<prompt> Human: Hey all, long time lurker, first time poster here.I work full time in a popular local restaurant as an Expediter, which is pretty much exactly as it sounds, for about 30 hoursweek and spend about 10-15 hours of my week doing back office management for the owner. I make 12hour whenever Im on the clock, and on nights when I work service I am tipped out by the waitstaff to the tune of 1 of the total food sales for that shift. The amount of cash tip-outs I receive weekly varies from as low as 140 to as much as 250, but tends to average around 180week. The cash I receive comes directly from the servers tips, but is always 1 of their sales regardless of their actual tip average.My question is: When my fiance and I get ready to start looking at houses and getting pre-approval for a mortgage, how do I handle this rather significant portion of my income? On paper alone, I make about 28k pre-tax, but in reality it is more like 36k. The taxes on that cash income are technically declared and paid by the servers. I am aware of the shady legality of the way this works, but it is standard practice in the restaurant industry and Im not here to argue its merits. Would the IRS come after me for taxes on this income, even though it has been gifted to me post-tax? Do I need to figure out a way to have the servers declare their tips after their 1 contribution, and declare those tips as my own? Id just like to know how to handle this when going to the bank for any request that will delve into my income. Thanks.  <response>: Im not sure I understand your question. Tips are taxed as income, and it is on the taxpayer that earned the tips to report the amount of tips they received on their tax return. Thus,My question is: When my fiance and I get ready to start looking at houses and getting pre-approval for a mortgage, how do I handle this rather significant portion of my income? On paper alone, I make about 28k pre-tax, but in reality it is more like 36k. ...if you have the tax documents to back it up, whats the issue? If you dont, then youre not filing your taxes correctly. 