*not saying it’s impossible and the numbers below may be off but… as a side note…

Seeing how most people don’t understands how taxes work, I think its more likely she didn’t even “save” $11k in taxes.

She just didn’t pay taxes on the $11k she received in tips. Which would save her maybe $2k in total.

In order for her to have actually saved $11k she would have to have received something like $50k in tips in 2025. And that’s assuming a tax rate of 20%, based on her story. Her tax rate would probably be much lower.