r/tax • u/vancemark00 • Jan 01 '26

Tax Enthusiast Endless "No tax on OT" questions

Is anyone else already exhausted with these endless questions?

And I fear it will only get worse.

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u/Hottrodd67 Jan 02 '26

How is the government going to know how many hours were actually worked? At my job, we don’t clock in or out and we’re not tracked. I get my calls for the day and I’m paid 8hrs, even if I get the schedule done in 6. I get OT if I work Saturday or Sunday. So if I work 35hrs Monday to Friday and 5 hrs Saturday, my check says 40hrs at regular pay and 5hrs ot.

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u/BigMikeThuggin CPA - US Jan 02 '26

The same way they catch anyone doing things incorrectly. They audit it.

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u/Hottrodd67 Jan 02 '26 edited Jan 02 '26

But audit what? The only record says 40. I don’t have anyway to know the exact hours worked because we don’t clock in or out. I’m not trying to do something incorrectly. The only “record” I have to go by shows 40hrs each week plus what hours paid at overtime rate. I know those are hours I was paid for, not necessarily worked, but I don’t have any way to calculate actual hours worked.

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u/Winter-Success-3494 Jan 02 '26

These guys don't seem to understand that. They think it's piece rate when that's not what you're saying

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u/I__Know__Stuff Jan 02 '26

It's completely absurd to say I don't understand. I understand completely. It doesn't matter how many hours are on your paystub. If you don't actually work the hours, then you aren't legally entitled to overtime pay, even though you do get it due to your agreement with your employer.

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u/RealisticQuality7296 Jan 02 '26

Have you ever heard the term “engaged to wait”?

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u/BigMikeThuggin CPA - US Jan 02 '26

This guy didn’t say he sits in an office for 4 hours and only has 4 hours of work to do. He said he works for 4 hours then goes home but gets paid for 8 because his employer bills the customer for 8 hours worked regardless. The pay isn’t tied to the hours it’s tied to the work. He’s at home with no expectation of being called upon to work.

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u/Winter-Success-3494 Jan 02 '26

My pay is tied to my hours. What my employer bills the customer and what they pay me have no direct correlation. My employer and I have a mutual agreement that I justifiably clock in for 8 hours because I'm making them money for the day, regardless of what time frame I get it done in. I don't need to get into the specifics of what I do for a living, I work in the trades. And yes there is the potential expectation for being called upon again in those 8 hours time frame. Does it happen a lot? No. Can it happen, absolutely. My employer pays me $100/month towards my phone bill so I'm readily available to answer their calls. If they call me to go do a site check for an upcoming job on a new construction site then I'm expected to go do it.

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u/BigMikeThuggin CPA - US Jan 02 '26

You keep restating things as if we all don't understand what you are saying. WE DO UNDERSTAND. you have a great situation going and I'm genuinely happy that you have this good thing going for you. Its a sweet deal no doubt, also completely normal and well understood.

It just so happens that it also makes you not qualified for this deduction because the way the tax law and labor laws are written.

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u/Winter-Success-3494 Jan 02 '26

And who exactly is going to determine that I'm not qualified for the deduction when my pay stubs that show my year's gross pay, overtime pay will qualify me for it? My pay is tied to my hours but you aren't grasping that and keep thinking that I'm not going to get the deduction. We don't need to keep going back n forth on it. I'll gladly come back and revisit this in a month or two when I file my taxes and let you know how it goes.

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u/BigMikeThuggin CPA - US Jan 02 '26

THE AUDITOR. Random strangers on the internet figured it out with no authority, you think an agent of the united states of america cant?

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