The 2025 tax season has ended, and it’s important to understand how the working class of Wheeling Park High School was affected.
According to the National Restaurant Association, “Restaurants are the largest employer of teens, providing jobs to 1.9 million 16-19-year-olds – about one-third of all working teens.” In the 2025 fiscal year, “No Tax on Tips”, as part of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, was passed with the initiative of being effective from 2025-2028. According to the IRS, “‘Qualified tips’ are voluntary cash or charged tips received from customers or through tip sharing.
Maximum annual deduction is $25,000; for self-employed, deduction may not exceed individual’s net income (without regard to this deduction) from the trade or business in which the tips were earned.”
Teenagers, as they are mostly part-time workers, will not meet this $25,000 mark, meaning their tips are not subject to taxation. We turned to our own students to gain their feedback.
Ava Norman, a Senior at Wheeling Park High School, says her stance on tipping culture as someone who currently works in the restaurant industry.
“While I believe tipping culture has gotten out of hand and we are seeing significant harms to the workers involved, I also believe that you should always tip at least something no matter the circumstance,” Norman said, “Overall tips, especially for me, help to have a little bit of cash in my pockets when I’m in a pinch and I know that applies for a lot of people in the industry. For this reason, I don’t think there should be any taxes on tips, as this can be the major source of someone’s income.”
Tipping has been a long-standing part of the restaurant culture and should not face the consequences of the new legislation.
Siyan Lopez, a Junior at Wheeling Park High School, says what she thinks of tipping culture and the new legislation.
“I think there needs to be overall a deeper understanding of what’s going on from the people affected,” Lopez said, “I think there needs to be more conservation, research, and legislation increasing and supporting workers’ access and taxation on tips. People have recently tipped more at my job due to tax on tips, but I don’t think it’s an issue that many people are fairly educated on. Workers who get tipped for excellent service deserve the entirety of the tip. Especially when they’re not getting paid a living wage.”
Overall, it is important for you to do your research on issues much like this one, as it can have a heavy effect on the people closest to you. Even your peers. This legislation is expected to stay in effect into the next tax season, and this creates even more incentive for you to be aware of what is going on around you.
