Are tattoo artists and piercers tips tax deductible in 2026?
Yes — tattoo artists and piercers are on the IRS tipped occupation list (code 609). Tips in this job are deductible for 2026, up to $25,000, if the customer chose the amount and could have declined.
Treasury Tipped Occupation Code 609 · Personal appearance and wellness · official title: Tattoo Artists and Piercers
How tipping works in this job
Tattoo tipping is a strong convention — commonly 15 to 20% on the price of the piece, in cash at the end of a session, and on a large multi-session back piece that adds up to real money. Most artists rent a booth from the shop rather than being employed by it, so tips come straight to them and never touch a payroll system. Piercing is tipped more modestly and more sporadically.
The regulations say: Design and execute tattoos on a client’s skin, often using a needle and ink. Create openings in the human body for the insertion of jewelry. May consult clients on aftercare to promote healing and prevent infection. Examples given: Tattoo artist, ear piercer, nose piercer.
The thing most likely to disqualify your tips
Shop minimums, design and drawing fees, and deposits to book a session are all part of the price of the work. Jewellery sold at a piercing is a retail sale. The tip is only what the client added once the piece was finished — which, given how much of this trade runs on cash, is also the part with no independent record.
Check your own numbers
Pre-filled for tattoo artists and piercers. Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Step 1 — your occupation
Checking for Tattoo artists and piercers (Treasury code 609). This occupation is on the list.
Step 2 — is it actually a tip?
Answer for the money you are asking about. If some of your income is tips and some is service charges, run them separately.
Step 3 — your tips and income
The phase-out runs on modified AGI, which for most people is the same as AGI.
3 questions left to answer.
OBBBA Deductions · obbbadeductions.com
Tips deduction worksheet — tax year 2026
The three tests, as answered
- Does the customer decide the amount? not answered
- Can the customer decline to pay it? not answered
- Is it a mandatory service charge or auto-gratuity? not answered
Answer the 3 remaining questions above for a result.
Watch out for this in your job: Shop minimums, design and drawing fees, and deposits to book a session are all part of the price of the work. Jewellery sold at a piercing is a retail sale. The tip is only what the client added once the piece was finished — which, given how much of this trade runs on cash, is also the part with no independent record.
Educational estimate only, not tax advice. It runs entirely in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere. The deduction is scheduled to expire after tax year 2028.
How this applies to tattoo artists and piercers
Tattoo tipping is a strong and well-understood convention — commonly 15 to 20 percent of the price of the piece, handed over in cash at the end of a session. On a large multi-session project that adds up to a serious annual figure. What makes this occupation distinctive for tax purposes is that most artists rent a booth from the shop rather than being employed by it, which means the tips never touch a payroll system and the artist is running a business.
That business status has a consequence artists often miss. Qualified tips received in a trade or business are taken into account only to the extent the business is otherwise profitable. Your booth rent, inks, needles, machines, licensing and insurance come off first. Two artists with identical tip income can end up with very different deductible amounts depending on their cost base.
On the qualifying side, the line runs between the price and the thank-you. A shop minimum is a price. A drawing or design fee is a price. A deposit taken to hold a session is a prepayment against the price, and so is the touch-up fee if you charge one. Jewellery sold at a piercing is a retail sale. The tip is only what the client chose to add once the work was done — which is usually cash, and usually the part with no record.
Piercers should expect a different pattern from tattooists: smaller amounts, tipped less consistently, and often bundled with a jewellery purchase in a way that blurs the two. If a client pays $60 for a piercing and $80 for a titanium end and hands over $20, only the $20 is the tip. Keeping a per-session note of price, jewellery and tip as three separate figures makes the year-end analysis trivial, and reconstructing it later close to impossible.
The three tests, whatever your job
Paid voluntarily
The customer sets the amount and can decline to pay it.
Paid in cash or a cash equivalent
Card payments and mobile payments count.
Received directly or through a tip pool
Both routes qualify.
Questions
- Are tattoo artists and piercers on the IRS tipped occupation list?
- Yes. Tattoo Artists and Piercers is Treasury Tipped Occupation Code 609, in the personal appearance and wellness category. The regulations describe it as: Design and execute tattoos on a client’s skin, often using a needle and ink. Create openings in the human body for the insertion of jewelry. May consult clients on aftercare to promote healing and prevent infection.
- What is the most common reason tattoo artists and piercers lose the deduction?
- Shop minimums, design and drawing fees, and deposits to book a session are all part of the price of the work. Jewellery sold at a piercing is a retail sale. The tip is only what the client added once the piece was finished — which, given how much of this trade runs on cash, is also the part with no independent record.
- How much of my tips can I deduct?
- Up to $25,000 per return, whatever your filing status. The cap applies first, then the amount is reduced by $100 for every $1,000 of modified adjusted gross income above the threshold for your filing status.
- Does a mandatory service charge count as a tip?
- No. A mandatory service charge or automatic gratuity is not a qualifying tip, and the final regulations confirmed this explicitly. It does not qualify even when the customer cannot decline it — a qualifying tip has to be an amount the customer chose to give.
Related occupations in personal appearance and wellness
Occupation data transcribed from T.D. 10044 — final regulations on occupations that customarily and regularly received tips, Treas. Reg. § 1.224-1(h) table 1, last verified 2026-09-08. Read the regulations.