How a mechanic gets paid decides how the overtime deduction applies. Hourly technicians — fleet shops, independent garages, municipal yards — have the textbook case: hours past 40 pay time-and-a-half, and the premium third of those wages is deductible, up to $12,500 ($25,000 joint).
Flat-rate is where it gets interesting. Dealership techs paid by the book-hour can work 50 clock hours and get paid for 60 flag hours — and under a long-standing FLSA exemption (§7(i) for commissioned employees of retail establishments), many dealership techs aren't owed overtime at all if their effective rate stays above 1.5× minimum wage. No required overtime, no premium, no deduction. But not every shop qualifies for the exemption, and techs whose employers paid overtime anyway have qualified premium on their stubs.
The practical test is your pay stub: if 2025 shows overtime premium paid on hours past 40, the premium portion likely qualifies. Add the car-angle bonus: techs who financed a new US-assembled personal vehicle in 2025 have the separate $10,000 loan-interest deduction to check in the same pass.