Tie-out tool / December overtime, January payday
Overtime worked in December, paid in January
It goes on the W-2 for the year it was paid. Overtime worked in the last days of December 2026 and paid in January 2027 belongs in Code TT on the 2027 form, not the 2026 form.
The rule
For example, if the employee worked from December 13, 2026, through December 26, 2026, and the wages for that period were paid on January 1, 2027, include those wages on the 2027 Form W-2.
(IRS W-2 instructions (2026), Calendar year basis) Qualified overtime follows the same timing as wages for withholding. (IRS FS-2026-13, Q3)
Workweeks on the 2026 form, by pay lag
Workweek ends on Saturday (Sunday start):
| Days from week end to payday | First workweek ending | Last workweek ending | Workweeks | First one on the 2027 form ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | January 3, 2026 | December 26, 2026 | 52 | January 2, 2027 |
| 3 | January 3, 2026 | December 26, 2026 | 52 | January 2, 2027 |
| 5 | December 27, 2025 | December 26, 2026 | 53 | January 2, 2027 |
| 6 | December 27, 2025 | December 19, 2026 | 52 | December 26, 2026 |
| 7 | December 27, 2025 | December 19, 2026 | 52 | December 26, 2026 |
| 10 | December 27, 2025 | December 19, 2026 | 52 | December 26, 2026 |
| 13 | December 20, 2025 | December 12, 2026 | 52 | December 19, 2026 |
| 14 | December 20, 2025 | December 12, 2026 | 52 | December 19, 2026 |
Workweek ends on Sunday (Monday start):
| Days from week end to payday | First workweek ending | Last workweek ending | Workweeks | First one on the 2027 form ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | January 4, 2026 | December 27, 2026 | 52 | January 3, 2027 |
| 3 | January 4, 2026 | December 27, 2026 | 52 | January 3, 2027 |
| 5 | December 28, 2025 | December 20, 2026 | 52 | December 27, 2026 |
| 6 | December 28, 2025 | December 20, 2026 | 52 | December 27, 2026 |
| 7 | December 28, 2025 | December 20, 2026 | 52 | December 27, 2026 |
| 10 | December 28, 2025 | December 20, 2026 | 52 | December 27, 2026 |
| 13 | December 21, 2025 | December 13, 2026 | 52 | December 20, 2026 |
| 14 | December 21, 2025 | December 13, 2026 | 52 | December 20, 2026 |
What this does to the tie-out
- The 2026 figure usually starts with a workweek worked in December 2025. Leave it in.
- The last one or two workweeks of 2026 usually drop out. Leave them for the 2027 form.
- A register run by pay date already follows this. A timesheet export by work date does not: it has to be cut by payday.
The tie-out tool asks for the pay lag, or reads a pay date column, and does this cut for every employee. For pay periods that split a workweek see semi-monthly payroll.
Do the whole year from a file
Drop a timesheet CSV, paste the register overtime totals, and get a worksheet per employee with the reason for every difference.
Open the tie-out toolRuns in your browser. Payroll data is never uploaded.
Questions
Does it matter when the overtime was worked?
Not for the year. The IRS applies the wage timing rules for withholding: the amount belongs to the year in which it was paid.
The employee earned comp time in 2025 and used it in 2026. Which year?
For state and local government comp time, the IRS says qualified overtime is paid when the comp time is used and paid as wages, so 2026.
Sources
- IRS, General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026)
- IRS Fact Sheet FS-2026-13, qualified overtime questions and answers (August 2026)
- 29 CFR 778.106, time of payment
Fetched 2026-11-10. Regulation text was checked against the federal annual edition; links open the current online version.
Updated 2026-11-10. Tickfoot is an information tool, not tax, legal or professional advice.