Agreement

Part IV - Items of General Interest

Proposed Tip Reporting Alternative Commitment (TRAC) Agreement for Use Where
Tipped Employees Receive Both Cash and Charged Tips (Other Than in the Food and
Beverage Industry and the Cosmetology and Barber Industry)

Announcement 2000-19

The Internal Revenue Service is expanding its Tip Rate Determination/Education
Program (TRD/EP), which is designed to enhance tax compliance among tipped
employees through taxpayer education and voluntary advance agreements instead of
traditional audit techniques. This announcement solicits comments on a draft
agreement for use in industries other than the food and beverage industry and the
cosmetology and barber industry. The agreement is entitled Tip Reporting Alternative
Commitment (For use only where tipped employees receive both cash and charged
tips, other than in the food and beverage industry and the cosmetology and barber
industry).
OVERVIEW
The Service developed its TRD/EP in 1993 as a means of enhancing tax
compliance while reducing taxpayer burden. In essence, the TRD/EP envisioned that
the Service and taxpayers in industries in which tipping is common would work together
to improve tax compliance. The TRD/EP currently offers employers the opportunity of
entering into one of two types of agreements. The Tip Rate Determination Agreement
(TRDA) requires the determination of tip rates; the Tip Reporting Alternative

-2Commitment (TRAC) agreement emphasizes education and tip reporting procedures.
The agreements also set forth an understanding that employers that comply with the
terms of the agreement will not be subject to challenge by the Service. The TRDAs set
forth similar understandings with respect to employees who participate in the
agreements. Although not set forth in the TRAC agreements, employees who properly
report tips also will not be subject to challenge by the Service. The decision to enter
into either a TRDA or a TRAC agreement is entirely voluntary on the part of the
employer.
In 1995, the Service developed the TRAC agreement for use in the food and
beverage industry. In 1997, the Service developed a TRAC agreement for employers
in the hairstyling industry. The agreements have been both popular and effective.
Other industries have expressed interest in TRAC agreements tailored to their
industries. Because the number of employees who receive both cash and charged tips
in industries other than the food and beverage industry and the cosmetology and
barber industry is relatively small, the Service has designed a general TRAC
agreement for use in other industries.
To ensure consistency in the agreements offered to taxpayers and to provide an
opportunity for public comment before making agreements available for use, a TRAC
agreement for use in other industries is attached to this announcement. The Service
requests comments from industries that might use the agreement.

-3The Service plans to allow electronic systems (including point-of-sale systems)
to satisfy the TRAC education requirement. The Service requests comments on what
information the system must provide to employees to satisfy the education requirement.
COMMENTS
Written comments must be received by July 7, 2000. Send submissions to
Office of Specialty Taxes, c/o CC:DOM:CORP:R (Announcement 2000-19), room 5226,
Internal Revenue Service, POB 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC 20044.
Submissions may be hand delivered Monday through Friday between the hours of 8
a.m. and 5 p.m. to: Specialty Taxes, c/o CC:DOM:CORP:R (Ann. 2000-19), Courier’s
desk, Internal Revenue Service, 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC.
Alternatively, taxpayers may submit comments electronically via the Internet by
selecting the "Tax Regs" option on the IRS Home Page, or by submitting comments
directly to the IRS Internet site at
OTHER TRDA AND TRAC AGREEMENTS
The Service is simultaneously proposing by announcement in the same Internal
Revenue Bulletin four other agreements: (1) a revised TRAC agreement for use in the
food and beverage industry (Announcement 2000-22), (2) a revised TRAC agreement
for use in the cosmetology and barber industry (Announcement 2000-21), (3) a revised
TRDA for use in the food and beverage industry (Announcement 2000-23), and (4) a
new TRDA for use in any industry other than the food and beverage industry and the
gaming industry (Announcement 2000-20).
DRAFTING INFORMATION

-4The principal author of this announcement is Karin Loverud of the Office of the
Associate Chief Counsel (Employee Benefits and Exempt Organizations). For further
information regarding this announcement, contact Ida Volz of the Office of Specialty
Taxes on (202) 622-4177 (not a toll-free call).

-5Release date: April 24, 2000

TIP REPORTING ALTERNATIVE COMMITMENT
(For use only where tipped employees receive both cash and charged tips, other than in
the food and beverage industry and the cosmetology and barber industry)

between
Department of the Treasury–Internal Revenue Service
and
[Name of Employer]

This Tip Reporting Alternative Commitment (TRAC) agreement is part of the Tip Rate
Determination/Education Program that the Internal Revenue Service implemented in
1993 to promote tip reporting compliance by employees in accordance with the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986.
Section 6053(a) of the Code requires employees to furnish one or more written
statements to their employers reporting all tips received in each calendar month. The
statements must be furnished to the employer by the 10th day of the following month.
I. DEFINITIONS
A. Service Representative means the Internal Revenue Service employee or
delegate authorized to execute or terminate this TRAC agreement on behalf of the
Internal Revenue Service.
B. Employer means
[insert name, address, and EIN].
C. Establishment means each of the establishments or divisions listed by name,
address, and identifying number in Attachment A. [sample attached]
1. One place of business. If the Employer has one place of business, that
place of business is an Establishment, and no attachment is necessary.
2. Additional establishment. If the Employer subsequently wishes to include
an additional establishment in this TRAC agreement, the Employer must notify the
Service Representative in writing. The notification must include the name, address,
and identifying number of the additional establishment.

-6D. Employee means a person employed by the Establishment who directly or
indirectly receives tips of at least $20.00 per month during the course of the employee’s
employment.
II. COMMITMENT OF EMPLOYER
A. Education.
1. New Employees. The Employer will establish an educational program
that trains newly hired Employees that the law requires them to report all their cash and
charged tips to their employer. At a minimum, the program will give each Employee–
a. A short oral explanation of the reporting requirements and the records
maintenance requirements. The material in IRS Publication 1244, Employee’s Daily
Record of Tips and Report to Employer, is suitable for this purpose;
b. Written informational materials, which may include any of the following
IRS documents: Publication 1244, Employee’s Daily Record of Tips and Report to
Employer, Publication 531, Reporting Tip Income, and Publication 3148, Tips on Tips
for employees; and
c. An explanation of the Employer’s tip reporting procedures.
2. Existing Employees. The Employer will establish a quarterly education
program for existing Employees.
B. Employee tip-reporting procedures. Each Establishment will establish a
procedure or procedures under which a written or electronic statement is prepared and
processed on a regular basis (no less frequently than monthly), reflecting all tips for
services attributable to each Employee. These procedures are to enable Employees to
meet their reporting requirements under section 6053(a) of the Code. An Employer
may provide different procedures for cash and charged tips, as well as for directly
tipped and indirectly tipped Employees. IRS Publication 3144, Tips on Tips for
employers, includes an example of an acceptable TRAC statement that an employer
can use for both directly and indirectly tipped Employees.
C. Returns, taxes, and records.
1. Filing returns and paying and depositing taxes. The Employer (or
employing Establishment) will comply with the requirements for filing all required
federal tax returns and paying and depositing all federal taxes.

-72. Maintaining records. Each Establishment will maintain records of the
following:
a. Gross receipts subject to tipping, and
b. Charge receipts showing charged tips.
The Employer will retain these records for at least 4 years after the April 15 following
the calendar year to which the records relate.
3. Making records available. Upon the request of the Service
Representative, the Employer will make the following quarterly totals available, by
Establishment, for statistical samplings of its Establishments:
a.
b.
c.
d.

Gross receipts subject to tipping,
Charge receipts showing charged tips,
Total charged tips, and
Total tips reported.

III. COMMITMENT OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE
A. Tip examinations. The IRS will not initiate any tip examinations of the
Employer (or Establishment) for any period for which this TRAC agreement is in effect.
B. Section 3121(q) notice and demand. Any section 3121(q) notice and
demand issued to the Employer (or Establishment) relating to any period during which
this TRAC agreement is in effect will be based solely on amounts reflected on–
1. Form 4137, Social Security and Medicare Tax on Unreported Tip Income,
filed by an Employee with his or her Form 1040, or
2. Form 885-T, Adjustment of Social Security Tax on Tip Income Not
Reported to Employer, prepared at the conclusion of an employee tip examination.
C. Compliance review. The IRS may evaluate the Employer for compliance with
the provisions of this TRAC agreement.
D. Assistance. Upon request, the IRS will assist any Employer or Establishment
in establishing, maintaining, or improving its educational program or tip reporting
procedures.
IV. TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT

-8A. Termination by Employer. If the Employer no longer wishes this TRAC
agreement to apply to one or more Establishments, the Employer may terminate this
TRAC agreement with respect to the Establishment(s) by providing written notification
to the Service Representative identifying the Establishments(s). If the termination
applies to all the Establishments of the Employer, the TRAC agreement will be
terminated.
B. Termination by Internal Revenue Service. The IRS may terminate this TRAC
agreement only if–
1. The Service Representative determines that the Employer (or any
Establishment) has failed to substantially comply with section II.A (pertaining to
Education for Employees) or II.B (pertaining to Employee tip reporting procedures);
2. The Employer (or any Establishment) fails to meet any of the
requirements of section II.C (pertaining to filing returns and paying and depositing
taxes, maintaining records, and making records available); or
3. The IRS pursues an administrative or judicial action relating to the
Employer, Establishment, or any other related party to this TRAC agreement.
C. Effective date of termination. Except for a termination described in section
IV.B.1, any termination will be effective the first day of the first calendar quarter after
the terminating party notifies the other party in writing. In the case of a termination
under section IV.B.1, the Service Representative may elect an earlier termination date,
but no earlier than the first day of the first calendar quarter of the substantial
noncompliance.
D. Renewal after termination. The Employer and the Service Representative
may at any time enter into a new TRAC agreement.
V. EFFECTIVE DATE OF AGREEMENT
A. General rule. This TRAC agreement is effective on the first day of the first
calendar quarter following the date the Service Representative signs the TRAC
agreement.
B. Additional establishment. This TRAC agreement is effective with respect to
an additional establishment on the first day of the quarter in which notification of the
additional establishment is made.
VI. MISCELLANEOUS

-9A. Examinations and/or inspections of books and records. For purposes of this
TRAC agreement–
1. Compliance review. A compliance review is not an examination or an
inspection of the taxpayer’s books of account or records for purposes of section
7605(b) of the Code, and is not a prior audit for purposes of section 530 of the
Revenue Act of 1978.
2. Examination. The inspection of books of account or records pursuant to a
tip examination is not an inspection of books or records for purposes of section 7605(b)
of the Code, and is not a prior audit for purposes of section 530 of the Revenue Act of
1978.
B. Notices. The parties will send all correspondence pertaining to this TRAC
agreement, including a notice of termination, to the addresses stated below, unless
notified in writing of a change of address. In the event of a change of address, the
parties must send all correspondence to the new address. All notices are deemed to
be sent or submitted on the date of the postmark stamped on the envelope or, in the
case of a notice sent by certified mail, the sender’s receipt.
C. Authority. The Employer represents that it has the authority to enter into this
TRAC agreement on behalf of itself and the Establishment(s) listed in Attachment A.
D. General termination and sunset provision. The Commissioner of Internal
Revenue may terminate all TRAC agreements at any time following a significant
statutory change in the FICA taxation of tips. After May 31, 2005, the Commissioner
may terminate prospectively the Tip Rate Determination/Education Program and all
TRAC agreements.
VII. PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT
The collections of information contained in this document will be submitted to the
Office of Management and Budget for review in accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3507).
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond
to, a collection of information unless the collection of information displays a valid
control number. The collections of information in this document are in sections I.C, II.A,
II.B, II.C.2 and 3, and IV.A. This information is required to comply with sections
6053(a) and 6001 of the Internal Revenue Code and to assist the Internal Revenue
Service in its compliance efforts. This information will be used to monitor the
Employer's performance under the TRAC agreement. The collections of information

-10are required to obtain the benefits available under the TRAC agreement. The likely
respondents are business or other for-profit institutions.
The estimated total annual reporting and/or recordkeeping burden is 4,877
hours.
The estimated annual burden per respondent/recordkeeper varies from 13 hours
to 30 hours, depending on individual circumstances, with an estimated average of 20
hours. The estimated number of respondents and/or recordkeepers is 300.
The estimated annual frequency of responses (used for reporting requirements
only) is on occasion.
Books or records relating to a collection of information must be retained as long
as their contents may become material in the administration of any internal revenue
law. Generally, tax returns and tax return information are confidential, as required by
section 6103 of the Code.

-11VIII. SIGNATURES
By signing this TRAC agreement, the parties certify that they have read and
agreed to the terms of this document, including Attachment A, Establishments.

EMPLOYER:

INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE:

(Name of Employer)

(Signature)

BY:

(Signature)

BY:
(Service Representative’s Name)

TITLE:

TITLE:

ADDRESS:

ADDRESS:

(Headquarters street address)

(Street address)

(City, state, ZIP code)

(City, state, ZIP code)

DATE:

DATE:

-12ATTACHMENT A
ESTABLISHMENTS

[format for individual establishments]
Employer
A & B Company
xx-xxxxxxx
Street address
City, state, zip code
[format for chains]
Employer (parent, if applicable)
XYZ Corp.
yy-yyyyyyy
Street address
City, state, zip code
Establishments (if applicable)
AB Enterprises
Street address
City, state, zip code
CD Enterprises
Street address
City, state, zip code
Related entity (if applicable)
UVW Corp.
zz-zzzzzzz
Street address
City, state, zip code
Establishments (if applicable)
EF Enterprises
Street address
City, state, zip code
GH Enterprises
Street address
City, state, zip code