Tip pooling vs take-home (California)
The house can share tips among the floor. It cannot keep them. Your take-home is what actually hits your pocket after the pool — that is the number to track.
What usually stays out of the pool
- Your hourly wage
- Employer-paid service charges (if the check calls them that and they are not tips)
- Anything a manager or supervisor takes from the tip pool (not allowed)
What often goes in
- Cash tips you drop
- Card tips the house redistributes
- Shared tip-out to bussers, bartenders, hosts — if they actually serve guests
What stays, what pools
| What | In the pool? | Track in Wage Gauge as |
|---|---|---|
| Cash you pocket before tip-out | No | Cash tips |
| Card tips after house split | After split | Card / pooled tips |
| Hourly | No | Wages |
| Manager cut | Illegal | Don't treat as normal tip-out |
How to log it at clock-out
- Write the pool percentage or dollar tip-out.
- Log what you actually took home, not the table total.
- If the house "holds" card tips until payday, log them on payday — not as cash tonight.
Open Wage Gauge free
Android: also on Google Play (DANK Systems / Wage Gauge).
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Not legal, tax, or financial advice. California rules summarized for workers — check your paycheck and local law.