Tie-Out Press
Edition 1 · 24 September 2026 · Tie-Out Press
The payroll-vendor documentation map records what seven payroll vendors' own published pages say, and do not say, about the figure that goes in box 12 of the 2026 W-2 under code TT: Gusto, ADP, Paychex, QuickBooks Payroll (Online and Desktop), Xero, OnPay and Patriot. Twenty-seven pages, read on 24 September 2026, quoted verbatim and dated, with the four places a vendor sentence differs from the statute or the August employer guidance set beside the governing text. It makes no claim about how any product behaves; it shows a practice which questions a vendor's pages answer and which they leave open. Free, no sign-up, re-issued when a vendor's page moves.
The map is on this page in full and asks for no address; the form is only for what changes after this edition.
Every change to the TY2026 code TT treatment as it happens, and this map re-issued when a vendor's documentation moves. Messages go out when something changes; there is no schedule. Some will mention or link to the imprint's own paid editions.
Pressing the button sends your address through a redirect on this site that neither reads nor keeps it, to Kit, which mails you the confirmation link; this page loads nothing from any other site.
Re-issues of this map and changes to the code TT treatment are entered, with sources and dates, on the tax year 2026 code TT record.
This map records what seven payroll vendors' own published pages say, and do not say, about the figure that goes in box 12 of the 2026 Form W-2 under code TT. Every statement about a vendor below is either a quotation from a page the vendor publishes or a note that the pages read do not mention the point. The map makes no claim about how any vendor's software behaves. We hold no account with any of them and tested nothing. Twenty-seven pages were read on 24 September 2026; where a page prints its own date, that date is given too. Content behind a customer login was not read. A page quoted here may have changed since.
The rule the pages are read against is short. Code TT carries the total qualified overtime compensation, which IRC §225(c)(1) defines as "overtime compensation paid to an individual required under section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 that is in excess of the regular rate (as used in such section) at which such individual is employed." The employer computation rules are in IRS Fact Sheet 2026-13 (6 August 2026), which supersedes FS-2026-01.
"Stated" means a quoted page says it. "As the rule" means the page states it as a rule of the deduction, not as something the product does. "Not stated" means no page read mentions it. Page codes (GU1, AD1 and so on) point to the vendor sections and the source index.
| Vendor | Documentation says the platform populates box 12, code TT | Premium only | Regular rate above the hourly rate | State, daily or contract overtime excluded | Exempt · multiple rates · mid-year | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gusto | Stated (GU1, quoted below) | Stated (GU2) | Stated for overtime pay (GU4); GU4 does not mention the W-2 | Stated (GU1, GU2) | Exempt: stated (GU2). Multiple rates: stated for overtime pay (GU2, GU4). Mid-year: stated (GU2) | 4 |
| ADP (RUN, Workforce Now) | Not stated; AD1 describes the form requirement, not the products | As the rule (AD1) | As the rule: the IRS formula (AD1) | As the rule (AD1); separate "NQ" earnings listed (AD4) | Exempt: as the rule (AD1). Multiple rates: the IRS formula (AD1). Mid-year: not stated | 5 |
| Paychex (Flex) | Not stated | As the rule (PX1, PX2) | Not stated | As the rule (PX1, PX2) | Exempt: as the rule (PX1). Multiple rates: release-note heading only (PX4). Mid-year: not stated | 4; help center behind login |
| QuickBooks Online Payroll | Not stated; QB1 describes a tracking item and does not say where its amount lands on the W-2 | Stated (QB1) | Not stated; manual entry named for "different hourly rates" (QB1) | Stated; manual entry named for state laws (QB1) | Exempt: "each employee who's subject to Overtime rules" (QB1). Multiple rates: manual entry (QB1). Mid-year: year-to-date adjustments (QB1) | 2, shared with Desktop |
| QuickBooks Desktop Payroll | Not stated (QB1) | Stated (QB1) | QB1 names the hourly rate on the payroll item above the Overtime Pay item; bonuses and shift differentials not mentioned | Stated; manual calculation for the wizard's "no" answer (QB1) | Exempt: not stated. Multiple rates: "We won't be able to automatically calculate…" (QB1). Mid-year: lump sum on the last paycheck (QB1) | 2, shared with Online |
| Xero | Not stated | As the rule (XE2, marketing guide) | Not stated | XE2 says "…under the FLSA or equivalent state laws"; see the differences section | Exempt: as the rule (XE2). Multiple rates, mid-year: not stated | 4; help-center search behind login |
| OnPay | Not stated; ON2 says OnPay handles "calculating and reporting qualified overtime premium pay", naming no box or code | Stated (ON1, ON2) | ON3 (2025, overtime pay generally): weighted average; commissions and bonuses "not factored into overtime calculations by OnPay" | Stated (ON1, ON2) | Exempt: as the rule (ON1). Multiple rates: ON3. Mid-year: not stated | 3 |
| Patriot | Not stated; PA1 says Patriot will "report the amount on the employee’s W-2", naming no box or code | Stated (PA1) | Not stated | Stated (PA1, PA4) | Exempt: stated (PA1). Multiple rates: not stated. Mid-year: payroll history (PA2) | 5 |
Pages: GU1 "The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB or OB3) Act", help center, "Last updated November 28, 2025". GU2 "Overtime hours and pay". GU3 "Confirm your annual tax information (for admins)". GU4 "Regular Rate of Pay (RRP)". All help center; GU2–GU4 show no date.
Gusto is the one vendor of the seven whose help center names the box and the code. GU1, under "For tax year 2026:": "We report overtime on Form W-2 under a new Box 12 code: TT—Total amount of qualified overtime compensation." GU2 says "Gusto will report the qualified overtime premiums on employees’ 2026 W-2s." and does not itself mention box 12 or code TT.
On the premium, GU2: "The overtime premium is only the extra “half” of time-and-a-half pay. It is not the full overtime wage." On the rate, GU2 under "Calculate overtime with multiple pay rates": "Overtime will be calculated using a regular rate of pay based on the weighted average rate". GU4, which is about overtime pay and does not mention the W-2: "An employee’s regular rate is the hourly rate we use to calculate overtime." "It includes base pay and eligible extra pay." It names non-discretionary bonuses and commissions among the included earnings. For payrolls run outside Gusto, GU2 gives "Regular hourly rate × 0.5 × overtime hours (hours over 40 in a week)".
On what is excluded, GU1: "Only applies to overtime required under federal law (not extra pay from employer generosity or state law)". GU2 lists under "What does NOT count": "Daily overtime (for example, California’s overtime after 8 hours in a day)", "Double time pay", "Overtime paid to exempt employees" and "Extra overtime required by union agreements or company policy".
Mid-year: GU2 says "You must tell Gusto about federally mandated overtime if any of the following apply:", a list that includes "You joined Gusto mid-year", and "Gusto only tracks overtime paid through Gusto. You must provide the overtime premium amounts from any payrolls run outside Gusto." For 2025, GU1: "We'll report overtime in Box 14 of the W-2."
Not mentioned on the pages read: bonuses, commissions or shift differentials in connection with the W-2 figure specifically.
No public ADP page specific to RUN or to Workforce Now on this topic was found on 24 September 2026; in-product help for both needs a client login and was not read.
Pages: AD1 "Treasury and IRS Issue New Guidance on Overtime Deduction and Paid Family and Medical Leave Credit", SPARK article, "Updated on August 13, 2026". AD2 "Strategies for Surviving Year-End Reporting: FAQs for Employers", SPARK article, no date. AD3 "Qualified Tips and Qualified Overtime Tax Deductions Guide for Employees", employee support page, no date, written for 2025. AD4 "Earnings and Deductions Quick Reference", support.adp.com PDF, no revision date, read by text extraction because the browser's PDF viewer exposes no text. AD5 "Know Your Form W-2: A-Z", ADP small-business blog with a RUN sample W-2, "Posted on January 5, 2026".
AD1 describes the requirement: "Year-end tax forms have been updated to require qualified overtime reporting on Form W-2, Box 12 (Code TT), Form 1099-MISC (Box 14) and Form 1099-NEC (Box 1d)." No ADP page read says what RUN or Workforce Now puts in that box.
The rules, as ADP states them. AD1: “"Qualified overtime compensation" is defined as the premium portion of overtime compensation required to be paid under Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).” and "For employers who pay multiple types of overtime, the FAQs state that the qualified overtime portion can be calculated as (i) FLSA hours worked over 40 in a workweek, multiplied by (ii) one-half (for the premium portion), multiplied by (iii) the employee’s FLSA regular rate of pay." On exclusions, AD1: "Other types of overtime, including overtime required by state law or a collective bargaining agreement, or overtime paid voluntarily by employers, are not qualified overtime and are not eligible for deduction, unless the hours otherwise qualify under the FLSA". AD1 states the FLSA coverage and exemption condition as a rule.
AD4 lists four earnings. "Overtime": "An amount paid to employees that's 1 and 1/2 times their regular rate. This amount may qualify for the tax deduction outlined in the One Big Beautiful Bill." "NQ Overtime": "An amount paid to employees that's 1 and 1/2 times their regular rate. This amount is not qualified as overtime under the One Big Beautiful Bill." "Double Time" and "Nonqualified (NQ) Double Time" are described the same way at two times the regular rate. The PDF does not contain "TT". AD5's RUN sample W-2 (January 2026) lists box 12 codes C, D, W and AA and not TT.
Not mentioned on the pages read: what either product puts in box 12; how the AD4 earnings reach the W-2; which earning to choose; mid-year starts; overtime paid before setup.
help.paychex.com redirected to a Microsoft sign-in page when opened on 24 September 2026 (checked twice that day, the second time at 13:40 ET). It was not read. The pages below are Paychex's public articles and release notes and are labeled marketing because no help-center page could be reached.
Pages: PX1 "No Tax on Overtime and Tips FAQ", "Last Updated: 02/27/2026". PX2 "2025 Tax Law: No Taxes on Overtime and Tips", "Last Updated: 04/30/2026". PX3 "Top Regulatory Issues for Businesses in 2026", "Last Updated: 12/12/2025". PX4 "Paychex Product Release April 2026", release notes, no date beyond the month.
None of the four contains "Box 12" or "code TT". On the premium, PX1: "Since FLSA establishes overtime as any hours worked beyond 40 per week, only the premium portion (the one-half of time and a half) is eligible on the hours worked beyond that threshold." PX2: "Only the excess portion (the half portion of time and a half) qualifies."
On exclusions, PX1: "For the purposes of federal “no tax on overtime,” it needs to be calculated on FLSA." PX2: "Employers must ensure they only report the employee’s eligible overtime, and not OT owed under state law that requires payment of overtime after working more than eight hours." On exemption, PX1: "If an employee is classified as exempt from FLSA, then they typically are not eligible for overtime and, as such, would not qualify for the deduction." On the rate, PX1 says only that the FLSA addresses how bonuses and commissions are handled.
PX4, under "Weighted Overtime Calculation": "Paychex clients can now consolidate multiple overtime options into one streamlined method when processing payroll to support One Big Beautiful Bill reporting." It names no setting, earning or box. For 2025, PX3: "Employees of Paychex clients received this information on their 2025 W-2 in box 14."
Not mentioned on the pages read: what Paychex Flex puts on the 2026 W-2; which earning or setting the release-note feature uses; mid-year starts; overtime paid before setup. Two Paychex statements differ from the statute or from IRS guidance; see the differences section.
One help article, QB1, documents QuickBooks Online Payroll (shown on the page as "Intuit QuickBooks Workforce") and QuickBooks Desktop Payroll in separate sections. QB1 "Impact of the No Tax on Overtime provision to QuickBooks Payroll", "Updated 8/25/2026 12:20". QB2 "Preview your W-2s", "Updated 8/5/2026 03:07". Both help center.
QB1 does not contain "Box 12", "code TT" or "2026 W-2". QB2 names box 12 only for codes DD and FF and does not contain the word "overtime".
On the premium, QB1: "Qualified Overtime is the compensation that exceeds the regular rate of pay based on Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938." "This means that the “half” of the “time-and-a-half” required by the FLSA is “qualified overtime.”"
Online Payroll, per QB1: "Add the new “Qualified Overtime Tracking” pay type to each employee who's subject to Overtime rules." "The "Qualified Overtime Tracking" item will calculate automatically if you use the embedded Overtime 1.5x and Double Time pay types that pay in line with FLSA standards." Three cases are listed as needing manual entry: "Overtime policies or state laws that differ from the FLSA."; "You use pay types other than the embedded overtime items."; "You pay overtime based on different hourly rates, usually to follow union contracts or prevailing wages."
Desktop Payroll, per QB1: "We assume that all overtime paid is in line with FLSA standards." "We'll calculate the Qualified Overtime amount based upon the IRS rules of the "half" portion of "time and a half" using the hourly rates entered on the payroll item directly above the Overtime Pay item on the paycheck." For the wizard's "no" answer: "You will need to manually calculate the correct amount based solely on FLSA guidelines and enter it on each paycheck." "You can also enter a lump sum amount for the year on the last paycheck for each employee." With several tracking items or overtime rates on one paycheck: "We won't be able to automatically calculate the Qualified Overtime Tracking amount."
Both sections: "Amounts that exceed the “half” of time-and-a-half, or amounts paid more generously than what is required by the FLSA hours per week rule won't qualify for the tax breaks." "This includes states which have policies that differ from the FLSA." Year-to-date changes go through an added amount on the next paycheck (increase) or edits to prior paychecks (decrease). For 2025: "The IRS guidance lists Box 14 as a voluntary option for reporting these provisions of the bill for 2025."
Not mentioned on the pages read: where the Qualified Overtime Tracking amount lands on the 2026 W-2; nondiscretionary bonuses, commissions or shift differentials in the qualified-overtime calculation; exempt employees in the Desktop section. One QB1 statement about a 2025 IRS release is taken up in the differences section.
What those gaps mean for a bookkeeper closing the year on QuickBooks, case by case: QuickBooks Qualified Overtime Tracking, for the bookkeeper closing the year.
US payroll in Xero is "Xero Payroll, powered by Gusto". The one Xero Central article found on US payroll setup does not cover overtime or the W-2, and the Xero Central search redirected to login.xero.com when opened on 24 September 2026 (checked twice that day, the second time at 13:40 ET). The other pages are labeled marketing. This map does not carry Gusto's pages over to Xero.
Pages: XE1 "Set up Xero Payroll – Xero Central", help center, no date. XE2 "New overtime, minimum wage & payroll law changes small businesses must know in 2026", Xero US guide, "Published Thursday 2 July 2026". XE3 "Payroll Software for Small Businesses", product page, no date. XE4 "Xero and Gusto FAQ", FAQ under legal terms, no date.
XE1 contains none of "W-2", "overtime", "Box 12" or "code TT"; its one relevant sentence is "If you have an existing Gusto account or have previously used Gusto, you can migrate your payroll to Xero Payroll instead of setting it up manually." XE2 is addressed to payroll systems in general and does not contain "Box 12", "code TT" or "Xero Payroll". On the premium: "The deduction applies only to the premium portion of overtime pay, not the full overtime rate." On exemption: "The deduction also doesn't apply to salaried employees who are exempt from overtime rules, since they don't receive overtime pay." On eligibility: "The deduction is available to W-2 employees who receive overtime pay under the FLSA or equivalent state laws." See the differences section.
Two Xero pages differ on who issues W-2s. XE3: "As for W-2s, Xero issues these and makes them available on the Xero Me app." XE4: "Gusto automates W-2 and 1099 filings on your behalf…".
Not mentioned on the pages read: box 12; code TT; the regular rate; qualified overtime in Xero Payroll's own setup; multiple rates; mid-year starts.
Pages, all help center: ON1 "No tax on overtime: Federal tax deduction on qualified overtime", 31 March 2026. ON2 "Entering OBBB qualified overtime during a pay run", 21 January 2026. ON3 "Overtime calculation for multiple pay rates", 7 March 2025. The pages print relative dates; these are from each page's time element.
ON1 and ON2 do not contain "Box 12" or "code TT"; ON1 does not contain "W-2". ON2: "Provided all qualified overtime hours are entered during each pay run, OnPay automatically handles calculating and reporting qualified overtime premium pay." and "For an employee who earns qualified overtime pay to claim a deduction during tax years 2026-2028, qualified overtime amounts must be reported on each pay statement they receive throughout each year, as well as on their W-2 at the end of the year."
On the premium, ON1: "Only the overtime premium (0.5x regular rate) qualifies for the deduction under OBBB." ON2: "The federal tax deduction only applies to overtime premium pay (the "half" in "time-and-a-half") earned for working over forty (40) hours in a week." On exclusions, ON1: "Overtime as defined under state or local overtime laws, workers' unions, or company overtime policies, is not eligible for this deduction." ON2: "Overtime pay earned under the requirement of state law, such as in California, which requires overtime pay for working more than eight (8) hours in a day, is not eligible for a tax deduction." On eligibility, ON1: "Hourly, non-exempt workers who are eligible for overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) may claim this deduction".
On the rate, ON3 is about overtime pay generally and predates the deduction: "Overtime is calculated using the regular pay rate based on the weighted average rate of the different pay rates paid in the weekly period." "Because commissions and bonuses cannot be attributed to a single pay period, and can be discretionary, they are not factored into overtime calculations by OnPay." ON2: "It is the employer's responsibility to accurately report qualified overtime hours."
Not mentioned on the pages read: box 12; code TT; mid-year starts; overtime paid before setup; whether ON3's rate rules apply to the qualified-overtime figure.
Pages: PA1 "How to Indicate FLSA Overtime for W-2 Reporting in Payroll", July 31, 2026. PA2 "Entering Payroll History in the Wizard", August 17, 2026. PA3 "One Big Beautiful Bill: Payroll Resources Overview", July 16, 2026. PA4 "How to Find Your “No Tax on Overtime” Deduction Amount", employee portal, tax year 2025, July 7, 2026. PA5 "Autofill Hours for FLSA Overtime Reporting", release notes, May 20, 2026. All help center except PA5.
None of PA1, PA3, PA4 or PA5 contains "Box 12" or "code TT". PA1: "Beginning in 2026, you will need to enter FLSA overtime hours in Patriot Payroll so Patriot can report the required overtime deduction information on employee W-2s." and "Patriot will calculate the premium pay amount, meaning the “half” portion of time-and-a-half overtime pay, and report the amount on the employee’s W-2." PA4: "2026 W-2s will have the premium overtime wages separately identified."
On exclusions, PA1: "Do not include overtime hours paid as a result of other state or company rules." "You only need to enter the FLSA overtime hours over 40 in one week." PA4: "State and local overtime laws that are stricter than the FLSA overtime are not eligible for the tax deduction." On exemption, PA1: "If an employee is exempt from FLSA overtime, enter 0 hours on the FLSA Overtime Designation page."
Setup, PA1: "Do not use a custom overtime hour box for FLSA overtime." PA5: "When you enter overtime hours in payroll, Patriot now automatically fills in the FLSA overtime hours in Step 1A". Mid-year, PA2 asks for "the deductible federal overtime wages--that is the 1/2 portion of time and a half." and says: "If you are starting payroll mid-year and previously paid employees by check for earlier quarters, you must still enter past payroll history into Patriot to ensure accurate W-2s, even if you file those earlier quarter returns yourself."
Not mentioned on the pages read: box 12; code TT; how the regular rate is set for the premium; multiple pay rates.
Four sentences on the pages read differ from the statute or from IRS guidance. Each is quoted beside the governing text, which controls. The vendor pages were read on 24 September 2026 and may have been corrected since.
One site-restricted search each on 24 September 2026 for "code TT" OR "qualified overtime", pages found but not opened: Paycor (one resource-center article), Paylocity (two tax-compliance alerts and an FLSA guide), SurePayroll (two 2025 articles). Rippling, Square Payroll and Wave: no page on the topic found by that search.
Facts about the pages read, across vendors. None is a statement about how any product behaves.
Eight terms were searched for each vendor by site-restricted web search on 24 September 2026 ("code TT", "box 12 TT", "qualified overtime", "no tax on overtime", "overtime deduction", "OBBBA", "One Big Beautiful Bill", "2026 W-2"), with 12 to 24 further searches per vendor for partner, year-end, release-note and regular-rate pages. Help-center pages were preferred over blog and marketing pages where both existed. Each page was opened in a browser and every quotation was matched character for character against the page's text, typography as printed. The Paychex help center, the Xero Central search and ADP's in-product help were not reachable without a login on that date. The map is re-issued when a quoted page moves.
Page code and URL; kind and date are in the vendor sections. The full evidence block, with every quoted span, is kept with the edition's working files.
Every change to the TY2026 code TT treatment as it happens, and this map re-issued when a vendor's documentation moves. Messages go out when something changes; there is no schedule. Some will mention or link to the imprint's own paid editions.
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The Qualified Overtime Kit, TY2026 edition, is an Excel workbook built to the 2026 Form W-2 instructions for reconciling box 12, code TT: https://tieoutpress.com/overtime-kit.html
This map records published documentation as read on the dates shown. It is not tax, legal, accounting or payroll advice, and it is not a substitute for advice from a qualified professional who has reviewed your client's specific facts. Tie-Out Press is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor, any government agency or any payroll vendor named here. Product names belong to their owners and are used only to identify the documentation quoted.
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Tie-Out Press publishes the Qualified Overtime Kit, which reconciles the qualified overtime figure an employer reports in box 12 of the W-2, under code TT. It is a calculation tool, not tax or legal advice.
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