W-2 Box 12 Codes TP and TT: How Tips and Overtime Show on Your 2026 W-2

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) instructions for 2026 Forms W-2 add box 12 code TP for total cash tips reported to the employer, code TT for total qualified overtime compensation and a new box 14b for Treasury Tipped Occupation Codes. Employers must give employees their copies by Feb. 1, 2027. The 2025 forms did not have these codes. This story is a box-by-box reading guide, a worked overtime example with the arithmetic shown and a checklist for the day your W-2 arrives. It follows the W-2 and 1099 deadline story, which covers who files what and when.

Which new W-2 boxes show tips and overtime?

The IRS “General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026)” say: “New box 12, code TP, will be used to report the total amount of cash tips reported to the employer.” They say the same for overtime: “New box 12, code TT, will be used to report the total amount of qualified overtime compensation.” And: “New box 14b will be used to report the Treasury Tipped Occupation Code(s).”

Box or code	What it shows	What you do with it
Box 12, code TP	Total cash tips reported to the employer	Compare it with the tips you reported; keep your own tip records
Box 14b	Treasury Tipped Occupation Code(s) of the tip recipient	Check that a code is listed when code TP is present
Box 12, code TT	Total qualified overtime compensation	Do not expect your full overtime pay; see the example below

Box 14b takes up to two codes. If tips came from more than two occupations, the instructions say to include the code for any two of them. If any tips came from a nonqualifying occupation, “000” must be one of the codes. The IRS lists the codes at IRS.gov/TippedOccupations.

How much of your overtime pay is code TT?

Only the premium. The instructions define qualified overtime as pay required under section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that is “more than the regular rate at which the individual is employed.” Their example: “only the ‘half’ portion of ‘time-and-a-half’ compensation would be reported using code TT.” The IRS fact sheet FS-2025-03 describes qualifying pay the same way, as the part above the regular rate.

Here is a hypothetical worker, with numbers we chose to show the arithmetic. They are not IRS figures.

Step	Calculation	Result
Regular rate	Given	$20 an hour
Time-and-a-half rate	$20 x 1.5	$30 an hour
Overtime hours in the year	10 hours a week x 50 weeks	500 hours
Total overtime pay	500 x $30	$15,000
Premium portion (code TT)	500 x $10	$5,000
Part paid at the regular rate	500 x $20	$10,000

In this example box 12 would show TT with $5,000, while the $15,000 of overtime pay stays in the ordinary wage boxes. Your own W-2 follows what your employer reports, so a payroll record is the place to confirm the split.

What are the limits on the deductions?

The W-2 codes report the amounts. The deductions themselves have separate limits, which the IRS states on its own pages:

Deduction	Maximum per year	Phase-out	Source
Qualified overtime	$12,500 ($25,000 for joint filers)	Above $150,000 modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), or $300,000 joint	IRS fact sheet FS-2025-03, tax years 2025 through 2028
Tips	$25,000	Above $150,000 MAGI, or $300,000 joint	IRS “What the ‘No Tax on Tips’ deduction means for you,” reviewed Sept. 21, 2026

Tips qualify when they come from occupations that “customarily and regularly received tips on or before Dec. 31, 2024,” says the IRS. For overtime, the fact sheet says the deduction is available whether or not you itemize, joint filers must file jointly and a Social Security number is required. Notice 2025-62 describes both as income tax deductions.

On payroll taxes, the W-2 instructions say tips and overtime pay are “still generally subject to federal income tax withholding and both the employer share and employee share of social security tax and Medicare tax.”

On the 2025 tax form, the deductions are claimed on Schedule 1-A, titled “Additional Deductions.” The 2026 version is not yet final, so we do not cite line numbers.

Why your 2025 W-2 did not have codes TP or TT

IRS Notice 2025-62 says its relief “applies only for taxable year 2025.” It also says Forms W-2 and 1099 for taxable year 2025 “will not be updated to account for the” changes made by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), and that 2025 will be regarded as a transition period. The 2026 instructions are where the new codes first appear, so the W-2 you receive in early 2027 is the first one to carry them.

What to check when the 2026 W-2 arrives

Employers must furnish Copies B, C and 2 of Form W-2 to employees by Feb. 1, 2027, per the IRS instructions, and file Copy A with the Social Security Administration (SSA) by the same date. Jan. 31, 2027 is a Sunday, which is why the deadline falls on Monday. Mark it on the February 2027 printable calendar, and see the 2027 tax calendar for the rest of the filing season.

1. Find box 12 and look for code TP if you received cash tips, and code TT if you worked qualifying overtime.
2. Check that box 14b lists an occupation code when code TP appears.
3. Compare the code TP amount with the tips you reported to your employer.
4. Compare the code TT amount with your pay records, remembering that it is the premium portion only.
5. Check your name, Social Security number and the tax year before you file.
6. Contact the employer first if a figure looks wrong. When your return can be filed and when refunds arrive are covered in our 2027 refund schedule.

Print the one-page reading guide below to keep next to your W-2. The IRS has not finalized the 2026 Schedule 1-A, so line numbers are left off. The January 2027 printable calendar is handy for tracking when your forms arrive.