8027

Employer's Annual Information Return of Tip Income and Allocated Tips

Agency
IRS
Revision
2025
Fillable fields
48
Pages
1
Official source
IRS form page
Checked
October 21, 2026
Fill 8027 online
Page 1 of form 8027

Form 8027: Employer's Annual Information Return of Tip Income and Allocated Tips

Form 8027 is the Employer's Annual Information Return of Tip Income and Allocated Tips. The IRS says employers use it to annually report receipts and tips from their large food or beverage establishments, and to determine allocated tips for tipped employees.

The form is filed by the employer, not by the tipped employees. It covers one establishment per form: charged tips, charge receipts, service charges paid as wages, tips reported by directly and indirectly tipped employees, gross receipts from food and beverages, and any tip allocation. Any allocated tips then go in box 8 of each affected employee's Form W-2.

This page holds the 2025 form, for calendar year 2025. You can fill out the PDF free in your browser on this page and download the result without an account.

What's on Form 8027

Establishment and employer

Name, address and employer identification number of the establishment, the amended or final return boxes, the employer's name and address, and a five-digit establishment number.

Type of establishment

Four boxes, check only one: evening meals only, evening and other meals, meals other than evening meals, and alcoholic beverages.

Charges question and lines 1 and 2

A yes or no question on whether the establishment accepts credit cards, debit cards or other charges, then total charged tips and total charge receipts showing charged tips.

Lines 3 to 5: service charges, tips and receipts

Service charges of less than 10% paid as wages, tips reported by indirectly and directly tipped employees with their total on line 4c, and gross receipts from food and beverages.

Lines 6 and 7: allocation of tips

Line 6 multiplies line 5 by 8% or a lower rate granted by the IRS. Line 7 holds any excess over line 4c, with boxes for the hours-worked, gross receipts or good-faith agreement method.

Line 8 and signature

The total number of directly tipped employees at the establishment during 2025, then the declaration under penalties of perjury with signature, title and date.

How to fill out Form 8027

  1. 1

    Establishment details

    Enter the name customers know the establishment by, its address and the EIN. The instructions say the EIN should match the Forms W-2 and Form 941 for the employees there, and not to enter a P.O. box for the establishment address.

  2. 2

    Type and establishment number

    Check the one type box that best describes the establishment. Assign a five-digit number, for example 00001, and the instructions say to use the same number for that establishment each year.

  3. 3

    Lines 1 and 2

    Check Yes or No for charges. If Yes, the instructions say to enter an amount on lines 1 and 2, even if zero: tips shown on charge receipts, and food and beverage sales on charge receipts that showed a tip.

  4. 4

    Lines 3 to 5

    Enter service charges of less than 10% distributed to employees, tips reported by indirectly tipped employees such as cooks and bussers, tips reported by directly tipped employees such as waitstaff and bartenders, their total, and gross receipts.

  5. 5

    Lines 6 and 7

    Multiply line 5 by 8% (0.08) or the lower rate, attaching the IRS determination letter for a lower rate. If line 6 is more than line 4c, enter the excess on line 7 and check the allocation method used.

  6. 6

    Line 8 and sign

    Enter the cumulative number of directly tipped employees who worked there during the year. Sign with your title and date. The instructions list who may sign for a sole proprietor, corporation, partnership, LLC, trust or estate.

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Where it goes, deadlines and attachments

Deadline

The instructions say to file Form 8027 by March 2, 2026, or by March 31, 2026, if you file electronically. Form 8809 can request an extension of time to file.

Where to mail a paper return

Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Ogden, UT 84201. The instructions note that the Grand Rapids address for lower rate petitions is not where Form 8027 is mailed.

Electronic filing

The instructions say an employer required to file 10 or more information returns during the year files electronically, through the FIRE system. Pub. 1239 has the electronic filing specifications.

More than one establishment

File a separate Form 8027 for each. On paper, Form 8027-T goes with them as a transmittal, with the forms in establishment number order. Form 8027-T is not filed with electronic returns.

Attachments on paper

If they apply: a copy of a timely filed Form 8809, the lower rate determination letter, and an approved Form 8508 waiver. The instructions say not to attach any other documents.

Allocated tips on Form W-2

Allocated tips go in box 8 of each employee's Form W-2. The instructions say they are not subject to withholding and are not included in boxes 1, 3, 5 and 7.

Related forms

Who files Form 8027?

  • Employers with a large food or beverage establishment

    The instructions define it as a food or beverage operation in the 50 states or the District of Columbia, where customers customarily tip, whose employer normally employed more than 10 employees on a typical business day in the preceding calendar year.

  • One form per establishment

    Each separate location, and each activity with its own customer area and separately recorded receipts, is its own operation. The instructions give a hotel's restaurant, coffee shop and cocktail lounge as an example of three.

  • Not fast food or cafeteria-style operations

    Fast-food operations are excluded from the definition. The instructions say tipping generally is not considered customary in a cafeteria-style operation.

  • Customers of a CPEO

    When a certified professional employer organization (CPEO) is used, the instructions say the customer that operates the establishment is the employer that files Form 8027, and the CPEO furnishes the information needed.

  • New businesses

    A new operation files once, for any 2 consecutive calendar months, the average hours worked each business day by all employees is more than 80 hours, covering the rest of the year.

The instructions say Form 8027 is filed by an employer who operates a large food or beverage establishment. Employees report their tips to the employer; they do not file this form.

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Questions about Form 8027

Do tipped employees file Form 8027?

No. The instructions say the employer who operates a large food or beverage establishment files it. Employees report their tips to the employer, and any allocated tips appear on their Form W-2.

What is the 10-employee test?

It asks whether the employer normally employed more than 10 employees on a typical business day in the preceding calendar year. The instructions include an optional worksheet: if its line 7 is more than 80 hours, the test is met.

What does the 8% on line 6 mean?

The instructions say the 8% rate, or a lower rate the IRS granted, is used for tip allocation purposes only. It does not mean employees report only 8%; they report the actual tips they receive.

Can the rate be lower than 8%?

The instructions say the employer, or a majority of the employees, may petition for a lower rate, but not lower than 2%, by writing to the IRS National Tip Reporting Compliance office in Grand Rapids, MI.

Are service charges tips?

No. The instructions say service charges distributed to employees are wages, not tips, and are not reported as tips on Form 8027. Service charges of less than 10% paid as wages go on line 3.

What is Form 8027-T?

It is the transmittal filed with paper Forms 8027 when an employer reports for more than one establishment. It is not filed with electronically filed Forms 8027.