In WA state it is mandated that The wait staff pays tax on their receipts (15 % ? ) So..if they are not tipped they end up paying tax on money they did not earn
As for me I always over tip as I know some cheap bastard was ahead of me and did not.
Also the wait staff is so over paid.....right.

Give em a tip for gods sake !

If it is going to hurt you financially don't eat out

um, that 8% is tax. tax is not the cost of the take-out. its not coming out of the pocket of the server or the establishment. it is tacked on to the price after the fact. or is this an extra 8%?

what do you mean by paying tax on their receipts? pretend i am an idiot (maybe i am....) and break it down for me with an example.

For places I go for take out regularly, most greet me as a freind when I come in. Generally they get a tip of about 10%. They almost always give me extras and they are sure my order is right.

In fact, at one of my regular places, once I forgot my wallet when I came in to get my order, he told me not to worry, we will settle up next time. Now that is service!

At the end of day the servers food receipts are added up . What ever the sum maybe ,WA state makes them pay TAX on presumed tips from the gross receipt sales.
On top of that, the tips are often split between the whole of the working staff cooks and all.
It is presumed they will all do a better job that way if the tips are shared.
This is the best I can explain as it has been explained to me
So, give em a brake tip the hell out of them

Unless service is sub par, I tip at around 20%; some places that I patronize regularly (like my barber) I tip 25%. Times are hard for these people, they work hard for their money and I consider it not honorable to be frugal by "cheaping out" on the tip. Life gives you more than one chance to do the right thing.

My daughter, college senior, is currently working at Ruby Tuesday. I texted and asked her. They are not taxed on tips for take out. When you ring it in the to go or dine in determines whether you are taxed. She worked at a sushi place before. Taxes were determined by total tips, not sales there. I do know they are required to tip share with hostess and bar tenders.
I tip on most take out.

TIP= stands for
T-to
I- insure
P- promptness

Presumed tip rate for tax purposes is around 8% for federal, though it depends on the employer's tax reporting policy. Employer has the choice of having waiters report their actual tips received, rather than using an imputed rate on sales. Waiters are probably in 15% marginal tax bracket ($8K to $33K income). 15% of 8% is 1.2%. So, if you stiff a waiter for his tip on your $100 bill in a sit-down place, you "might" be costing him $1.20. Add a dime or two for state tax.

I find that I tip based on whether it is my regular place.

At my regular morning coffee place, where I chat with the same person every day, I tip $1 on a $1.80 coffee. At my favorite restaurants, I tip 20%. My favorite Chinese place gets 15% on the takeout bill. Other sit down places where I am not a regular, 15%, and other takeout places, zero.

JYL + 1 and ditto
That's what I do, Where we Old farts meet every morning .The coffee is a buck ,we occupy their real estate for an hour....I tip all though there has been virtually no service....sometimes they come around with the coffee pot,but mostly they take care of "real"customers and we just do our own refills.

Okay, here's a slight variation on this theme, not meant as a hijack but as a serious question.

Assuming you do tip, say 15%, do you base the 15% on the bill amount before the sales tax is added or on the grand total, including sales tax?

And those who know servers who have a "tip tax" withheld, is the withholding based on receipt amounts calculated before or after sales tax?

If 15% is your #, then just double the CA sales tax and you get approx 16%. Kinda easy!

Never have bought food for take out, aside from drive through fast food when on the road. By the time I drive to a restaurant to pick up food and return, I have cooked a quick meal at home for a fraction of the cost.

George

i'd say the same, but i can't cook special house noodles with shrimp, beef, pork and snow peas the way i like it.

LOL. For those occasions I go out to eat (and leave a minimum 15% tip for decent service). It doesn't take much longer to sit down and eat at the restaurant from a plate than taking stuff home, eating out of a box. My impression is that people that take out food often have little monsters at home that they can't take into public for feedings. ;)

George

the last chinese take out we ordered was right after our son was born. he turned 4 months today.