Treasury Tipped Occupation Codes: How to Find the Right TTOC for Every Employee

• The IRS published a list of 68 tipped occupations organized into eight categories, each with a three-digit Treasury Tipped Occupation Code (TTOC). You must report the correct code in Box 14b of every tipped employee's 2026 W-2.
• Only employees working in occupations on this list can have their tips reported as qualified tips (Box 12, Code TP). If the role isn't on the list, the tips don't qualify for the deduction.
• The list covers far more than just restaurants -- it includes hotels, salons, casinos, delivery drivers, tour guides, personal trainers, and more.
• If an employee works in two tipped occupations, you can report up to two TTOCs in Box 14b.

Your server just heard they can deduct up to $25,000 in tips from their federal taxes. Your bartender is asking about it. Your salon stylists want to know if they qualify. And the answer to all of their questions starts with one thing: does their job appear on the IRS's official list of tipped occupations, and what's the code?

The IRS published this list in September 2025 through proposed regulations (REG-110032-25) after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) required the Treasury Department to identify occupations that "customarily and regularly received tips on or before December 31, 2024." The proposed regulations include 68 occupations grouped into eight categories, and each one is assigned a Treasury Tipped Occupation Code (TTOC) -- a three-digit number you'll report in Box 14b of the employee's W-2 starting in tax year 2026.

No TTOC on the W-2? No deduction for the employee. And potentially a penalty for you.

The IRS organized the 68 tipped occupations into eight broad industry categories. Here's an overview of each:

Category 1: Food and Beverage Service This is the largest category and covers the occupations most people think of when they hear "tipped workers." It includes servers, bartenders, bussers, hosts/hostesses, baristas, food runners, sommelier positions, banquet servers, and more.

Category 2: Hospitality and Lodging Hotel and lodging workers who customarily receive tips: bellhops, concierges, doorpersons, housekeepers (when tips are customary), room service attendants, hotel valets, and resort activity staff.

Category 3: Personal Care and Beauty Hairstylists, barbers, nail technicians, estheticians, spa therapists, massage therapists (in non-medical settings), and related beauty service workers.

Category 4: Gaming and Casino Casino dealers, slot attendants, cage cashiers, keno runners, poker room staff, and other gaming service employees.

Category 5: Transportation Taxi drivers, rideshare drivers, limousine/car service drivers, shuttle drivers, valets (non-hotel), parking attendants, and tour bus operators.

Category 6: Delivery and Courier Food delivery drivers, package delivery workers (when tips are customary), pizza delivery drivers, and similar courier roles.

Category 7: Recreation and Entertainment Tour guides, recreational activity instructors, golf caddies, personal trainers (in tipped settings), ski instructors, fishing/hunting guides, and similar roles.

Category 8: Miscellaneous Tipped Occupations Tattoo artists, pet groomers, furniture delivery/setup workers, restroom attendants, shoe shiners, and other occupations that customarily receive tips but don't fit neatly into the above categories.

Here's a practical lookup table for the most common tipped positions. For the complete list of all 68 codes, visit the IRS's official list or use the TTOC Code Finder.

Note: Exact TTOC numbers shown above are illustrative based on the category structure. Confirm exact codes against the IRS published list or the TTOC Code Finder.

Step 1: List every position that receives tips. Go through your entire roster. Don't just think about servers -- include bussers, baristas, delivery staff, valets, and anyone in a tip pool.

Step 2: Match each position to the IRS list. Look up each role on the official IRS list of occupations that customarily and regularly received tips. The list includes occupation titles, short descriptions, illustrative examples, and the corresponding Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system codes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Step 3: Assign the TTOC at the employee level. Configure your payroll system to store the TTOC for each tipped employee. Some systems let you assign this at the job-title level; others require individual assignment. Make sure it flows through to Box 14b on the W-2.

Step 4: Handle dual-role employees. If an employee works as both a server (code 101) and a bartender (code 102) during the year, you can report both codes in Box 14b. The 2026 W-2 allows up to two TTOCs. Allocate the employee's tips appropriately between the two roles if your system supports it.

Step 5: Use code 000 when tips don't qualify. If an employee receives tips but their occupation isn't on the IRS list, or if the tips are received in connection with a Specified Service Trade or Business (SSTB), report code 000 in Box 14b. This tells the IRS (and the employee) that the tips are not eligible for the OBBBA deduction. For help determining SSTB status, use the SSTB Determination Tool.

You manage a 120-room hotel with a restaurant, bar, valet service, and spa. Your tipped staff includes:

• 10 restaurant servers -> TTOC 101
• 3 bartenders -> TTOC 102
• 4 bussers -> TTOC 103
• 2 bellhops -> TTOC 201
• 2 valets -> TTOC 203
• 4 spa therapists -> TTOC 303
• 1 concierge -> TTOC 202

That's seven different TTOCs across 26 employees. Each W-2 must carry the correct code in Box 14b, matched to the correct Code TP amount in Box 12.

If your spa operates as a medical facility (and could be classified as an SSTB), the spa therapists' tips would be reported under Code TS instead of Code TP, with potential code 000 in Box 14b. This is where the SSTB determination becomes critical.

Your payroll system needs to handle all of this -- across multiple roles, multiple codes, and multiple reporting fields. If it can't, you're looking at manual work for every W-2. For most businesses, this is where a tool like TipFort saves significant time, generating compliant exports for your payroll provider.

Not every job that occasionally receives tips is on the IRS list. The list is limited to occupations that "customarily and regularly received tips on or before December 31, 2024." If a role started receiving tips after that date -- or receives tips occasionally but not customarily -- it may not qualify.

If an employee's exact job title doesn't appear on the list, look at the descriptions and illustrative examples for each TTOC. The IRS uses broad occupation groupings, not rigid job titles. A "cocktail server" may not appear by that name but is covered under the food and beverage service category.

If you genuinely can't match a role to any TTOC, the tips from that role don't qualify for the deduction. Report them as regular wages only -- do not include them in Code TP. You may want to use code 000 in Box 14b to document that you considered the classification.

Two occupations are specifically excluded regardless of state law: prostitution services and marijuana industry workers (even in states where these are legal), because the law requires the occupation to be legal under federal law.

Assigning a code to non-tipped employees. Your kitchen staff, dishwashers, and managers who don't receive tips should not have a TTOC. Including one on their W-2 creates an incorrect form.

Using the same code for everyone. A hotel that assigns TTOC 101 to bellhops, spa workers, and bartenders is filing incorrect W-2s. Each role has its own code for a reason -- it determines deduction eligibility.

Not updating codes when employees change roles. If a busser gets promoted to server mid-year, their TTOC should reflect the role they held when receiving tips. You may need to report two codes if they received tips in both roles.

Ignoring the occupation code entirely. Some payroll systems don't yet have a Box 14b field configured. If your system can't report the TTOC, every tipped employee's W-2 will be missing required information. This is the single most common compliance gap heading into 2026. For the full breakdown of what incorrect W-2s cost, see our penalty guide.

Where can I find the complete list of 68 tipped occupations? The IRS published the official list on IRS.gov under "Occupations that customarily and regularly received tips on or before December 31, 2024." The list is also part of proposed regulations (REG-110032-25) published in the Federal Register in September 2025. You can also use TipFort's TTOC Code Finder for a searchable version.

Can the list change? The proposed regulations are open to public comment, and the IRS may revise the list before finalizing it. However, the IRS has indicated the final list will be substantially the same as the preliminary version. Monitor IRS updates for any changes.

What's the SOC code on the list, and do I need it? Each TTOC includes a reference to the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system code from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This helps you match the TTOC to federal labor statistics categories. You don't report the SOC code on the W-2 -- only the TTOC. But the SOC code is useful if you're trying to determine which TTOC applies to a non-obvious role.

Do independent contractors need TTOCs? The TTOC reporting structure also applies to Forms 1099-NEC and 1099-K for independent contractors. The 2026 versions of these forms include fields for cash tips and occupation codes. If you use contract workers in tipped roles (like freelance event bartenders), you'll need to report their TTOC on the applicable 1099 form.

What if my payroll system doesn't support Box 14b yet? Contact your payroll provider immediately. The 2026 W-2 is finalized and Box 14b is a required field for tipped employees. If your provider can't support it, TipFort generates compliant CSV exports that feed directly into Gusto, QuickBooks, ADP, and Paychex.

Don't dig through IRS PDFs trying to match job titles to three-digit codes. TipFort's free TTOC Code Finder lets you search by job title, industry, or description -- and gives you the exact code for Box 14b on the spot.

Look up your TTOC codes now