About
Why this exists
2026 is the first year employers must separately report qualified overtime compensation on Form W-2, Box 12, using code TT. The slogan is “no tax on overtime.” The statute is narrower than the slogan, and the W-2 box is easy to misread.
What changed
The deduction (IRC §225) began with tax year 2025. That year was a transition: employers did not have to break QOC out on the W-2, and employees could approximate. IRS Fact Sheet FS-2026-13 (6 August 2026) makes the 2026 rule plain:
- Employers report full-year qualified overtime in Box 12, code TT — even when the deductible amount will be smaller because of the cap or MAGI.
- Employees generally cannot claim more than that reported amount.
- If the box is blank or too low, the path is Form W-2c, not Form 4852 and not a reasonable approximation.
- Overtime is still withheld. Expected deductions belong on Form W-4, Step 4(b).
The usual mix-up
People reasonably assume “overtime” means every dollar paid for hours after 40, or every Saturday premium. Qualified overtime is only the FLSA §7 amount above the regular rate — typically the half in time-and-a-half. A 50-hour week at $20 is $100 of QOC, not $300, and not $400 if the employer pays 2×. Code TT exists so that number is visible. This site exists so you can see the same arithmetic before January.
How we built it
Static files. No accounts. The formula lives in js/calc.js and is covered by tests in js/calc.test.js. Pay figures are not sent to a server. Read the methodology, privacy, and disclaimer pages for the rest of the boundaries.