U.S. · Payroll & tax forms
W-2 box 7, Social Security tips.
The tips you reported to your employer, and how they fit under the Social Security cap.
Box 7 shows the tips you reported to your employer, even if there was not enough pay to collect the Social Security tax on them. Boxes 3 and 7 together cannot exceed the Social Security wage base ($184,500 for 2026; $176,100 for 2025). Tips in box 7 are also in box 1 with your wages and are included in box 5, so box 5 is not a separate pool.
Check boxes 3 and 7 against the cap
Result
What box 7 contains
The instructions say to show the tips the employee reported to the employer, even if the employer did not have enough employee funds to collect the Social Security tax on those tips. The employee Social Security tax on tips an employer could not collect appears separately in box 12 with code A, and is not part of box 4. The total of boxes 3 and 7 should not be more than the maximum Social Security wage base for the year.
Box 7 versus boxes 1, 3 and 5
Box 3 holds wages subject to Social Security tax but not Social Security tips and allocated tips. Box 7 holds the reported tips. The instructions say to report all tips in box 1 along with wages, and to also include tips reported in box 7 in box 5, because Medicare wages and tips are the same as boxes 3 and 7 combined except that there is no wage base limit for Medicare tax. So tips are counted once for income tax in box 1, and again in the Social Security and Medicare boxes where those taxes apply.
| Box | What it holds | Tips included? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wages, tips and other compensation | Yes, reported tips (not allocated tips) |
| 3 | Social Security wages | No, tips are in box 7 |
| 5 | Medicare wages and tips | Yes, tips in box 7 are included |
| 7 | Social Security tips | Reported tips only |
| 8 | Allocated tips | Not included in boxes 1, 3, 5 or 7 |
The Social Security cap
The W-2 instructions (2026 edition) cap boxes 3 and 7 together at $184,500, and cap box 4 Social Security tax withheld at $11,439 ($184,500 x 6.2%). For 2025, the Form 4137 instructions give the maximum wages and tips subject to Social Security tax as $176,100, with the employee rate staying at 6.2%. The tool above takes either year. For the full history see the Social Security taxable maximum by year page.
Worked example
Marco is a server in 2026. His box 3 shows $38,200 and box 7 shows $9,800. The two total $48,000, well under $184,500, so the cap is not in play and his box 5 should show at least $48,000. His box 1 includes the same $9,800 in tips as part of his wages.
If your tips look short
Box 7 reflects only tips you reported to your employer. Tips of $20 or more in a month have to be reported to the employer by the 10th of the next month. Tips you did not report are not in box 7 and may be taxable on Form 4137, covered on the box 8 allocated tips page.
More W-2 box guides
Other pages in this set: W-2 Box 8 Allocated Tips, W-2 Box 10 Dependent Care Benefits, W-2 Box 11 Nonqualified Plans, W-2 Box 13 Checkboxes. For box 12 codes, use the W-2 box 12 lookup.
Sources
- General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026). Read November 2, 2026.
- Form 4137 (2025), Social Security and Medicare Tax on Unreported Tip Income, with instructions. Read November 2, 2026.
IRS pages last reviewed April 30, 2026. Wage-base and exclusion figures are stated for the tax year named where they appear.
Frequently asked questions
What is box 7 on a W-2?
Social Security tips: the tips you reported to your employer, shown even if the employer could not collect the Social Security tax on them.
Is box 7 in addition to box 1?
No. Tips are included in box 1 along with wages. Box 7 shows the same reported tips for Social Security purposes.
Why do boxes 3 and 7 never exceed a certain total?
The total of boxes 3 and 7 should not be more than the Social Security wage base: $184,500 for 2026 and $176,100 for 2025.
Are tips in box 5?
Yes. The instructions say to include tips reported in box 7 in box 5, since Medicare wages and tips are the same as boxes 3 and 7 combined with no wage base limit.
What if my employer could not collect Social Security tax on my tips?
The uncollected tax is shown in box 12 with code A (and code B for Medicare tax), not in boxes 4 or 6.
Not tax advice
This page summarizes IRS instructions, mostly written for the employers who prepare the form, and is not tax, legal or financial advice. Your payer, a CPA or an enrolled agent can confirm what a box means for your return. Everything runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.