After reading parts of the recent RC tipping thread, I have a question.

If purchasing a bottle of wine with dinner, do you include that in the amount you are tipping or is is subtracted from the total first? If it is technically supposed to be removed before calculating how do you tip on the wine? I have never ordered wine by the bottle when out, only occasionally by the glass, but would like to be prepared for the future.

If there is other etiquitte associated with tipping on wine/beverages, please let me. Thanks in advance for you help.

Tip is figured on the total bill unless you paid separately for the wine via the bar.

The server pays taxes on the wine, so, YES, you should tip on the total cost of liquor and food. (In addition, at many restaurants the server will split the gratuity with the sommelier, so an extra generous tip may be warranted.)

Server does NOT pay taxes on anything except his/her own income. See http://www.waiters-revenge.com/resource.htm or http://www.irs.ustreas.gov to confirm this.

Server does not pay tax on tips given to others, either. In fact, should document tips shared, and if placed into a "required" pool, the employer may be required to show where the "pool" money went. Persons not of normal "tip" positions (eg: cook, manager) cannot be receiving funds from tip pool.

the price of the bottle is included in the server's revenues upon which the irs imposes an assumed tip percentage as income for the server. So if the diner orders a $25 entree and $75 bottle of wine and the irs % is 10, for income tax purposes, it will be assumed that the server received a $10 tip.

If you don't tip an equal % for the wine, the server loses. But it doesn't seem quite right that you should have to, in many cases, tip more for the wine than the food. As usual, the only every-time winner: the irs.