IRS Recreation & Instruction (TTOC)
Do sports instructors qualify for the No Tax on Tips deduction?
Sports instructors — ski instructors, golf pros, tennis pros, surf instructors, sailing instructors, riding instructors — are on the IRS Treasury Tipped Occupation Code list. Tip culture varies dramatically by sport and setting: ski instructors at destination resorts see meaningful tips, city tennis pros see almost none. What matters for §224 is separating the lesson fee (service revenue) from the voluntary tip a student leaves at the end.
Short answer
Yes. Sports instructors are on the IRS TTOC list. Voluntary tips at the end of a lesson — from students, from parents of student kids, from resort guests taking a private clinic — qualify for the federal No Tax on Tips deduction, up to $25,000 per year. Lesson fees themselves are service revenue and do not qualify. 1099 instructors are additionally capped at net SE income.
How much could you save?
Typical tip income for sports instructors.
Sports instructor tip income varies wildly. Destination-resort ski instructors typically report $5,000-$15,000 in tip income (season). Golf pros at private clubs see $3,000-$10,000/year. Tennis, surf, and sailing instructors at premium locations cluster $2,000-$8,000. Most non-resort instructors see minimal tips because 'the lesson fee is the payment.'
For sports instructors specifically
What counts as a qualified tip — and what doesn't.
✓ Qualifies
- Voluntary cash tips at the end of a private or semi-private lesson
- Voluntary card/app tips (Venmo, Zelle) from repeat students
- Voluntary tips from parents of student kids (post-clinic, post-season)
- Voluntary end-of-week tips at resort ski/snowboard schools
✗ Does not qualify
- Lesson fees, clinic fees, or private-package prices
- Base pay from the resort/ski school/golf club
- 'Pro-shop' commissions or gear-sales spiffs
- Certification fees, referee fees, or clinic-instructor stipends from associations
- Season-pass revenue or membership dues (not tips)
A worked example
Alex, a real-world sports instructor.
Alex is a full-time destination-resort ski instructor, 1099, single filer, MAGI $38,000. For the tax year, she logged $8,200 in qualified tips (mostly end-of-week resort-guest tips). She sits in the 12% federal marginal bracket.
- Deduction allowed: Full $8,200 deduction (under cap and net SE income)
- Estimated savings: About $984 off federal income tax (SE tax still applies)
This is an illustrative example, not a guarantee. Your actual savings depend on your filing status, total income, state, and other deductions.
Questions specific to sports instructors
What other sports instructors ask.
The parent paid $180 for the kid's lesson. Is any of that a tip?
No. The $180 lesson fee is service revenue — that is the price of the lesson. Only voluntary amounts a parent adds ON TOP of the lesson fee are tips. A parent slipping you a $20 at the end of the lesson is the tip that qualifies.
I'm on ski patrol part of the season. Do those tips count?
Ski patrol is not on the TTOC list — it is treated as safety/rescue personnel, not a tipped role. Any tips you receive during ski patrol shifts do not qualify. Tips received during instruction shifts qualify. Log your shifts by role.
What about pro-shop retail commissions?
Pro-shop commissions on club sales, gear sales, or apparel are business income (or ordinary wages) — not tips. They do not qualify under §224 even though they show up in the same paycheck.
Do end-of-week resort-guest tips qualify differently than day-one tips?
No. The timing does not matter — voluntary tips at any point in the guest's stay qualify. What matters is: was the tip voluntary (guest chose to give it) and were you working in a TTOC-eligible instructor role at the time.
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Track every shift
The deduction is real money — if you can prove your tips.
Qualified Tips logs each shift the moment it ends — timestamped, exportable, IRS-aligned.