Tips, Tax, & OBBBA

Jeremy Springer
Oct 1
2 min read

We know lots of people are beginning to hear about the changes to tax law after the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). We have some helpful information on how the IRS will be interpreting which occupations are tipped and which aren't.

The IRS has released the following preliminary list of occupations that customarily and regularly received tips on or before December 31, 2024, for purposes of the deduction for tips received under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The official proposed list of such occupations will be published later as proposed regulations. The IRS anticipates that the official proposed list will be substantially the same as this preliminary list. Public comments will be requested on the official proposed list of occupations and other aspects of the proposed regulations.

In addition to requiring that qualified tips must be received in an occupation that customarily and regularly received tips on or before December 31, 2024, OBBBA provides that tips do not qualify for the deduction if they are received in the course of certain specified trades or businesses, including the fields of health, performing arts, and athletics. The IRS anticipates issuing additional guidance on the types of occupations and trades or businesses that are subject to this limitation.

Select an employment category below to see if your current employment type qualifies as a tipped employment. (Categories listed alphabetically.)

Beverage & Food Service

Entertainment & Events

Table listing Treasury Tipped Occupation Codes, titles, descriptions, examples, and SOC codes for various entertainment roles, like gambling dealers.

Home Services

Hospitality & Guest Service

Personal Appearance & Wellness

Personal Services

Table listing personal service occupations with codes, titles, descriptions, examples, and SOC codes. Includes roles like caregivers and photographers.

Recreation & Instruction

Transportation & Delivery

Table of occupations in transportation and delivery, listing titles, descriptions, examples, and SOC codes. Rows include valet, taxi, and movers.

If you don't see your industry listed above, your job may not be a tip-qualifying employment. That doesn't mean you can't accept tips; it does mean your tips will most likely be fully taxable to you under the new rules from the OBBBA.

Notes:

Related Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System Code(s) is the code(s) from the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification System that most closely correlates to the Treasury Tipped Occupation Code (TTOC). However, certain occupations as described by the TTOC may be either narrower or broader than the Related SOC code occupation to reflect better the occupations in which individuals customarily and regularly received tips on or before December 31, 2024. As such, the TTOC Occupation Descriptions and TTOC Illustrative Examples provided in the table have, in many cases, been modified from the Related SOC code(s). That is, certain occupations within the Related SOC code may not have customarily and regularly received tips on or before December 31, 2024, and therefore would not be included in the TTOC occupation. For more information on the 2018 SOC system, see “Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System—Revision for 2018”, Federal Register, Vol. 82, No. 227, pp. 56271-3 (Nov. 28, 2017) or online at www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-11-28/pdf/2017-25622.pdf (last accessed July 28, 2025).

Legal Disclaimer: This post contains general information for taxpayers and should not be relied upon as the only source of authority. Taxpayers should seek professional tax advice for more information. This information was current at time of posting; we are not responsible for updating this or any blog post/article for subsequent changes in the law or its interpretation.