I tip at two restaurants — how do I add tips for the deduction?
The short answer
Example math
Job A (server) qualified tips: $16,000. Job B (bartender) qualified tips: $12,000. Single; MAGI under the phase-out.
- Combined qualified tips = $28,000.
- Cap: min($28,000, $25,000) = $25,000 (the cap is per return).
- Illustrative savings at 22% ≈ $5,500 (illustrative rate; enter your own marginal rate).
- FICA still generally applied at each job on reported tips.
Not tax advice. For a mix of occupations across several W-2s, follow the IRS Schedule 1-A instructions; TipMax does not compute that grid.
Check your estimate
Enter a combined annual qualified-tips estimate. For exact multi-employer figures, use the form instructions, not this tool.
Open the calculator
Plain English
What is settled
- One $25,000 deduction limit per return and taxable year. See the cap and phase-out page.
- The phase-out uses your return’s MAGI thresholds.
- Each employer’s tips still need to pass the occupation and reporting rules.
What we deliberately don’t invent
Schedule 1-A Part II points multi-employer cases to the form instructions. The TipMax calculator doesn’t compute a multi-W-2 worksheet, and TipMax Answers won’t publish a made-up one.
Common mistakes
- Thinking each job gets its own $25,000.
- Adding tip-pool totals from both houses without separating what you received and kept from what you tipped out. Follow each house’s written tip policy; see tip-outs and qualified tips.
- Ignoring a second W-2’s 000 occupation code.
Official sources
Last verified:
Sources checked: Schedule 1-A, IRS tip recordkeeping page, 2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3, and the IRS tipped occupations list. Confirmed: the $25,000 cap is per return, and the MAGI phase-out applies once per return.
Still open: Multi-employer and multi-occupation worksheet details follow the IRS Schedule 1-A instructions; the TipMax calculator doesn’t compute them.