I'll contribute anecdotally to a few recent subtopics here. I quit serving 10 years ago and while most/all restuarants at the time had identical numbers, things may have changed since. I worked in a place about as popular as Earls (except non-franchise) in a smaller town where there wasn't as much of an upper class as a bigger city.
-I averaged $3000 per month (pre tax, tips + wage) working full time. On weekend nights, I took home about $150 and $200 would not be out of the question. On the low end, I would average maybe $40 on the opening shift/lunch.
-We tipped out 4% of all sales. If we made 20% tips, we went home with 16%. If we made 4% tips (almost impossible, but has happened to someone getting cut early) we took home 0.
-I did the job for 6 years and knew lots of people from different bars and restaurants, including my brother, who has been a bartender for over 20 years. Between us we have heard of exactly one person ever being audited at tax time. Only one person had ever told me they declared their tips, but it wasn't talked about much.
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