Where Tips and Overtime Show Up on Your W-2

Two new codes, TP and TT, carry the numbers you need for the new deductions. Here is how to read them.

The tips and overtime deductions are claimed on Schedule 1-A when you file. The numbers you claim have to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is box 12 of your W-2. The IRS created new codes for the job.

The two codes that matter

Code TP is your qualified tips, the cash and card tips you reported to your employer during the year. Code TT is your qualified overtime, and this is the number people misread. TT shows only the premium half of your time and a half pay, not your whole overtime earnings, because only the premium is deductible. If you see a TT amount that looks smaller than the overtime you remember earning, that is why. It is already the right number to use.

There is also a new spot near box 14 showing your Treasury tipped occupation code, which proves your job is on the qualifying list.

The 2025 gap year

Here is the catch almost nobody knows. The new codes became mandatory starting with 2026 W-2 forms, the ones you receive in early 2027. For tax year 2025, employers were not required to use them. So your 2025 W-2 might show these amounts in box 14, in a year end statement, or nowhere at all.

If your 2025 W-2 is silent, you can still claim the deductions. Use your own records: your pay stubs, your point of sale tip reports, and your employer's overtime records. Ask payroll for a summary if you need one. The deduction exists for 2025 either way, the paperwork just has not caught up.

Check the numbers, then do the math

Once you know your qualified tips or overtime premium, the savings depend on your tax bracket and the caps: $25,000 for tips, $12,500 for overtime or $25,000 married filing jointly. Our free tips calculator and overtime calculator turn your W-2 numbers into an actual dollar estimate in seconds.