Tips are considered income. The entire tip amount is treated as earned wages with the exception of months in which tip income was under $20. Unlike wages where payroll tax (Social Security and Medicare tax) are split between employee and employer, the employee pays 100% of payroll tax on tip income and tips are excluded from worker's compensation premiums in most states. This discourages no-tip policies because employers would pay 7.65% additional payroll taxes and up to 9% worker's compensation premiums on higher wages in lieu of tips.