-2.

Reporting tips to the employer

The instructions say cash tips of $20 or more in a month are reported to the employer in a written report by the 10th day of the following month, or the next business day if the 10th falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.

Penalty for not reporting tips

The instructions say a penalty equal to 50% of the social security, Medicare and Additional Medicare Taxes due on unreported tips may be charged, unless a statement attached to the return shows reasonable cause and not willful neglect.

Uncollected tax on Form W-2

If the employer could not collect enough tax on reported tips, Form W-2, box 12, codes A and B, shows the uncollected tax. The instructions point to Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 13, to report it.

Additional Medicare Tax

The form reminds that a 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax applies above a threshold amount based on filing status, figured on Form 8959.

More information

The form points to Pub. 531, Reporting Tip Income, and Rev. Rul. 2012-18 on taxes imposed on tips and the difference between tips and service charges.

Related forms

Who files Form 4137?

  • Employees with unreported tips

    The form says it is filed by someone who received cash and charge tips of $20 or more in a calendar month and did not report all of those tips to the employer.

  • Employees with allocated tips

    The form says it is also filed when Form W-2, box 8, shows allocated tips that are reported as income.

  • Married couples

    The form says to complete a separate Form 4137 for each spouse with unreported tips.

  • Not for workers paid on Form 1099

    The caution note says a worker who believes they are an employee but received Form 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC instead of Form W-2 uses Form 8919, not this form.

  • Not for railroad work

    The instructions say not to use Form 4137 for tips received for work covered by the Railroad Retirement Tax Act.

Form 4137 is completed by the employee who received the tips and attached to that person's own tax return, which goes to the IRS.

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Questions about Form 4137

Who files Form 4137?

The employee who received the tips. The form says it is filed by someone who received cash and charge tips of $20 or more in a calendar month and did not report all of them to the employer, or whose Form W-2, box 8, shows allocated tips reported as income.

Do married couples file one form?

No. The form says to complete a separate Form 4137 for each spouse with unreported tips.

What rates does the 2025 form use?

Line 11 multiplies by 0.062, the social security tax rate, and line 12 by 0.0145, the Medicare tax rate. Line 7 shows a 2025 maximum of 176,100 in wages and tips subject to social security tax.

What if the tips came with a Form 1099 instead of a W-2?

The form's caution note says a worker who believes they are an employee and received Form 1099-MISC or 1099-NEC instead of Form W-2 uses Form 8919 instead of Form 4137.

Do tips under $20 a month count?

They are included in column (c) and entered on line 5. The instructions say tips not required to be reported because the month's total was less than $20 are not subject to social security and Medicare tax.

Where does the tax go?

Line 13 goes on Schedule 2 (Form 1040), line 5, or Form 1040-SS, Part I, line 6a. Line 4 is included as income on Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR, line 1c.

Is there a penalty for not reporting tips to an employer?

The instructions say a penalty of 50% of the social security, Medicare and Additional Medicare Taxes due on those tips may be charged, unless reasonable cause is shown in a statement attached to the return.