Card tips are now the majority of tips in many US salons. That raises two practical questions every owner faces: when do technicians get their card tips, and can the salon take anything out of them?
Who owns a tip?
The technician does. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Fact Sheet #15 says tips are the property of the employee. The employer may not keep tips for any purpose, including allowing managers or supervisors to keep any portion. Tip pools are allowed only under specific rules.
Option 1: pay card tips in cash at close
At the end of the day, the front desk counts each technician’s card tips and pays them out from the cash drawer.
Pros: technicians love it, and it is simple. Cons: you need enough cash in the drawer, and every payout must be recorded or the drawer will not balance.
Option 2: pay card tips with payroll
Card tips accumulate per technician and are paid with the weekly or bi-weekly paycheck.
Pros: less cash handling, a clean record, easier tax reporting. Cons: technicians wait longer.
| Daily cash | With payroll | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed for technicians | Same day | On payday |
| Cash needed in drawer | Yes | No |
| Record keeping | Must log each payout | Built into payroll |
| Common in | Walk-in nail salons | Spas, larger salons |
Can you take the card fee out of the tip?
This is the most asked question, and the answer depends on where you are. Federally, the Department of Labor has allowed an employer to deduct the processing fee on the tip portion only, as long as the employee’s pay stays at or above minimum wage. Law firm Littler summarises the case history (Littler on deducting card fees from tips). Some states restrict this further or ban it, and Texas requires written authorization from the employee.
Our advice: if the fee is small, many salons absorb it to keep the team happy. If you do deduct it, check your state, get authorization in writing, and record the deduction on each payout.
Splitting a tip between two technicians
When a pedicure and a manicure are done by different people, the single tip should be split. The fairest default is by service value: if the pedicure is 60% of the ticket, that technician gets 60% of the tip. See tip splitting in GetSpaPOS.
A close-out routine that balances every night
- Close the register and print the day’s report.
- Check each technician’s card tips on the report.
- Pay out (or mark for payroll) and record each payout.
- Count the drawer: starting cash + cash sales - cash payouts.
- File the report.
GetSpaPOS shows each technician’s tips per day and per pay period, records payouts, and feeds tips into payroll separately from commission.
This guide is general information as of October 2026, not legal or tax advice. Rules differ by state; confirm with your accountant.
