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A Texas Roadhouse server says he has a clear preference when customers ask whether he’d rather receive a tip in cash or on a card.
Keven Manochit (@kevenmanochit), who works at Texas Roadhouse, shared his answer after a diner asked him which payment method he preferred for a tip.
“So a guest asked me, ‘What do you prefer: cash or card tip?’” he says in the video.
Manochit says he didn’t hesitate.
He told the customer he prefers cash so he could “hide it from Uncle Sam.” As of Monday, the video had more than 180,900 views.
Are Cash Tips Really Different?
Manochit’s answer may have gotten a laugh, but under federal tax law, cash tips aren’t treated differently than tips left on a credit or debit card.
The Internal Revenue Service says all tips are taxable income, whether they’re handed to a server in cash, added to a credit card receipt, paid through a mobile payment app, or shared through a tip pool. Employees are generally required to keep a daily record of the tips they receive, report cash tips to their employer if they total at least $20 in a month, and report all tip income on their federal tax return.
That means a cash tip isn’t automatically invisible to the government. While cash can be harder for an employer to track than a credit card tip processed through its point-of-sale system, the IRS still requires workers to report it. If an employee doesn’t report all of their cash tips to an employer, they’re generally responsible for reporting that income on their tax return and paying any Social Security and Medicare taxes that are owed.
The rules have also changed recently for many tipped workers. Beginning with the 2025 tax year, qualifying workers can claim a federal deduction for up to $25,000 in reported tip income under the tax law signed by President Donald Trump last year.
The deduction covers both cash tips and tips left on a credit card, as long as they’re properly reported. Workers still have to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on that income, however, and employers must continue reporting tips under IRS rules.
In other words, some servers may still prefer cash for personal reasons, including getting the money immediately instead of waiting for payday. But when it comes to federal taxes, the IRS’s position is straightforward.
Texas Roadhouse Server’s Joke Sparks Debate
Manochit’s joke resonated with plenty of viewers, many of whom said they also prefer using cash when tipping servers.
“I always tip cash because, duh lol,” one commenter wrote.
“That’s why I keep a stash of cash, strictly for tipping!” another added.
“I don’t eat out if I ain’t got cash to leave cause of that fact,” a third wrote.
Some commenters believed cash tips are treated differently under the new “no tax on tips” law.
“The no tax on tips is only for cash tips. Not on a credit card tip. Most people don’t know this,” one person claimed.
Others shared how they handled reporting cash tips while working in restaurants.
“I worked at a place that told me, ‘and if you receive a cash tip, no you didn’t,’” one viewer wrote.
“When I served, I only told them %20 percent of what I made… lol. That’s my money, don’t worry about it…” another commented.
“One of my coworkers asked me how I tracked my cash tips lol….uhhh I don’t,” another wrote.
More People Are Now Leaving Cash
Others said they intentionally leave cash because of how restaurants distribute tips.
“I do both. Small card tip, big cash tip. I know every place tips out differently so I want to make sure my server is set,” one person wrote.
“AND so I don’t have to tip out the bartender and busser,” another added.
One commenter asked, “Question, if we tip with a card, does the tip get automatically split between the staff? I know some restaurants do this.”
Not everyone took the discussion seriously.
“For legal reasons this is only a joke,” one viewer wrote.
“I always say ‘yes!! I love lying to the IRS!!’ they eat it up every time,” another joked.
The Mary Sue has reached out to Manochit via TikTok direct message.
