Uncollected Medicare Tax on Tips

Employees who receive tips or gratuities are required to report these tips to their employer. The employer includes these tips as income for purposes of calculating and collecting taxes. For those whose income is derived largely from tips, there may be times when the employee's income from hourly wages is less than the amount that needs to be deducted for taxes. This can result in uncollected Medicare taxes.

Examine the W-2 form you received from your employer. Uncollected Medicare taxes will be shown in Box 12 and identified by the code "B." If you gave your employer funds separate from your payroll to cover these taxes, you should request a corrected W-2 from your employer.

The employee must report these uncollected amounts on her federal income tax return. This amount should be entered on line 60 of Form 1040. Use the code "UT" and enter the total amount of uncollected taxes. You must file a Form 1040 and report these taxes on a Form 1040 even if you would otherwise be entitled to file one of the shorter forms or would not be required to file a return if not for the uncollected taxes.

If you are self-employed but earn tips, the amount of tips received should be reported as income on your Schedule C or Schedule C-EZ. This ensures that Medicare taxes are paid on your earned tips.