Tip Jar?

[bweatherly]

Fairly new to homebrewing. We were planning on making a big batch of holiday ale with sweet labels and trying to make it look official. Just wondering if it would be "legal" for us to put out a tip jar when we give these out to our friends to help cover costs and stuff.

 

[beerthirty]

I have done it. I see it as a gift to the brewer since tips are not required to drink the beer. We are allowed to gift our beer but not sell it, so why can't the drinkers gift us on a voluntary basis.

 

[ElPresidente77]

Are the cops coming to your house? Legal or not how would anyone know. Besides, the tip jar is to cover the cost of the food you are making right??

Right?

 

[IrregularPulse]

As long as your don't require a "tip" to drink. That would be selling. But a tip jar that is 100% optional is perfectly legal I'd guess.

 

[RDWHAHB]

Putting a tip jar out is what I would classify as "low risk." Asking for legal advie on HBT though? That is risky behavoir. I wouldn't make a habit out of it.

 

[kornkob]

Allowing your friends to give you tips is perfectly legitimate and, unless you are requiring tips in exchange for booze, is unlikely to be illegal (gotta leave allowances for local laws).

Handled with subtlety, it isn't even tacky to put out a tip jar (best results come when you 'prime the pump' with a couple bucks). Let's people know that you aren't made of money and would appreciate the assistance.

If you are really worried about legalities, don't forget to claim those tips as income on your federal taxes. : )

 

[homebrewer_99]

Even better...label it "NO WAGES, TIPS, OR GRATUITIES ARE ALLOWED IN THIS JAR"...then you won't have to claim it on taxes...just my guess, not legal advice...

 

[kornkob]

That's an interesting question-- I'll have to pose it to the next tax accountant I meet.

Does a person who is given money involuntarily have to claim it as income?

I suspect the answer is: gifts below a certain value are not subject to income tax.

 

[riverfrontbrewer]

Tip=taxable
Calling a tip a gift=taxable

If someone randomly gives you money and you don't want to pay income tax on it, immediately donate it to a 501(c)3 charity.

On the OP's question though...if this tip jar is at your house....big deal, all your friends are buying from you is grain!

 

[kornkob]

So what is the difference between a tip and a cash gift?

 

[riverfrontbrewer]

Depends on what kind of mood the IRS agent is in that day!

 

[justflow1983]

How is a tip jar any different than having your friends chip in $5 each for a superbowl party or something like that? When I was in college it was normal that everyone in our close 10-15 person group of friends put in $10 to throw a party, even tho it was free for the guests.

 

[carnevoodoo]

I think tipping is tacky. Let people bring other things if you want to spread it around, but don't charge people. Some will feel guilted into tipping.

 

[Noleafclover]

I'd say it's low risk... Who knows though.

On a related note, I've had more than one person ask if they could buy a case of beer from me...

What I tell them to do is go to http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/recipe-kits/all-grain-kits; pick out one you like, order it, and drop it off to me. I keep 1/2 and I give them 1/2.

Nobody has taken me up on that offer though... guess it's easier just to buy commercial beer.

 

[kornkob]

I think the risk rapidly approaches zero. After all, there's no practical way for the IRS to know about an extra hundred a year you might get from friends to help pay for your beer.

Mostly I'm just curious.

 

[Doc Robinson]

That's an interesting question-- I'll have to pose it to the next tax accountant I meet.

Does a person who is given money involuntarily have to claim it as income?

I suspect the answer is: gifts below a certain value are not subject to income tax.

Gifts of any value are not subject to income tax. Gifts are taxable to the donor, not the donee. I'm a tax attorney.

 

[riverfrontbrewer]

Doc- If you are going to tell them that, then you'll have to go into detail about the lifetime exclusion amount, annual exclusion amount, what about a spouse, when a 709 is applicable, etc....

 

[mmb]

When I'm drinking at someone's house and they provide the beer, I always push forward a few bucks. I've had friends do the same when they drink my beer but I've never had a tip jar sitting out.

I do have a vintage cash register on the back bar, though. Highest single item price .. $1.99.

 

[Ender]

If you're giving these out as gifts for Christmas, why would you want money?

 

[kornkob]

I do have a vintage cash register on the back bar, though. Highest single item price .. $1.99.

That's awesome.

 

[dfohio]

I think tipping is tacky. Let people bring other things if you want to spread it around, but don't charge people. Some will feel guilted into tipping.

I agree.

If they are friends, then the favor will come back eventually. Besides, part of the fun of brewing is giving it away. (at least to me!)

If someone approaches you and asks how they can get some of your beer, then I think its fine to suggest buying the ingredients and helping out in the process.

 

[kornkob]

*shrug* If they are really your friends and you are strapped, they won't mind pitching in.

On the other hand, these might be parties with more 'acquaintances' than friends. Asking for people to pitch in isn't that horrible a thing to do.

The fact is how 'tacky' it is largely depends on the specific social dynamics of the group.

 

[IrregularPulse]

I think it depends on the frequency of occurrence. If someone is coming over every night or so drinking my beer all night while hanging out, then I would appreciate a kick back in the jar. If some friends come over once a week or every couple weeks and have a couple while there, not a big deal.

 

[homebrewer_99]

So what is the difference between a tip and a cash gift?

A "TIP" is an old English acronym meaning "to insure promptness". It mainly has to do with getting quick service over others even if they entered an establishment and ordered their food first.

Technically, the first person to get a tip is the person sitting you at a table...then the wait staff.

Personally, I ABHOR the practice of customers paying the staff when that is the responsibility of the EMPLOYER...very different from European countries.

For this reason alone when I charge my meals I do not include a tip on it. I do, however, pay my tips in cash. If the wait staff wants to claim it on their taxes it's up to them.

Another reason why I ABHOR the US tipping system is because I am technically paying waiters/waitresses then I should be able to write off ALL tips and gratuities throughout the year from my taxes.

Another practice I ABHOR is when a restaurant STEALS 15-20% automatically for parties of 8 or more...REGARDLESS of the services rendered.

AAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

 

[springer]

I would never take money from a friend for beer. The way I see it they have an open invite to my house and I theirs . Now they don't HB but I wouldn't go handing them a few bucks for a few beers or dinner I think its a little insulting.Now I don't have a lot people over at any given time but me and the guys will sit around in my garage on a Saturday and shoot the s hit over a few beers.


Even if its an acquaintance why would I accept a tip/money just because I offered him a beer ? Goes against my grain.

 

[Catt22]

It is illegal to give away home brewed beer in at least one state. The risk is low so long as you keep it low profile and among friends. The odds change when you have strangers involved and could be a problem if there were and alcohol related accident or some other incident. Accepting money in the form of a tip, donation or whatever you want to call it can also get sticky legally. I'm not a lawyer, but a friend did some research on this related to a beer event our club put on. I was surprised at some of the weird laws on the books. I think one state also prohibits transporting home brew and it must be consumed on the premises where it was brewed. That's an odd one. I think there are still a couple of states where it's illegal to home brew period. Alabama was one and until recently, Kentucky too.

 

[Coastarine]

I have decided to never put out a tip jar and never take money for my beer unless someone commissions a batch. It's just not the atmosphere of hospitality that I'm looking for.

 

[WIP]

I am new, but the closest I have gotten is to split the costs of ingredients with a friend and have him come over and help. The beer is split down the middle and I get to brew another batch.

 

[Brewin06111]

I think tipping is tacky. Let people bring other things if you want to spread it around, but don't charge people. Some will feel guilted into tipping.

+1 to this... A true friend will always do something to break even in the future.

 

[middleofnowhere]

I have a little tip jar on my bar, but my cheap ass friends have left a total of $4 over the last 5 parties....moochin bastards. Gonna put a bigger tip jar on the bar with TIP JAR marked in big bold letters.

 

[FireNightFly]

Ive always had a dime jar, even before I started brewing. It became a thing for people to "drop the dime" to the jar. Over the years, Ive never spent the Dimes. Ive only every replaced the jar with a larger jar. Has become a thing over the years and a bit of fun. People save their dimes for me now and drop them off when they visit.

 

[mot]

tacky imho, but nothing from stopping you. no ones gonna know about it except you and the people giving money. dont need to worry about legalities on something like that

 

[IXVolt]

I always just tell them to come over and help me brew instead of tipping. I'd rather instill the brewing bug, than recoup some cost. AG brewing isn't that expensive once you have all the equipment.

 

[bad coffee]

I put out a donation box at a party.

We kicked 6 kegs, and I got $9.

That's the last time I put out the box. If someone asks if they can give me a few bucks for beer, I don't say no. My friends know they all drink for free. It's more my roommates' friends that chip in. I appreciate they know it's not free beer just because it's on tap.

B

 

[Jud]

If everyone likes your homebrew, why not have a brew party. Have each person bring a part of the recipe. You all get to drink your homebrew, you get to introduce people to the hobby, and homebrew get replenished. Seems like a good idea to me.

As far as people asking you to brew them some beer. Which I never mind doing. I approach it the same way as above, but they just have to provide their primary carboy. I have found that most people enjoy this.

 

[kornkob]

That only works if you can trust everyone to buy the right stuff. I'm picky enough about that to not want someone who doesn't know what they are doing picking up ingredients for me.

Now if one of my friends (or several) wanted to learn to brew I'd be happy to host a brew party. However, my friends seem to be more interested in drinking the brew than learning about the process.