FICA (Social Security + Medicare) tip credits, Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) hiring credits, cost segregation on your buildout, R&D credits on menu development — your restaurant qualifies for all of them. Most restaurant accountants don't even bring them up. We lead with them.
Every tipped employee who reports tips above minimum wage generates a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for the employer's share of FICA taxes on those tips. 20 tipped employees = $30K–$60K back, every year. This is automatic money — no complex qualification, no application. Your accountant should have been claiming this all along.
Restaurants have high turnover — which means more hiring, and more hiring means more WOTC credits. If you hire from qualifying groups (veterans, SNAP recipients, long-term unemployed), you earn $2,400–$9,600 per hire as a direct tax credit. In a high-turnover industry, this adds up fast.
If you own your restaurant space or did a significant buildout (kitchen, bar, dining room renovation), a cost segregation study reclassifies those improvements from 39-year depreciation to 5, 7, or 15-year lives. With 100% bonus depreciation restored, that's a massive Year 1 deduction.
If you're developing new menu items, testing recipes at scale, improving food safety processes, or creating proprietary preparation methods — that qualifies as Research & Development (R&D). The federal R&D tax credit pays 6–8% of qualifying expenses as a dollar-for-dollar credit. Most restaurant owners have no idea they qualify.
"My accountant never mentioned tip credits. Not once in six years. That was $67,000 a year I was handing to the IRS."Marco Delaney Fuego Hospitality Group — 3 locations
Tell us about your locations, staff count, and buildout history. We'll show you exactly which credits you're missing and how much you're leaving on the table.
Your dedicated strategist maps every available credit and deduction: FICA tip credits, WOTC for new hires, cost segregation on buildouts, R&D credits, entity restructuring, and retirement funding — all in one coordinated plan.
We file amended returns to capture prior-year credits, set up ongoing WOTC screening for new hires, and meet quarterly to adjust as you open new locations or grow your team. Every new hire and every buildout is tax-optimized from day one.
Section 45B of the tax code gives restaurant owners a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for the employer's share of FICA taxes paid on employee tips that exceed minimum wage. It's been available since 1993. Many general accountants either don't know about it, don't specialize in restaurants, or consider it too complex to calculate. For a restaurant with 20+ tipped employees, this is often $30K–$60K per year in unclaimed credits.
Yes. You can file amended returns to claim FICA tip credits for the past 3 tax years (2023, 2024, 2025). For a restaurant with 20+ tipped employees, that's potentially $90K–$180K in retroactive credits. We handle all the amended filing — your accountant doesn't need to do anything differently.
WOTC actually works better in high-turnover industries. Every qualifying new hire generates a credit — and restaurants hire frequently. We set up a pre-screening process that automatically identifies qualifying candidates during your normal hiring workflow. No extra paperwork for your managers. The credits range from $2,400 to $9,600 per qualifying hire.
If you're developing new dishes, testing recipes at commercial scale, improving food safety or preparation processes, or creating proprietary sauces/methods — yes. The IRS defines R&D broadly as activities that involve technological uncertainty and experimentation. Many restaurants qualify without realizing it. The credit is 6–8% of qualifying expenses, dollar-for-dollar against your tax bill.
No. We complement your existing accountant. They handle day-to-day bookkeeping, payroll, and filing. We handle the strategic layer: identifying credits, optimizing entity structure, timing equipment purchases, and building a multi-year tax plan. Most of our restaurant clients keep their current accountant for operations while we handle strategy.
Your tipped employees are generating tax credits right now — every shift, every week, every pay period. If you're not claiming them, that money is gone. See exactly how much you're leaving on the table in 15 minutes.
Tell us about your business and we'll identify every savings opportunity available to you.