Form 8846 is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) form for claiming the credit for employer social security and Medicare taxes paid on certain employee tips. Employers in businesses where tipping is customary, such as food and beverage service and, for tax years beginning after 2024, certain beauty services, use it to turn those payroll taxes into part of the general business credit. On this page you can fill out the form online on FillingPDF and download or print the completed PDF. The form and its instructions are published by the IRS at www.irs.gov/Form8846.
Last updated
What is 8846?
Form 8846, Credit for Employer Social Security and Medicare Taxes Paid on Certain Employee Tips, is the IRS form that certain employers attach to their tax return to claim a credit for the social security and Medicare taxes they paid or incurred on their employees' tips.
The credit is part of the general business credit. Generally, it equals the employer social security and Medicare taxes paid or incurred by the food or beverage employer or the beauty services employer on creditable tips. The form is one page of six lines: tips received by employees (line 1), tips not subject to the credit provisions (line 2), creditable tips (line 3), the credit figured on those tips (line 4), credit passed through from partnerships and S corporations (line 5), and the total (line 6).
Two kinds of tips are kept out of the credit. Food or beverage employers cannot claim the credit on tips used to meet the federal minimum wage rate in effect on January 1, 2007, and beauty service employers cannot claim it on tips used to meet the federal minimum wage rate currently in effect. The instructions explain how to figure the amount to enter on line 2.
The employer share of Additional Medicare Tax does not exist, so that tax has no effect on this credit. The IRS instructions also point to Revenue Ruling 2012-18 for the difference between tips and service charges.
For the total on line 6, partnerships and S corporations report it on Schedule K. All other filers report it on Form 3800, General Business Credit, Part III, line 4f.
Who needs to file 8846?
File Form 8846 if you are an employer whose employees received tips from customers and you paid or incurred employer social security and Medicare taxes on those tips. The tips must be for one of two kinds of service:
- providing, delivering, or serving food or beverages for consumption, if tipping of employees for delivering or serving food or beverages is customary;
- providing barbering and hair care, nail care, esthetics, or body and spa treatment services, if tipping of employees for those services is customary. The IRS instructions say the credit was extended to these beauty service businesses for tax years beginning after 2024.
Partnerships and S corporations must file this form to claim the credit. Other taxpayers are not required to complete or file it if their only source for the credit is a partnership or S corporation; they can report the credit directly on line 4f in Part III of Form 3800.
Do not use the form to claim the credit for taxes on tips that count toward the federal minimum wage rate described in the instructions. The note on the form also limits the credit to employers in certain businesses where tipping is customary.
When to file 8846
Form 8846 is attached to your tax return, so you file it whenever you file the return that carries the credit. The IRS instructions say you can claim, or elect not to claim, the credit any time within 3 years from the due date of your return, either on your original return or on an amended return.
The form sets no separate due date of its own. It is a 2025 form, and it figures the credit for the tax year in which you paid or incurred the employer social security and Medicare taxes on the tips.
Fiscal-year taxpayers have one extra timing rule: if an employee's wages and tips paid in 2026 exceeded the 2026 social security wage base by the end of the 2025 fiscal year, follow the line 4 instructions to figure the amount. Whether an employee's wages exceed the social security wage base is determined for each calendar year.
Documents you need
- A separate computation showing the amount of tips subject only to the Medicare tax rate, attached only if you check the box on line 4 because a tipped employee's wages and tips exceeded the social security wage base.
- Your tax return, to which Form 8846 is attached; the form is not filed on its own.
How to fill out 8846
Enter your name and identifying number
At the top of the form, enter the name(s) shown on your return and your identifying number.
Confirm your business qualifies
Read the note under the heading: claim this credit only for employer social security and Medicare taxes paid by employers in certain businesses where tipping is customary. Food, beverage and, for tax years beginning after 2024, certain beauty service businesses qualify.
Enter employee tips on line 1
Enter the tips received by employees for services on which you paid or incurred employer social security and Medicare taxes during the tax year. Include tips from customers for food or beverage service or for beauty services where tipping is customary.
Figure tips not subject to the credit
On line 2, enter the tips used to meet the federal minimum wage rate, computed monthly for each employee as the instructions explain. If you pay a tipped employee wages (excluding tips) at or above the rate in the instructions, enter zero on line 2.
Subtract to find creditable tips
On line 3, subtract line 2 from line 1.
Figure the credit on line 4
Multiply line 3 by the rate printed on line 4. If any tipped employee's wages and tips exceeded the social security wage base, check the box and attach the separate computation the instructions describe.
Add credit from pass-through entities
On line 5, enter the credit for employer social security and Medicare taxes paid on certain employee tips from partnerships and S corporations.
Total the credit on line 6
Add lines 4 and 5. Partnerships and S corporations report this amount on Schedule K; all others report it on Form 3800, Part III, line 4f.
Review and download the completed PDF
Check each line, remember to reduce your income tax deduction for employer social security and Medicare taxes by the line 4 amount, then download or print the PDF from FillingPDF and attach it to your return.
How to submit 8846
Form 8846 has no filing address or portal of its own. The form says to attach it to your tax return, so it is submitted through whatever channel you use for that return.
- With your return: attach the completed form to the return you file. Follow the instructions for that return for how and where to send it.
- Partnerships and S corporations: report the line 6 amount on Schedule K.
- All other filers: report the line 6 amount on Form 3800, Part III, line 4f.
- If your only source is a partnership or S corporation: you do not have to complete or file Form 8846; report the credit directly on line 4f in Part III of Form 3800.
If you check the box on line 4, attach the separate computation the instructions describe. The IRS publishes the latest information at www.irs.gov/Form8846. FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the channels above.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Claiming the credit on tips used to meet the federal minimum wage rate; the instructions reduce the creditable tips by that amount, which is entered on line 2.
- Not checking the box on line 4 and not attaching a separate computation when a tipped employee's wages and tips exceeded the social security wage base.
- Failing to reduce the income tax deduction for employer social security and Medicare taxes by the amount on line 4.
- Filing the form when your only source for the credit is a partnership or S corporation, instead of reporting it directly on Form 3800, Part III, line 4f.
- Reporting the line 6 total in the wrong place: partnerships and S corporations use Schedule K, and all other filers use Form 3800, Part III, line 4f.
- Claiming the credit for a business where tipping is not customary; the form note limits it to certain businesses where tipping is customary.
- Assuming Additional Medicare Tax changes the credit; it is imposed only on the employee, so it has no effect on this credit.
- Using the wrong calendar year for the wage base test; the instructions say the determination is made for each calendar year.
Frequently asked questions
What is Form 8846 used for?
Form 8846 is used to claim a credit for the social security and Medicare taxes an employer pays or incurs on certain employees' tips. The credit is part of the general business credit and applies to food, beverage and certain beauty service businesses where tipping is customary.
Who has to file Form 8846?
Partnerships and S corporations must file it to claim the credit. Other taxpayers do not have to complete or file it if their only source for the credit is a partnership or S corporation; they report it directly on Form 3800, Part III, line 4f.
Do beauty salons qualify for Form 8846?
Yes, for tax years beginning after 2024. The IRS instructions say the credit was extended to businesses providing barbering and hair care, nail care, esthetics, or body and spa treatments, if tipping of employees for those services is customary.
Where does the total from Form 8846 go?
Partnerships and S corporations report the line 6 amount on Schedule K. All other filers report it on Form 3800, General Business Credit, Part III, line 4f. The form itself is attached to your tax return.
How long do I have to claim the credit on Form 8846?
You can claim, or elect not to claim, the credit any time within 3 years from the due date of your return. You can do so on the original return or on an amended return.
When do I check the box on line 4 of Form 8846?
Check it if any tipped employee's wages and tips exceeded the social security tax wage base for the year. You must also attach a separate computation showing the tips subject only to the Medicare tax rate, as the instructions explain.
Does the credit change my deduction for employer payroll taxes?
Yes. The instructions say to reduce the income tax deduction for employer social security and Medicare taxes by the amount on line 4.
Can I fill out Form 8846 online on FillingPDF?
Yes. You can fill out the PDF online on FillingPDF and download or print it. FillingPDF is an independent service and does not file the form with the IRS; you attach it to your tax return and submit that return through the IRS channels.
Ready to fill out 8846?
Fill out 8846 now