What are qualified tips?

If you get tips from a job where tips are customarily and regularly received, then they're usually qualified tips for a deduction that we'll help you take.

Qualified tips:

• Must be paid in cash or check, credit card, debit card, gift card, something tangible or something else easily exchanged for a fixed amount in cash. They can also be another form of electronic settlement or mobile payment application (excluding most digital assets) denominated in cash.
• Must be received from customers or through a mandatory or voluntary tip-sharing arrangement, such as a tip pool.
• Must be paid voluntarily.
• Cannot be subject to negotiation.
• For 2025 only: Tips if you are an employee or self-employed in a Specified Service Trade or Business also qualify.

Tips that don't qualify include:

• Some service charges.
  
  For example, in the case of a restaurant that imposes an automatic 18% service charge for large parties and distributes that amount to waiters, bussers, and kitchen staff; if the charge is added with no option for the customer to disregard or modify it, the amounts distributed to the workers from it are not qualified tips.
  
  However, if the customer is presented with an electronic point-of-sale device that includes different tip options, including the option to not tip, then those tips do qualify.
• Any amount received for illegal activity, prostitution services, or pornographic activity is not a qualified tip.

Qualifying jobs may include:

Beverage & Food Service
• Bartenders
• Wait Staff
• Food Servers not in a restaurant
• Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
• Chefs and Cooks
• Food Preparation Workers
• Fast Food and Counter Worksers
• Dishwashers
• Host Staff, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop
• Bakers

Entertainment & Events
• Gambling Dealers
• Gambling Change Persons and Booth Cashiers
• Gambling Cage Workers
• Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners
• Dancers, Musicians, and Singers
• Disc Jockeys, Except Radio
• Entertainers and Performers
• Digital Content Creators
• Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers
• Locker Room, Coatroom, and Dressing Room Attendant

Hospitality & Guest Services
• Baggage Porters and Bellhops
• Concierges
• Hotel Motel, and Resort Desk Clerks
• Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
• Home Maintenance and Repaier Workers

Home Services
• Home Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers
• Home Electricians
• Home Plumbers
• Home Heating and Air Conditioning Mechanics and Installers
• Home Appliance Installers and Repairers
• Locksmiths
• Roadside Assistance Workers

Personal Services
• Personal Care and Service Workers
• Private Event Planners
• Private Event and Portrait Photographers
• Private Event Videographers
• Event Officiants
• Pet Caretakers
• Tutors
• Nannies and Babysitters

Personal Appearance & Wellness
• Skincare Specialists
• Massage Therapists
• Barbers, Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists
• Shampooers
• Manicurists and Pedicurists
• Eyebrow Threading and Waxing Technicians
• Makeup Artists
• Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors
• Tattoo Artists and Piercers
• Tailors
• Shoe Leather Workers and Repairers

Recreation & Instruction
• Golf Caddies
• Self-Enrichment Teachers
• Recreational and Tour Pilots
• Tour Guides and Escorts
• Travel Guides
• Sports and Recreation Instructors

Transportation & Delivery
• Parking and Valet Attendants
• Taxi and Rideshare Drivers and Chauffeurs
• Shuttle Drivers
• Goods Delivery People
• Personal Vehicle and Equipment Cleaners
• Private and Charter Bus Drivers
• Water Taxi Operators and Charter Boat Workers
• Rickshaw, Pedicab, and Carriage Drivers
• Home Movers

However, if your job was in health, performing arts, and athletics, your tips unfortunately don't qualify.