No Tax on Tips Calculator
Enter your tips for the year, and any mandatory service charges inside that total, which are taken out because only voluntary tips qualify. The cap is $25,000 per tax return, not per person, and the deduction phases out over $150,000 of MAGI ($300,000 on a joint return). US federal, tax years 2025 to 2028. Check your occupation first if you have not already.
How the tips deduction is calculated
Deduction = the smaller of your qualified tips or $25,000, reduced by $100 for every full $1,000 of MAGI over $150,000 ($300,000 if married filing jointly), following Schedule 1-A, Part II. Qualified tips are cash tips (including card tips) paid voluntarily by the customer in a listed occupation. Mandatory service charges are not tips; anything a customer adds above a mandatory charge is. Tips are claimed from W-2 box 7, Form 4137, or, for a trade or business, from 1099-NEC box 1, 1099-MISC box 3 or 1099-K box 1a up to net profit. Sources: IRS Schedule 1-A (PDF) and T.D. 10044 (final tips regulations).
Worked examples
Server under the cap
$20,000 of qualified tips, single, MAGI $100,000.
Deduction $20,000
Two earners, one cap
$40,000 of combined tips on a joint return.
Deduction capped at $25,000 per return
Phase-out example
$25,000 of tips, single, MAGI $200,000.
Reduction 50 x $100 = $5,000, deduction $20,000
Frequently asked questions
Are mandatory service charges deductible as tips?
Do pooled tips count?
Can married filing separately filers claim it?
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Disclaimer: Estimate only. US federal deductions, tax years 2025 to 2028. This calculator is not tax advice.
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