Every week, restaurant owners in Palo Alto sign financing agreements at 12% APR for equipment they desperately need. And every week, those same owners are sitting on $25,000 to $100,000 in cash refunds they don't even know they're owed.
Here's the truth: If you have tipped employees in Palo Alto, the IRS probably owes you money. And you can use that money to buy equipment. Cash. No loans. No interest. No monthly payments.
Show Me What I'm Owed →You walk into a dealer. They show you a nice deep fryer. $8,250. “We can finance that,” they say. “11.5% APR. 36 months. Easy approval.” Sounds reasonable. Until you do the math...
You'll pay $9,794 total for equipment that costs $8,250. That's $1,544 that disappears into interest.
Think about what you could do with that money. New marketing campaign. Staff bonuses. A second location. Instead, it goes to a bank. Forever.
Here's what they don't tell you at the dealership: That 12% APR adds up fast. And by the time you factor in origination fees (usually 3-5% upfront), prepayment penalties, and the monthly cash flow crunch, you're looking at real money.
In the restaurant business—where a 3-5% profit margin is considered good—you can't afford to throw away $1,544 on interest. That's not being dramatic. That's just math.
This is the part that makes restaurant owners angry. If you have tipped employees in Palo Alto, you've probably been overpaying FICA taxes for years. The government owes you money. A lot of it. And you can claim it going back three full years.
You get a check from the IRS for taxes you already paid. Use it to buy equipment. Cash. No loan officer. No monthly payment reminder. Just done.
Under Section 45B of the tax code, restaurants can reclaim FICA taxes paid on tipped wages above minimum wage. Most Palo Alto restaurants don't know about this. So they keep overpaying. Year after year.
That's per year. Multiply by 3 for your retroactive claim. Then add it ongoing for every future year.
So instead of financing that deep fryer at 12% APR... you claim your FICA refund. Get a check. Pay cash. Keep the $1,544 you would've paid in interest.
They all needed the same thing you need. New equipment. And they were all about to make the same mistake: financing it at 15-25% APR. Then something interesting happened.
“We had a $8k quote for a new deep fryer. The bank approved us at 12% APR. Then our accountant told us about this. Three weeks later, we got a check for $75,279 from the IRS. Paid cash. No debt.”
“I was filling out loan paperwork when my partner said ‘wait.’ We filed for FICA credits we didn't know existed. The IRS sent $107,349. That's $1,543 we didn't pay in interest.”
“The equipment dealer had financing ‘all ready to go.’ But we paused. Filed our FICA credits. Got $147,993 back for taxes we already paid. Bought everything cash. Zero interest. Zero monthly payments.”
Look... Every restaurant owner in Palo Alto who has tipped employees and bought equipment in the last 3 years needs to know about this. Not because we're trying to sell them something. But because they're literally writing checks for interest payments when the IRS already owes them the money.
Share this page. It might save them $50,000+.
We do this all day for restaurants in Palo Alto. Pull your payroll records. Calculate what you're owed. File the amended returns. Then you get a check from the IRS—usually within 8-12 weeks.
We'll calculate and file your FICA credits for the past 3 years. You get a lump sum check. Use it for equipment. Use it for payroll. Use it for whatever you need. One-time service.
Start My Claim →Switch to PayStreet for payroll and we automatically calculate your FICA credits every single year. No more overpaying. No more missing refunds. Just done for you. Ongoing.
Talk to Payroll Team →Either way, you stop overpaying taxes. And that money goes where it belongs—back into your restaurant.
Fair question. Use the calculator below. Takes 60 seconds. Shows you exactly what you're owed. No signup. No credit card. Just real numbers.
Takes 2 minutes • 100% confidential • Zero obligation
If you're in Palo Alto and you're about to finance equipment at 15-25% APR, just check this first. Because if you have tipped employees, you might already have the money sitting in an IRS account with your name on it.
Five minutes to find out could save you $1,544 in interest. That's not hype. That's just what the math shows.