W-2 box 12 codes for 2026, including TT, TP and TA
Box 12 on the 2026 W-2 has three new codes. TT is qualified overtime, and only the premium part. TP is cash tips reported to the employer. TA is an employer contribution to a Trump account. Box 14 is now split into 14a and 14b.
What box 12 holds
Box 12 is the W-2’s list of coded amounts: a letter code and a dollar figure beside it. Some codes are familiar. D is what you deferred into a 401(k). DD is the cost of employer-sponsored health coverage, which the IRS instructions say is not taxable. W is employer money put into a health savings account, including what you chose to put in through a cafeteria plan. Most of these are information, or amounts already left out of box 1.
The three new 2026 codes come from Public Law 119-21, the 2025 tax law. Two of them, TT and TP, are the starting numbers for new deductions you claim on the tax return. The third, TA, records money your employer put into a child’s Trump account.
Code TT: the overtime premium, not all overtime pay
The 2026 W-2 instructions define code TT as qualified overtime compensation: pay required under section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act that is more than the regular rate. Their own example: only the “half” portion of time-and-a-half is reported with code TT. The straight-time part of every overtime hour stays out.
Run it on a paycheck. $25 an hour, 40 regular hours a week, plus 10 overtime hours at time and a half, single, in Texas, paid every two weeks. The check is $2,750.00 before tax, and $250.00 of it is the overtime premium. Over a year the overtime hours pay $19,500.00, but the premium is $6,500.00. If all of it is overtime the FLSA requires, $6,500.00 is the amount beside code TT, and it is the overtime deduction the no tax on overtime calculator estimates for this worker: $6,500.00.
The deduction is capped at $12,500 a year, or $25,000 on a joint return, and it shrinks for income over $150,000 ($300,000 joint). Overtime paid only because of a state rule or a union contract is not FLSA section 7 overtime, so it may not belong in TT. How overtime is taxed covers the paycheck side.
Code TP and the new box 14b
Code TP is the total of cash tips reported to the employer. Take a worker at $15 an hour, 40 hours a week, reporting $400 of tips every two weeks. The check shows $1,600.00 of pay with the tips included. Over a year the tips add up to $10,400.00, which is the TP amount, and the tips deduction the no tax on tips calculator estimates is $10,400.00, under the $25,000 cap.
For the deduction, the instructions count voluntary cash or charged tips from customers, or tips received through a tip-sharing arrangement. A mandatory service charge added to the bill is not a qualified tip. Tips are still generally subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare when they reach $20 or more in a month.
When an employer reports TP, it must also fill in box 14b with a Treasury Tipped Occupation Code: a three-digit number from the IRS list of jobs that customarily received tips on or before December 31, 2024. Bartenders are 101 and wait staff are 102. Up to two codes can be entered, and if any tips came from an occupation that is not on the list, one of the codes must be 000. The old box 14 entries, such as union dues, move to box 14a.
Code TA: employer contributions to a Trump account
A Trump account is a new type of traditional IRA for a child under 18. According to the W-2 instructions, beginning July 4, 2026, an employer may contribute up to $2,500 a year to the Trump account of an employee or an employee’s dependent. That counts toward the account’s $5,000 yearly limit. Paid under a Trump account contribution program, the money is left out of the employee’s gross income.
So for most people code TA is information: what went into the account, not a number to deduct. Both dollar limits are scheduled to be indexed for inflation after 2027.
What the codes do not change
TT and TP do not make a paycheck bigger. On the overtime check above, federal income tax is still $265.38, Social Security $170.50 and Medicare $39.88, and the deposit is $2,274.24. The premium is wages like any other pay. The saving comes on the return, where the deductions are claimed on Schedule 1-A of Form 1040.
If you expect those deductions, the 2026 W-4 lets you count them during the year. Lines 1a and 1b of the Deductions Worksheet ask for estimated qualified tips and the “and-a-half” portion of overtime; the total goes in Step 4(b), and withholding falls. How to fill out a W-4 walks through Step 4(b) with numbers.
What to check when the W-2 arrives
Employers must furnish 2026 W-2s by February 1, 2027. If you worked overtime, find code TT and compare it with the overtime premium on your last stub of the year. If you receive tips, find TP and a code in box 14b. If your employer offered a Trump account contribution, look for TA. If a figure is missing or wrong, ask payroll before you file: the fix is a corrected W-2, called a W-2c. None of this is tax advice.
| Box | Code | What it reports |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | D | Elective deferrals to a 401(k) plan |
| 12 | E | Elective deferrals under a 403(b) plan |
| 12 | AA | Designated Roth contributions to a 401(k) plan |
| 12 | C | Taxable cost of group-term life insurance over $50,000 |
| 12 | DD | Cost of employer-sponsored health coverage (not taxable) |
| 12 | W | Employer contributions to a health savings account, including cafeteria-plan amounts |
| 12 | TT (new) | Qualified overtime compensation: the premium above the regular rate |
| 12 | TP (new) | Total cash tips reported to the employer |
| 12 | TA (new) | Employer contributions to a Trump account of the employee or a dependent |
| 14a | Other items, formerly box 14 (for example union dues) | |
| 14b (new) | Treasury Tipped Occupation Code(s), when tips are reported with code TP |
| Worker | Gross per check | For the year | Box 12 amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| $25 an hour + 10 overtime hours a week | $2,750.00 | $19,500.00 overtime pay | TT $6,500.00 |
| $15 an hour + $400 tips every two weeks | $1,600.00 | $10,400.00 tips | TP $10,400.00 |
Watch it worked through
- W2 Box 12 Codes: 3 New Codes TT, TP, TA (YouTube Short)
- Your Employer Taxed You on Pay You Never Got #shorts (YouTube Short)
- Why Your W-2 Box 1 Is Lower Than Pay #shorts (YouTube Short)
Paycheck Zip videos use the same calculator as this page. Figures in a video are from the day it was made; the page is kept current.
Sources
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Questions
Is code TT my total overtime pay?
No. It is only the premium above your regular rate, such as the “half” in time-and-a-half. In the example, $19,500.00 of overtime pay has a $6,500.00 premium.
What is box 14b on the 2026 W-2?
The Treasury Tipped Occupation Code for a tipped worker, entered when tips are reported with code TP. Up to two codes; 000 if any tips came from a job not on the IRS list.
Is a Trump account contribution (code TA) taxable?
Paid under the employer’s Trump account contribution program, up to $2,500 a year, it is excluded from the employee’s gross income, according to the 2026 W-2 instructions.
Do TT and TP lower my paycheck tax?
No. Overtime and tips are taxed on the paycheck as usual. The deductions are claimed on the return, or counted early through Step 4(b) of the W-4.
When will I get my 2026 W-2?
Employers must furnish it by February 1, 2027.