Form 8027 is the annual return that a large food or beverage establishment files to report its gross receipts, charged tips, and any tips allocated to employees. It has existed for years; what’s new is that IRIS now accepts it as a native form type, so it joins the rest of your information returns on one modern platform. If you run a tipping establishment with more than 10 employees, this is likely yours.
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What Form 8027 Reports
Unlike a 1099, Form 8027 is filed per establishment, not per person. It summarizes a location’s tip picture for the year so the IRS can gauge whether reported tips look complete.
- Gross receipts from food and beverage operations
- Total charged tips and total charged receipts
- Total tips reported by employees
- Allocated tips, if reported tips fall short of the threshold
When reported tips come in below the required percentage of gross receipts, the employer may have to allocate the shortfall among tipped employees — and those allocated amounts show up on employees’ W-2s, not on a separate recipient copy.
Who Must File Form 8027
You file if you operate a large food or beverage establishment — broadly, a location where tipping is customary and where more than 10 employees worked on a typical business day in the prior year.
| Situation | File 8027? |
|---|---|
| Restaurant/bar, tipping customary, >10 employees | Yes — one per establishment |
| Multiple locations meeting the test | Yes — one 8027 each (plus a transmittal) |
| Fast-food / counter service where tipping isn’t customary | Generally no |
| Small establishment at or under the employee threshold | No |
Operators with several qualifying locations file a separate 8027 for each. The employee test is applied establishment by establishment, so a chain can have some locations that file and some that don’t.
Filing 8027 Through IRIS
With 8027 now a native IRIS form type, multi-location operators can file every establishment’s return through the same system as their W-2G, 1099, and other returns — no separate legacy channel.
The establishment-level structure maps to dedicated IRIS elements, and the workflow is the familiar one: assemble each establishment record, validate, transmit, and collect a Receipt ID.
Filing 8027 for many locations?
e1099f files each establishment’s 8027 as validated IRIS XML from your POS and payroll data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Form 8027 new?
Who has to file 8027?
Does each location file separately?
Do employees get a copy?
What are allocated tips?
Can I file 8027 through IRIS?
Not tax advice. The current IRS instructions for Form 8027 are authoritative and may change. Confirm your filing obligation with a qualified advisor.