No Tax on Tips: What the OBBB § 224 Deduction Actually Means for Tipped Workers and Employers

Fact Check: No Tax on Tips: What the OBBB § 224 Deduction Actually Means for Tipped Workers and Employers

Verified
66
Partial
7
Issue
0
Outdated
0
Unverifiable
0
Partial May 26, 2026How we fact-check

Summary

73 verifiable claims checked. Federal mechanic anchored on verbatim statutory text — IRC § 224(a), § 224(c)(1), § 224(c)(2), § 224(d) — quoted from Cornell LII, with cross-references to the parent no-tax-on-overtime fact-check for shared mechanics (Schedule 1-A placement, MAGI phase-out, December 2028 sunset). Final regulations citation (TD 10044; 91 F.R. 19026; effective June 12, 2026) sourced from the Federal Register. State-conformity divergences from § 225 (overtime) — Colorado's tip-passthrough despite OT add-back, New York's pending SB S587-A, Georgia's state-level $1,750 tip exclusion — confirmed against state legislature sites and Treasury Department primary sources. Restaurant Law Center v. U.S. Department of Labor (No. 23-50562, 5th Cir. Aug. 23, 2024) sourced from Justia's appellate-court record.

66 claims ✓ Verified (including primary-statutory-text-quoted claims for § 224(a), § 224(c)(1), § 224(c)(2), § 224(d), and quoted regulatory text from TD 10044). 7 claims ⚠ Partial — each is either a single-source attribution where the article body discloses the attribution, or a pending-status state-legislative claim with a currency caveat already visible in the prose. 0 ✗ Issues. 0 🕐 Outdated.

Statutory / regulatory

28 claims

Statutory / regulatory (specific numeric also)

1 claim

Statutory / regulatory (derived from § 224(b) phase-out math)

1 claim

Statutory / regulatory (specific code assignments)

1 claim

Statutory / regulatory (IRS draft Form W-2 instructions)

1 claim

Statutory / regulatory (specific numeric)

3 claims

Statutory / regulatory (interpretive guidance)

1 claim

Statutory / regulatory (state)

11 claims

Idaho HB 559 — Gov Brad Little signed; conforms to OBBBA including § 224 tips deduction; 2025 returns filed from March 3, 2026 with conformity deductions

Appears in
Quick reference; State conformity; State-by-state quick reference
Source (primary)
https://tax.idaho.gov/pressrelease/update-on-filing-2025-idaho-income-taxes-now-that-conformity-is-law/
Source (secondary)
https://tax.idaho.gov/pressrelease/more-guidance-on-conformity-deductions-and-filing-2025-idaho-income-taxes/
Verified
May 26, 2026· 2+ independent sources

Oregon SB 1507 — signed by Gov Tina Kotek April 9, 2026; affirmatively retained federal § 224 and § 225 passthrough

Appears in
Quick reference; State conformity; State-by-state quick reference; FAQ
Source (primary)
https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/25/oregon-will-partially-disconnect-state-tax-code-from-new-federal-code-to-curb-revenue-loss/
Archive
https://web.archive.org/web/2026*/https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/25/oregon-will-partially-disconnect-state-tax-code-from-new-federal-code-to-curb-revenue-loss/
Verified
May 26, 2026
Notes

Oregon Capital Chronicle reporting is the most-cited source for SB 1507's tips + OT carve-out; primary Oregon Legislature bill page should be the long-term anchor. Single Tier-3 source on a high-stakes state-conformity claim.

Maine — Gov Mills Determination October 1, 2025; P.L. 2025 c. 336; LD 2010 pending Taxation Committee; explicit rejection of tips + OT conformity

Appears in
Quick reference; State conformity; State-by-state quick reference
Source (primary)
https://www.pierceatwood.com/alerts/maine-governor-janet-mills-provides-temporary-obbba-conformity-directions
Source (secondary)
https://www.maine.gov/revenue/sites/maine.gov.revenue/files/inline-files/ta_october2025_vol35_iss14_0.pdf
Verified
May 26, 2026· 2+ independent sources

New York Gov Hochul introduced SB S587-A on January 8, 2026 — proposed $25,000 state-level tip exemption

Appears in
Quick reference; State conformity; FAQ
Source (primary)
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S587/amendment/A
Source (secondary)
https://www.littler.com/news-analysis/asap/new-york-governor-proposes-no-tax-tips-legislation
Verified
May 26, 2026
Notes

Status pending as of late March 2026 per CT Mirror coverage. Article body discloses pending status. Currency caveat: re-verify before publish if more time elapses.

South Carolina — SCDOR currently requires add-back for federal § 224; H 3368 and H 4216 both pending

Appears in
State conformity; State-by-state quick reference; Worked example (Maya alternative)
Source (primary)
https://dor.sc.gov/income-tax-south-carolina-internal-revenue-code-conformity-update
Source (secondary)
https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess126_2025-2026/fiscalimpactstatements/H3368%202026-03-10%20amended.pdf
Verified
May 26, 2026· 2+ independent sources
Notes

Article body explicitly flags SC posture as "contested" and most volatile in the country; re-verify before publish if more time elapses.

Statutory / regulatory (state — absence of decoupling)

1 claim

Statutory / regulatory (state — executive order)

1 claim

Arizona Gov Hobbs Executive Order 2025-15 — issued November 25, 2025; directs ADOR to add § 224, § 225, and other OBBBA deductions to Form 140

Appears in
State conformity; State-by-state quick reference
Source (primary)
https://focushr.net/overtime-tips-w2/
Source (secondary)
https://edzollarscpa.com/2026/01/23/an-all-too-familiar-conformity-issue-for-arizona-tax-professionals/
Verified
May 26, 2026· 2+ independent sources
Notes

Practitioner commentary explicitly flags the EO as legally precarious (no enacted statute). Article body discloses this caveat.

Statutory / regulatory (state — administrative posture)

1 claim

Specific numeric

6 claims

California — approximately $3.2 billion aggregate annual revenue protection from combined OT + tips non-conformity

Appears in
California deep-dive; State conformity; FAQ
Source (primary)
https://www.ftb.ca.gov/about-ftb/newsroom/tax-news/2025/11.html
Source (secondary)
https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/state/big-beautiful-bill-state-tax-impact/
Verified
May 26, 2026· 2+ independent sources
Notes

$3.2B is the aggregate figure for combined OT + tips non-conformity. Article body cites it as aggregate without claiming a per-deduction split — the source-to-claim match is clean. CA FTB has not published a disaggregated OT-vs-tips breakdown.

Colorado — approximately $90 million annual revenue cost from § 224 (tips) passthrough

Appears in
5 Most Expensive Misconceptions — #5; State conformity; FAQ
Source (primary)
https://itep.org/conforming-to-the-no-tax-on-tips-gimmick-just-got-riskier-and-costlier-for-states/
Verified
May 26, 2026
Notes

Single-source attribution for this specific number. ITEP is an established independent research organization. Colorado DOR has not published an official projection for § 224 passthrough specifically (vs the § 225 add-back projection of ~$119M per Colorado Legislative Council Staff).

Idaho — approximately $167.4 million annual revenue impact for tax year 2026 from § 224 conformity (Tax Foundation estimate)

Appears in
State conformity; State-by-state quick reference; FAQ
Source (primary)
https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/state/big-beautiful-bill-state-tax-impact/
Source (secondary)
https://idahofiscal.org/conforming-with-recent-federal-tax-changes-will-result-in-over-284-4-million-in-annual-revenue-loss-in-idaho/
Verified
May 26, 2026
Notes

Tax Foundation $167.4M figure is the primary citation for Idaho's tax-year-2026 conformity impact; Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy reports approximately $284.4M aggregate annual loss across all OBBB conformity (not just tips). Two independent research organizations; both Tier 2.

New York City — approximately $239 million annual projected revenue loss if SB S587-A enacts

Appears in
State conformity
Source (primary)
https://ctmirror.org/2026/03/30/ny-gov-hochul-no-tax-on-tips-new-york-city-lose-millions/
Archive
https://web.archive.org/web/2026*/https://ctmirror.org/2026/03/30/ny-gov-hochul-no-tax-on-tips-new-york-city-lose-millions/
Verified
May 26, 2026
Notes

CT Mirror is the most-cited source for this specific NYC-only figure; NYC OMB / Department of Finance has not published a parallel projection in the sources reviewed. Single Tier-3 source on a high-stakes claim; reader should treat as journalism-level estimate.

South Carolina H 4216 — approximately $309 million initial revenue loss in 2026 (ITEP analysis)

Appears in
State conformity
Source (primary)
https://itep.org/south-carolina-h4216-eliminate-state-income-tax/
Verified
May 26, 2026
Notes

Single Tier-2 source on a high-stakes fiscal claim. SC State House primary impact statement for H 4216 not surfaced as separate primary; ITEP's methodology is published and transparent.

Statistical aggregate

5 claims

Statistical aggregate (derived from FTI-starting set minus contested SC)

1 claim

Currency

4 claims

"As of May 2026" framing — SC posture contested; NY SB S587-A pending; Maine LD 2010 pending; Arizona EO 2025-15 legally precarious

Appears in
State conformity; State-by-state quick reference; FAQ
Source (primary)
Multiple state-legislature sources cited per-claim above
Verified
May 26, 2026
Notes

Each pending-status claim names its own bill / EO + verification date. Article body discloses pending status visibly.

Attribution

2 claims

Yale Budget Lab analysis — approximately 37% of tipped workers earned too little to face federal income tax in 2022 (even before tax credits)

Appears in
Intro
Source (primary)
https://budgetlab.yale.edu/news/240624/no-tax-tips-act-background-tipped-workers
Source (secondary)
https://budgetlab.yale.edu/research/no-tax-tips-budgetary-distributional-and-tax-avoidance-considerations
Verified
May 26, 2026
Notes

Yale Budget Lab is an established institutional research source. The 37% figure is from Yale Budget Lab's June 2024 analysis of the No Tax on Tips Act proposal; the underlying data is from tax-year 2022. Article body attributes the figure to Yale Budget Lab directly. Single primary source; no independent corroboration of the exact 37% figure surfaced in the source review.

Attribution / standards

1 claim

Attribution / aggregate

1 claim

Payroll vendors released OBBBA-ready updates supporting Box 12 code TP and Box 14b TTOC

Appears in
If You Discover You've Been Doing This Wrong (remediation #1); FAQ
Source (primary)
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw2w3.pdf
Source (secondary)
https://payroll.org/news-resources/news/news-detail/2026/01/12/irs-releases-2026-form-w-2-with-changes-due-to-obbba
Verified
May 26, 2026· 2+ independent sources
Notes

Article body now uses generic "your payroll vendor's OBBBA-update bulletin" framing — the underlying fact (the 2026 W-2 boxes exist and require vendor implementation) is verifiable from the IRS form instructions + PayrollOrg coverage of the January 12, 2026 W-2 release.

Sources

74 unique sources cited across the report — click to audit any claim directly against its evidence.

  1. 1.https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/224
  2. 2.https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:26+section:224+edition:prelim)
  3. 3.https://www.taxnotes.com/research/federal/usc26/224
  4. 4.https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/13/2026-07104/occupations-that-customarily-and-regularly-received-tips-definition-of-qualified-tips
  5. 5.https://regulations.justia.com/regulations/fedreg/2026/04/13/2026-07104.html
  6. 6.https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/treasury-irs-issue-guidance-listing-occupations-where-workers-customarily-and-regularly-receive-tips-under-the-one-big-beautiful-bill
  7. 7.https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/schedule-1-a-additional-deductions-what-to-know-about-the-new-form
  8. 8.https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-published-schedule-taxpayers-will-use-to-claim-deductions-on-no-tax-on-tips-no-tax-on-overtime-no-tax-on-car-loans-no-tax-on-seniors
  9. 9.https://rsmus.com/insights/tax-alerts/2026/no-tax-tips-final-rules-confirm-qualifying-occupations-tip-definition.html
  10. 10.https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/what-the-no-tax-on-tips-deduction-means-for-you
  11. 11.https://www.irs.gov/irb/2026-18_IRB
  12. 12.https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/09/22/2025-18278/occupations-that-customarily-and-regularly-received-tips-definition-of-qualified-tips
  13. 13.https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/occupations-that-customarily-and-regularly-received-tips-on-or-before-december-31-2024
  14. 14.https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Tipped-Occupations-Detailed-8-27-2025.pdf
  15. 15.https://support.taxslayerpro.com/hc/en-us/articles/9923307509402-Treasury-Tipped-Occupation-Codes-TTOC
  16. 16.https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-25-69.pdf
  17. 17.https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw2w3.pdf
  18. 18.https://payroll.org/news-resources/news/news-detail/2026/01/12/irs-releases-2026-form-w-2-with-changes-due-to-obbba
  19. 19.https://www.natptax.com/news-insights/blog/draft-2026-form-w-2-adds-codes-for-tips-overtime-and-occupation-data/
  20. 20.https://www.hrmorning.com/news/w-2-box-codes-irs-update/
  21. 21.https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6051
  22. 22.https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6053
  23. 23.https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p5080.pdf
  24. 24.https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-4137
  25. 25.https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6041A
  26. 26.https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6050W
  27. 27.https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6721
  28. 28.https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-releases-tax-inflation-adjustments-for-tax-year-2026-including-amendments-from-the-one-big-beautiful-bill
  29. 29.https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/2026-tax-brackets/
  30. 30.https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/15-tipped-employees-flsa
  31. 31.https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-531/subpart-D
  32. 32.https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/531.59
  33. 33.https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/531.50
  34. 34.https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/29/516.6
  35. 35.https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-news/FS-15-08.pdf
  36. 36.https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/tip-recordkeeping-and-reporting
  37. 37.https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB711
  38. 38.https://www.ftb.ca.gov/about-ftb/newsroom/tax-news/2025/11.html
  39. 39.https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=351
  40. 40.https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped
  41. 41.https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb25-1296
  42. 42.https://tax.colorado.gov/january-2026-tax-policy-updates
  43. 43.https://itep.org/conforming-to-the-no-tax-on-tips-gimmick-just-got-riskier-and-costlier-for-states/
  44. 44.https://gov.georgia.gov/press-releases/2026-05-11/gov-kemp-signs-legislation-lowering-taxes-and-supporting-economic-growth
  45. 45.https://bipwealth.com/georgia-tax-relief-2026-hb-463-sb-33/
  46. 46.https://tax.idaho.gov/pressrelease/update-on-filing-2025-idaho-income-taxes-now-that-conformity-is-law/
  47. 47.https://tax.idaho.gov/pressrelease/more-guidance-on-conformity-deductions-and-filing-2025-idaho-income-taxes/
  48. 48.https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/25/oregon-will-partially-disconnect-state-tax-code-from-new-federal-code-to-curb-revenue-loss/
  49. 49.https://web.archive.org/web/2026*/https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/25/oregon-will-partially-disconnect-state-tax-code-from-new-federal-code-to-curb-revenue-loss/
  50. 50.https://www.pierceatwood.com/alerts/maine-governor-janet-mills-provides-temporary-obbba-conformity-directions
  51. 51.https://www.maine.gov/revenue/sites/maine.gov.revenue/files/inline-files/ta_october2025_vol35_iss14_0.pdf
  52. 52.https://www.tax.ny.gov/forms/current-forms/it/it225i.htm
  53. 53.https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S587/amendment/A
  54. 54.https://www.littler.com/news-analysis/asap/new-york-governor-proposes-no-tax-tips-legislation
  55. 55.https://focushr.net/overtime-tips-w2/
  56. 56.https://edzollarscpa.com/2026/01/23/an-all-too-familiar-conformity-issue-for-arizona-tax-professionals/
  57. 57.https://dor.sc.gov/income-tax-south-carolina-internal-revenue-code-conformity-update
  58. 58.https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess126_2025-2026/fiscalimpactstatements/H3368%202026-03-10%20amended.pdf
  59. 59.https://taxschool.illinois.edu/post/obbba-update-qualified-tips-and-overtime-compensation-for-tax-year-2025/
  60. 60.https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca5/23-50562/23-50562-2024-08-23.html
  61. 61.https://www.littler.com/news-analysis/asap/fifth-circuit-vacates-dols-802030-rule-tipped-employees
  62. 62.https://fedsoc.org/commentary/fedsoc-blog/in-restaurant-law-center-v-dol-the-fifth-circuit-invalidates-dol-tip-credit-rules-under-new-loper-bright-standard
  63. 63.https://www.jacksonlewis.com/insights/fifth-circuit-strikes-down-dol-tip-credit-rule-what-it-means-employers
  64. 64.https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/state/big-beautiful-bill-state-tax-impact/
  65. 65.https://idahofiscal.org/conforming-with-recent-federal-tax-changes-will-result-in-over-284-4-million-in-annual-revenue-loss-in-idaho/
  66. 66.https://ctmirror.org/2026/03/30/ny-gov-hochul-no-tax-on-tips-new-york-city-lose-millions/
  67. 67.https://web.archive.org/web/2026*/https://ctmirror.org/2026/03/30/ny-gov-hochul-no-tax-on-tips-new-york-city-lose-millions/
  68. 68.https://itep.org/south-carolina-h4216-eliminate-state-income-tax/
  69. 69.https://taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-do-state-individual-income-taxes-conform-federal-income-taxes
  70. 70.https://www.symmetry.com/payroll-tax-insights/tip-credit-laws-by-state-2026-guide
  71. 71.https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates-2026/
  72. 72.Multiple state-legislature sources cited per-claim above
  73. 73.https://budgetlab.yale.edu/news/240624/no-tax-tips-act-background-tipped-workers
  74. 74.https://budgetlab.yale.edu/research/no-tax-tips-budgetary-distributional-and-tax-avoidance-considerations

Issues flagged

7 ⚠ Partial entries appear above with notes. Each is a single-source attribution or pending-status claim where the article body already discloses the caveat in the prose. None requires structural article revision; the partial-status notations make the limits of verification visible to the reader.

  1. Yale Budget Lab single-source attribution on tipped-worker income-tax distribution. Article cites the 37% figure with explicit Yale Budget Lab attribution. Suggested revision: none — the attribution model handles the single-source nature. Yale Budget Lab is an institutional research organization with transparent methodology.

  2. Oregon SB 1507 source is Tier 3 journalism (Oregon Capital Chronicle). The bill itself has not been linked to a primary Oregon Legislature page in this report. Suggested revision: locate the primary Oregon Legislature bill page for SB 1507 and add as the canonical source; keep Oregon Capital Chronicle as a secondary contextualizer.

  3. New York SB S587-A pending-status currency caveat. Status is "introduced January 8, 2026; pending Senate Budget+Revenue Committee" as of late March 2026. The bill could pass at any time during the 2026 NY budget process. Suggested revision: re-verify status immediately before publish; update the article body's pending-status language if the bill has moved between report date and publish date.

  4. Colorado $90M tips passthrough cost cites ITEP only. No Colorado DOR primary projection has been published for § 224 specifically (only the § 225 add-back projection of ~$119M). Suggested revision: explicitly attribute the $90M to ITEP at point of use; the article body does this.

  5. Idaho $167M Tax Foundation projection is single-source for the specific figure. Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy reports $284.4M aggregate for all OBBB conformity, not just § 224 — corroborates the order of magnitude but not the specific tips number. Suggested revision: rephrase as "Tax Foundation estimates approximately $167M annual revenue impact for tax year 2026" with explicit attribution at point of use (the article body does this).

  6. NYC $239M annual projection if SB S587-A enacts is single-source (Tier 3 journalism). CT Mirror is the cited source. NYC OMB / Department of Finance has not published a parallel projection in the sources reviewed. Suggested revision: re-verify before publish if a primary NYC fiscal projection becomes available.

  7. South Carolina H 4216 ITEP $309M analysis is single-source on a high-stakes fiscal claim. ITEP's methodology is transparent and published; SC State House primary impact statement for H 4216 not surfaced. Suggested revision: cite ITEP explicitly at point of use; re-verify if SC State House publishes a parallel projection.

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