By Charles Pekow — If you transport people, papers, or products by bike for a living, a portion of your income may soon become tax-free. Legislation passed this year eliminates taxes on tips. To prevent workers from reclassifying wages as tips, the IRS proposed limiting the exemption to a defined list of occupations that traditionally rely on tipped income.
That proposed list includes bicycle couriers and bike taxi drivers.
Under the rule, qualified tips include money left in cash, credit cards, gift cards, and even casino chips. However, workers who receive non-cash gifts—such as event tickets or free meals—must still treat the value of those items as taxable income.
The full proposed rule is available at:
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-09-22/html/2025-18278.htm
