S. 129 (119th)Bill Overview

No Tax on Tips Act

Taxation|Accounting and auditingFood industry and services
Sponsor
Cosponsors
Support
Republican
Introduced
Jan 16, 2025
Discussions
Bill Text
Current stageIntroduced

Held at the desk.

Introduced
Committee
Floor
President
Law
Congressional Activities
01 · The brief
Plain-English summaryWhat this bill actually does

<p><strong>No Tax on Tips Act</strong></p><p>This bill establishes a new tax deduction of up to $25,000 for tips, subject to limitations. The bill also expands the business tax credit for the portion of payroll taxes an employer pays on certain tips to include payroll taxes paid on tips received in connection with certain beauty services.</p><p>Under the bill, the new tax deduction for tips is limited to cash tips (1) received by an employee during the course of employment in an occupation that customarily receives tips, and (2) reported by the employee to the employer for purposes of withholding payroll taxes. (Under current law, an employee is required to report tips exceeding $20 per month to their employer.)</p><p>Further, an employee with compensation exceeding a specified threshold ($160,000&nbsp;in 2025 and adjusted annually for inflation) in the prior tax year may not claim the new tax deduction for tips.</p><p>Finally, the bill expands the business tax credit for the portion of payroll taxes that an employer pays on certain tips to include payroll taxes paid on tips received in connection with barbering and hair care, nail care, esthetics, and body and spa treatments. (Under current law, an employer is allowed a business tax credit for the amount of payroll taxes paid on certain tips received by an employee in connection with providing, delivering, or serving food or beverages.)&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

Why people may split

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

Watch point

The next hurdle is reproducing that support in the other chamber.

<p><strong>No Tax on Tips Act</strong></p><p>This bill establishes a new tax deduction of up to $25,000 for tips, subject to limitations.

The bill also expands the business tax credit for the portion of payroll taxes an employer pays on certain tips to include payroll taxes paid on tips received in connection with certain beauty services.</p><p>Under the bill, the new tax deduction for tips is limited to cash tips (1) received by an employee during the course of employment in an occupation that customarily receives tips, and (2) reported by the employee to the employer for purposes of withholding payroll taxes. (Under current law, an employee is required to report tips exceeding $20 per month to their employer.)</p><p>Further, an employee with compensation exceeding a specified threshold ($160,000&nbsp;in 2025 and adjusted annually for inflation) in the prior tax year may not claim the new tax deduction for tips.</p><p>Finally, the bill expands the business tax credit for the portion of payroll taxes that an employer pays on certain tips to include payroll taxes paid on tips received in connection with barbering and hair care, nail care, esthetics, and body and spa treatments. (Under current law, an employer is allowed a business tax credit for the amount of payroll taxes paid on certain tips received by an employee in connection with providing, delivering, or serving food or beverages.)&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

Passage64/100

This bill has already passed one chamber, which is a stronger signal than introduction alone but still leaves another major hurdle ahead.

CredibilityPartial

How solid the drafting looks.

Contention62/100

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

02 · What it does

Who stands to gain, and who may push back.

Likely benefits vs burdens0% / 100%
Likely helpedLikely burdened

These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.

Likely helped
  • No clear beneficiaries surfaced yet.
Likely burdened
  • No clear downsides surfaced yet.
03 · Why people split

Why the argument around this bill splits.

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.
Progressive

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

Unclear
Centrist

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

Unclear
Conservative

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

Unclear
04 · Can it pass?

The path through Congress.

Introduced

Reached or meaningfully advanced

Committee

Still ahead

Floor

Still ahead

President

Still ahead

Law

Still ahead

Passage likelihood64/100

This bill has already passed one chamber, which is a stronger signal than introduction alone but still leaves another major hurdle ahead.

Why this could stall
  • The next hurdle is reproducing that support in the other chamber.
05 · Recent votes

Recent votes on the bill.

No vote history yet

The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.

06 · Go deeper

Go deeper than the headline read.

Included on this page

The main political fault lines are not fully surfaced yet, so coalition durability is still unclear.

This bill has already passed one chamber, which is a stronger signal than introduction alone but still leaves another major hurdle ahead.

Unlocked analysis

Pro readers get the full perspective split, passage barriers, legislative design review, stakeholder impact map, and lens-based policy tradeoff analysis for No Tax on Tips Act.

Go beyond the headline summary with full stakeholder mapping, legislative design analysis, passage barriers, and lens-by-lens tradeoff breakdowns.

Perspective breakdownsPassage barriersLegislative design reviewStakeholder impact map
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