In the bar stool economics that rules the world for bartenders and other service industry workers, what counts most is what’s right in front of you. That’s because a server never knows what kind of tip they’re going to get when a customer sits down in front of them.
It could be the biggest ever, or it could be nothing at all.
Most of the time, it’s somewhere in between.
That mentality had servers like Sam, at Uncle Charlie’s Package Liquor, Grill and Tavern in Cheyenne, in a wait-and-see mode when it comes to the No Tax on Tips Act, even though the bill unanimously cleared the Senate on Tuesday.
Working a busy, mid-afternoon bar scene at the popular neighborhood bar, she told Cowboy State Daily she’s still ambivalent about the measure. The devil is always in the details, and she needs to see those details before she’ll know how it affects her income.
One of her big questions is how the measure will interact with financial aid for her school.
“Financial aid that’s not used for school is also taxable income,” explained Sam, who declined to provide her last name. “That, coupled with the way things have always been with my tax tips, I would usually owe taxes at the end of the year. So that’s a concern for me, given that this is such a volatile industry.”
The Senate’s version of the No Tax on Tips bill would exempt the first $25,000 in cash tips, whether those tips are paid by credit card, debit card, checks or cash for workers whose individual incomes are less than $160,000 a year.
That sounds good, Sam said. And to the extent it wipes out any unpleasant, end-of-the-year tax surprises, she’s all for it and believes it could help her. But she’s also learned that bills can change from one chamber to the next. So, she’s waiting for any actual cheering until an actual bill passes the legislature and gets the president’s signature.
Other servers in Cheyenne, who talked to Cowboy State Daily on condition of anonymity, had similar thoughts and questions as Sam, but were cautiously optimistic it could help their budgets.
One told Cowboy State Daily she hadn’t believed anything would happen at all when President Donald Trump first made the pledge on the campaign trail last year. But now that it looks like an actual bill is on the way, she’s still only cautiously optimistic.
“It could be helpful,” she said. “But I’m wondering how it’s going to get run through here.”
Declaring tips has been something of a pain, she added. Given that the new bill doesn’t negate the need to report tips, that pain is something she expects will continue.
She also wonders about wages in general, and whether it’s fair that they remain so low for servers. Wyoming’s base pay for tipped employees is $2.13, a figure that hasn’t changed in decades.
Still, more jingle in her pocket for educational expenses, will be welcome, she said. As long as it doesn’t also cause people to tip less — a concern Sam also echoed.
Morale Boost
At Racca’s Pizzeria, a Neapolitan-style restaurant in Casper, a server named Jess, who also declined to give her last name, shared Sam’s concern that some customers might tip less. In fact, she’s already seen social media posts from other servers who have experienced that.
“I haven’t personally experienced that,” she said. “So, I’m just waiting to see how it all plays out.”
Still, she believes the change will likely be significant for her, given the low wages for tipped staff.
“(Tips) are what we’re counting on at the end of the night,” she said. “We’re not really thinking about the minimum wage, especially in states like ours.”
Aiden Emanuelson, 20, a full-time server at Racca’s, hopes the change will speed up his timeline for purchasing a car. He also sees it as a morale boost for slow days and slow seasons.
“It would help us out,” he said. “But without the tax on tips, I’m still going to give people the same service. My quality of service won’t change.”
Others Over The Moon
Not everyone in the service industry was ambivalent about the bill’s passage in the Senate. Glen Chavez, a barber for 19 years at Trujillo’s Barber Shop in Cheyenne, was over the moon to hear it had unanimously passed the Senate.
“It’s incredible,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “Anyone in the service industry has to be thrilled. Just think if our Congress could work together like this on everything, instead of fighting each other.
“I’m very happy, and it’s about damn time.”
Chavez added that blue collar workers have been struggling for a while now. Wages haven’t been keeping up with inflation and other economic pressures for a long time.
“The blue-collar worker, what’s left of us, needs their tips to help ends meet,” he said.
That’s a sentiment echoed by Mark Fobaire, owner of Fobaire’s Diner and Coffee House on U.S. 20 in Lusk.
“It’s just better all-around to not (tax tips),” he said, pointing out that most tipped service workers aren’t making big wages.
Tips, he added, are supposed to be a gift, to reward good service.
“If somebody gives you a birthday gift, do you want to go and pay the government for getting it?” he asked.
The only drawback he foresees is if it causes people to tip less.
Still, Fobaire added, that’s not what he expects to happen. In his experience, most customers are generous with tips. He even sometimes gets tips, despite being the owner.
“They’ll slide something in or add it to a credit card,” he said.
Most of the time, he doesn’t keep those tips for himself but leaves them in the tip jar, or, sometimes, uses them to make up for any unexpected shortage in the till.
Ball In House Court Now
Tuesday’s unanimous consent maneuver in the Senate was led by Nevada Democrat, U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, a cosponsor of the No Tax on Tips bill with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Unanimous consent allows any lawmaker to seek passage of legislation, as long as no other senator lodges any in-person objection. It’s not common for major changes to the tax code.
“‘No taxes on tips’ was one of President Trump’s key promises to the American people,” Rosen said on the floor. “And I’m not afraid to embrace a good idea wherever it comes from.”
Cruz praised Rosen for the move, saying it made it much more likely that No Tax on Tips would become the law of the land,
Trump made the no tax on tips promise at a campaign rally last year in Nevada, which has the most per capita tipped workers in the nation.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, was among senators praising passage of the bill.
“The Senate passage today of President Trump’s No Tax on Tips proposal is a victory for Wyoming’s blue-collar workers, who will now keep every dollar they earn in tips,” she said. “I support this common-sense tax relief that puts more money into the hands of Wyoming workers, while upholding the conservative principle of rewarding hard work.”
The bill includes guardrails, Lummis added, to ensure that only traditionally tipped employees benefit from the legislation.
The bill directs the Treasury Secretary to produce a list of occupations that fit that description within 90 days of the bill’s passage. The bill would apply to all taxable years after 2024.
From the Senate, the bill goes over to the U.S. House of Representatives, which in the midst of negotiating Trump’s One, Big Beautiful Bill Act.
That does contain a No Tax on Tips provision, but House Republicans might instead take up the legislation as a standalone bill. That way, it would be more likely to gain bipartisan support, by avoiding debate over other items in the Big Beautiful Bill, such as cuts to SNAP and Medicaid.
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
