IRS list for OBBBA tips deduction—from 2025 through 2028, workers in occupations that customarily and regularly received tips on or before December 31, 2024 may deduct up to $25,000 of qualified tips from taxable income under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
What are “qualified tips” under OBBBA?
Qualified tips are voluntary cash or charged tips received by an individual in an eligible occupation that customarily and regularly received tips on or before December 31, 2024.
They include:
- Cash, check, credit/debit-card, gift-card, or mobile-payment tips
- Tips received through valid tip-pooling or tip-sharing arrangements
They do not include:
- Mandatory service charges or auto-gratuities
- Any amounts the employer adds to the bill that customers are required to pay
- Digital assets (cryptocurrency), which the final regulations confirm are not cash tips
Married taxpayers must file jointly to claim the deduction, and each tipped worker must have a valid Social Security Number.
The deduction is available whether or not you itemize, but it is not an above-the-line deduction—it does not reduce adjusted gross income. That distinction matters for AGI-driven phaseouts and for states that start from federal AGI.
Income limits: The deduction phases out starting at $150,000 MAGI ($300,000 MFJ).
SSTB restriction: Section 224 denies the deduction for tips received in a specified service trade or business (health, law, accounting, athletics, performing arts, consulting, financial services). But Notice 2025-69 suspends that rule: if you’re in a listed tipped occupation, the IRS treats you as not working in an SSTB regardless of your employer’s business. The final regulations declined to address SSTB determinations, so the relief runs until January 1 of the year after separate SSTB final regulations are issued—none have been proposed yet. A bartender working at a theater qualifies today.
Where the IRS list for OBBBA tips deduction stands now—and why it matters
The list is final. Treasury and the IRS published final regulations (T.D. 10044) on April 10, 2026, effective April 13, 2026, adopting the proposed list and adding three occupations: Visual Artists (TTOC 509), Floral Designers (TTOC 510), and Gas Pump Attendants (TTOC 810). Each occupation carries a three-digit Treasury Tipped Occupation Code that employers report in Box 14b of Form W-2 beginning with tax year 2026, with qualified tips reported in Box 12 under code TP.
IRS List for OBBBA Tips Deduction: Full Occupation List (2025–2028)
Below are the occupations the IRS / Treasury identified as customarily receiving tips on or before December 31, 2024.
This list reflects the final regulations effective April 13, 2026. The illustrative examples are not exhaustive—a job not named as an example can still fall within a TTOC category if it matches the occupation description.
If your role—or a very close match—appears here, you may qualify (subject to all other rules).
The IRS list for OBBBA tips deduction includes 71 occupations across eight sectors, ranging from hospitality and food service to wellness and transportation.
Beverage & Food Service
- Bartenders (mixologists, taproom attendants, sommeliers)
- Waitstaff (servers, cocktail servers, dining-car servers)
- Food & beverage servers, non-restaurant (room-service, boat hops, beer-cart servers)
- Dining room & cafeteria attendants; bartender helpers (bussers, bar backs)
- Chefs & cooks (executive, pastry, sous, restaurant, banquet, food-truck cooks, caterers)
- Food preparation workers (salad / sandwich makers, kitchen stewards)
- Fast-food & counter workers (baristas, ice-cream servers, cafeteria servers)
- Dishwashers
- Hosts / hostesses (restaurants, lounges, coffee shops)
- Bakers (bread, cake, bagel, pastry finishers)
Entertainment & Events
- Gambling dealers (blackjack, craps, poker, roulette)
- Gambling change persons & booth cashiers (slot attendants, mutuel tellers)
- Gambling cage workers (casino cashiers)
- Sports-book writers & runners (bingo / keno / race-book)
- Dancers
- Musicians & singers
- Disc jockeys (non-radio club / event DJs)
- Entertainers & performers (comedians, magicians, street performers)
- Digital content creators (streamers, online video creators, social media influencers, podcasters)
- Ushers, lobby attendants & ticket takers
- Locker / coat / dressing-room attendants (coat checkers, washroom attendants)
Hospitality & Guest Services
- Baggage porters & bellhops (hotel baggage handlers, curbside check-in)
- Concierges (guest-service agents, activities concierges)
- Hotel / motel / resort front-desk clerks
- Maids & housekeeping cleaners
Home Services
- Home maintenance & repair workers (handymen, residential building superintendents)
- Home landscaping & groundskeeping workers (lawn care, gardeners, tree trimmers)
- Home electricians
- Home plumbers (pipefitters, sprinkler installers)
- Home HVAC mechanics & installers (A/C repair, chimney sweeps)
- Home appliance installers & repairers (dishwasher / washer repairers)
- Home cleaning services (house / pool / carpet / window cleaners)
- Locksmiths (safe installers, key makers)
- Roadside assistance workers (tow-truck drivers, battery techs, tire changers)
Personal Services
- Personal-care & service workers (companions, personal valets, butlers)
- Private event planners (wedding / party planners)
- Private event & portrait photographers (headshot / wedding)
- Private event videographers
- Event officiants (wedding / funeral / celebrants)
- Pet & show animal caretakers (groomers, sitters, walkers, kennel workers, trainers)
- Tutors (reading, math, language tutors)
- Nannies & babysitters
- Visual artists (ice sculptors, caricature sketch artists)
- Floral designers (florists, floral arrangers)
Personal Appearance & Wellness
- Skincare specialists (estheticians, electrologists)
- Massage therapists (deep-tissue, sports massage)
- Barbers, hairdressers, hairstylists & cosmetologists
- Shampooers
- Manicurists & pedicurists (nail technicians)
- Eyebrow & eyelash technicians (threading, waxing, lash extensions)
- Makeup artists (wedding / party makeup)
- Exercise trainers & group fitness instructors (yoga, aerobics, personal training)
- Tattoo artists & piercers
- Tailors (alterations, custom clothing, seamstresses)
- Shoe & leather workers / repairers (cobblers, shoe shiners)
Recreation & Instruction
- Golf caddies
- Self-enrichment teachers (knitting, piano, art, dance instructors)
- Recreational & tour pilots (helicopter / hot-air balloon / skydiving pilots)
- Tour guides & escorts (museum, sightseeing guides)
- Travel guides (cruise directors, river-expedition guides)
- Sports & recreation instructors (diving, ski, tennis, surf instructors)
Transportation & Delivery
- Home movers
- Parking & valet attendants
- Taxi / rideshare drivers & chauffeurs
- Shuttle drivers (airport, hotel, rental-car shuttles)
- Goods delivery workers (pizza, grocery, courier, package, appliance delivery, app/platform-based delivery)
- Vehicle & equipment cleaners (car-wash attendants, auto detailers, boat waxers)
- Private & charter bus drivers (motor-coach / tour bus)
- Water-taxi operators & charter-boat crews (captains, deckhands, stewards)
- Rickshaw / pedicab / carriage drivers (bike-taxi & horse-carriage drivers)
- Gas pump attendants (full-service fueling, primarily New Jersey and Oregon)
How much is the tips deduction?
The law allows up to $25,000 per year (2025–2028) in qualified tips to be excluded from federal income tax.
Action step if you’re not on the list
If your job title isn’t spelled out on the IRS list for OBBBA tips deduction, read the TTOC occupation description rather than just the examples—the IRS was explicit that the illustrative examples aren’t exhaustive. The comment period closed with the final regulations, so a role that genuinely falls outside all 71 codes no longer has an administrative path in; the analysis shifts to whether your facts fit an existing description.
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