The 2026 Form W-2 adds two new codes in box 12: TP for tips and TT for overtime. Employers have to hand workers their 2026 W-2s by Feb. 1, 2027, and file them with the Social Security Administration the same day, so the first forms that separate out tips and qualified overtime reach workers early next year.

The Internal Revenue Service lays out the changes in its 2026 instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3. “New box 12, code TP, will be used to report the total amount of cash tips reported to the employer,” the instructions say, and “new box 12, code TT, will be used to report the total amount of qualified overtime compensation.”

What each new code reports

Code TP carries cash tips the worker reported to the employer. The IRS defines qualified tips as cash tips, including voluntary cash or charged tips received from customers. Mandatory service charges added to a bill do not count as tips for this purpose.

Code TT carries qualified overtime, which the instructions describe as compensation above the regular rate of pay. That means the premium portion of overtime pay, not the whole check for those hours.

The same set of changes splits box 14 into boxes 14a and 14b, with box 14b holding the Treasury Tipped Occupation Code. A third new code, TA, reports employer contributions to Trump accounts for an employee or an employee’s dependent. The instructions say employers may contribute up to $2,500 a year to those accounts beginning July 4, 2026.

A tipped worker or someone who earns overtime will want to see these codes on the 2026 form, because the codes are how the amounts reach a tax return. For a worker, the question is what shows up in box 12 and box 14b when the form arrives.

The Feb. 1, 2027 date applies twice: once for the copies workers receive and once for the filing with the Social Security Administration.

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The deductions behind the codes

The instructions tie the new boxes to two deductions. One lets certain employees and self-employed people deduct up to $25,000 of qualified tips, with eligibility tied to occupations the IRS lists. The other lets filers deduct up to $12,500 of qualified overtime, or $25,000 on a joint return. Both apply to tax years beginning after 2024 and ending before 2029.

The W-2 codes do not themselves grant a deduction. They report the dollar amounts an employer paid, and the deduction is claimed by the worker on the tax return. A worker whose tips went unreported to the employer, or who was paid overtime that does not count as qualified, will not see the full amount in the new boxes.

The deadline and the employer’s side

Employers face the same Feb. 1, 2027 date for filing 2026 Forms W-2 and W-3 with the Social Security Administration, on paper or electronically. The instructions also say employers generally must furnish Copies B, C and 2 of Form W-2 to employees by that date.

The page’s discussion of transition relief covers only code DD for employer-sponsored health coverage. It describes no relief for the new codes, which means payroll departments have to be ready to populate TP, TT and box 14b for the 2026 tax year. Tips are generally subject to income tax withholding and Social Security and Medicare taxes once they reach $20 or more in a month, the instructions say.

Under the instructions, employers must furnish statements to tip recipients showing their cash tips and tipped-occupation codes, and statements showing qualified overtime paid during the year. The new box 12 codes and box 14b are where those amounts and occupation codes appear on the form.

The territory versions of the form, W-2AS, W-2CM, W-2GU and W-2VI, carry a separate note: employers filing those should check with the territory about whether the new codes apply.

Reading box 12 and box 14b on the 2026 form

The IRS instructions for employers are the free official reference, and workers can read the same Form W-2 and W-3 instructions to see what each code is supposed to hold. Employers must have the forms out by Feb. 1, 2027.

A worker can prepare by keeping the final pay stub of 2026, any tip records and the year-end overtime total from the payroll portal. When the W-2 arrives, those records are what to compare against the figures in box 12 under TP and TT. A blank box where tips or overtime were paid is a question for the payroll office, since the amounts reach the form only if the employer reports them under those codes.

Workers with more than one job should expect a separate form from each employer and add the boxes up themselves. The tipped-occupation code in box 14b is the number the Treasury Department assigns to the worker’s job, so a code that looks wrong is another item to raise with the employer before filing.

More Financial Reading

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.