diff --git a/esphome/components/logger/log_buffer.h b/esphome/components/logger/log_buffer.h
index 14121d3dd9..019d13950a 100644
--- a/esphome/components/logger/log_buffer.h
+++ b/esphome/components/logger/log_buffer.h
@@ -3,11 +3,14 @@
 #include "esphome/core/hal.h"
 #include "esphome/core/helpers.h"
 #include "esphome/core/log.h"
+#include "esphome/core/progmem.h"
 
 namespace esphome::logger {
 
 // Maximum header size: 35 bytes fixed + 32 bytes tag + 16 bytes thread name = 83 bytes (45 byte safety margin)
 static constexpr uint16_t MAX_HEADER_SIZE = 128;
+// Longest tag the header budget allows
+static constexpr size_t MAX_TAG_LENGTH = 32;
 
 // ANSI color code last digit (30-38 range, store only last digit to save RAM on ESP8266)
 static const char LOG_LEVEL_COLOR_DIGIT[] PROGMEM = {
@@ -189,13 +192,23 @@ struct LogBuffer {
     *p++ = 'm';
   }
   // Copy string without null terminator, updates pointer in place
-  // Caller is responsible for ensuring buffer has sufficient space
+  // Caller is responsible for ensuring buffer has sufficient space. Tags may be in PROGMEM on ESP8266.
   void copy_string_(char *&p, const char *str) {
+#ifdef USE_ESP8266
+    // Only ESP8266 caps the length; tags may be in PROGMEM, so read each byte once
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < MAX_TAG_LENGTH; i++) {
+      const char c = static_cast<char>(progmem_read_byte(reinterpret_cast<const uint8_t *>(str + i)));
+      if (c == '\0')
+        break;
+      *p++ = c;
+    }
+#else
     const size_t len = strlen(str);
     // NOLINTNEXTLINE(bugprone-not-null-terminated-result) - intentionally no null terminator, building string piece by
     // piece
     memcpy(p, str, len);
     p += len;
+#endif
   }
 };
 
diff --git a/esphome/components/logger/logger.cpp b/esphome/components/logger/logger.cpp
index 757ba6771e..2a0a1c9c0a 100644
--- a/esphome/components/logger/logger.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/logger/logger.cpp
@@ -144,7 +144,10 @@ void Logger::log_vprintf_(uint8_t level, const char *tag, int line, const __Flas
 
 inline uint8_t Logger::level_for(const char *tag) {
 #ifdef USE_LOGGER_RUNTIME_TAG_LEVELS
-  auto it = this->log_levels_.find(tag);
+  // Skip the lookup when no per-tag levels are set
+  if (this->log_levels_.empty())
+    return this->current_level_;
+  auto it = this->log_levels_.find(FlashTag{tag});
   if (it != this->log_levels_.end())
     return it->second;
 #endif
diff --git a/esphome/components/logger/logger.h b/esphome/components/logger/logger.h
index 6bdd5910f6..b82aaa7c21 100644
--- a/esphome/components/logger/logger.h
+++ b/esphome/components/logger/logger.h
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 #include "esphome/core/defines.h"
 #include "esphome/core/helpers.h"
 #include "esphome/core/log.h"
+#include "esphome/core/progmem.h"
 
 #include "log_buffer.h"
 #include "task_log_buffer_host.h"
@@ -85,12 +86,16 @@ class LoggerLevelListener {
 };
 #endif
 
-#ifdef USE_LOGGER_RUNTIME_TAG_LEVELS
-// Comparison function for const char* keys in log_levels_ map
+// RAM map keys compared with a tag that may be in PROGMEM, without copying it
+struct FlashTag {
+  const char *tag;
+};
 struct CStrCompare {
+  using is_transparent = void;
   bool operator()(const char *a, const char *b) const { return strcmp(a, b) < 0; }
+  bool operator()(const char *key, FlashTag t) const { return ESPHOME_strcmp_P(key, t.tag) < 0; }
+  bool operator()(FlashTag t, const char *key) const { return ESPHOME_strcmp_P(key, t.tag) > 0; }
 };
-#endif
 
 // Stack buffer size for retrieving thread/task names from the OS
 // macOS allows up to 64 bytes, Linux up to 16
@@ -488,6 +493,12 @@ class LoggerMessageTrigger final : public Trigger<uint8_t, const char *, const c
                              [](void *self, uint8_t level, const char *tag, const char *message, size_t message_len) {
                                auto *trigger = static_cast<LoggerMessageTrigger *>(self);
                                if (level <= trigger->level_) {
+#ifdef USE_ESP8266
+                                 // User lambdas may strcmp the tag, which may be in PROGMEM. The copy lives in
+                                 // the trigger so an automation that suspends (delay) still sees a valid tag.
+                                 ESPHOME_strncpy_P(trigger->ram_tag_, tag, MAX_TAG_LENGTH);
+                                 tag = trigger->ram_tag_;
+#endif
                                  trigger->trigger(level, tag, message);
                                }
                              });
@@ -495,6 +506,9 @@ class LoggerMessageTrigger final : public Trigger<uint8_t, const char *, const c
 
  protected:
   uint8_t level_;
+#ifdef USE_ESP8266
+  char ram_tag_[MAX_TAG_LENGTH + 1]{};
+#endif
 };
 
 }  // namespace esphome::logger
diff --git a/esphome/components/touchscreen/touchscreen.cpp b/esphome/components/touchscreen/touchscreen.cpp
index f4ef66ef3e..cb36733e2f 100644
--- a/esphome/components/touchscreen/touchscreen.cpp
+++ b/esphome/components/touchscreen/touchscreen.cpp
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 namespace esphome::touchscreen {
 
 static const char *const TAG = "touchscreen";
+static constexpr uint32_t TOUCH_TIMEOUT_ID = 0;
 
 void TouchscreenInterrupt::gpio_intr(TouchscreenInterrupt *store) { store->touched = true; }
 
@@ -63,9 +64,9 @@ void Touchscreen::loop() {
         // Simulate a touch after <this->touch_timeout_> ms. This will reset any existing timeout operation.
         // This is to detect touch release.
         if (this->is_touched_) {
-          this->set_timeout(TAG, this->touch_timeout_, [this]() { this->store_.touched = true; });
+          this->set_timeout(TOUCH_TIMEOUT_ID, this->touch_timeout_, [this]() { this->store_.touched = true; });
         } else {
-          this->cancel_timeout(TAG);
+          this->cancel_timeout(TOUCH_TIMEOUT_ID);
         }
       }
     }
diff --git a/esphome/core/application.cpp b/esphome/core/application.cpp
index 50d1c61959..2ddc97efb5 100644
--- a/esphome/core/application.cpp
+++ b/esphome/core/application.cpp
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
 
 namespace esphome {
 
-static const char *const TAG = "app";
+ESPHOME_LOG_TAG(TAG, "app");
 
 // Delay after setup() finishes before trimming the scheduler freelist of its post-boot peak.
 // 10 s is well past the bulk of post-setup async work (Wi-Fi/MQTT connects, first-read latency).
diff --git a/esphome/core/component.cpp b/esphome/core/component.cpp
index 41dd32ea66..0aa2dc21a2 100644
--- a/esphome/core/component.cpp
+++ b/esphome/core/component.cpp
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 
 namespace esphome {
 
-static const char *const TAG = "component";
+ESPHOME_LOG_TAG(TAG, "component");
 
 // Global vectors for component data that doesn't belong in every instance.
 // Using vector instead of unordered_map for both because:
diff --git a/esphome/core/entity_base.cpp b/esphome/core/entity_base.cpp
index dc27c1e56a..cbb14a3730 100644
--- a/esphome/core/entity_base.cpp
+++ b/esphome/core/entity_base.cpp
@@ -1,12 +1,13 @@
 #include "esphome/core/entity_base.h"
 #include "esphome/core/application.h"
 #include "esphome/core/helpers.h"
+#include "esphome/core/log.h"
 #include "esphome/core/progmem.h"
 #include "esphome/core/string_ref.h"
 
 namespace esphome {
 
-static const char *const TAG = "entity_base";
+ESPHOME_LOG_TAG(TAG, "entity_base");
 
 void EntityBase::configure_entity_(const char *name, uint32_t object_id_hash, uint32_t entity_fields) {
   this->name_ = StringRef(name);
diff --git a/esphome/core/helpers.cpp b/esphome/core/helpers.cpp
index a11b07808d..6130f7e27d 100644
--- a/esphome/core/helpers.cpp
+++ b/esphome/core/helpers.cpp
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ std::string progmem_string(ProgmemStr str) {
 }
 #endif
 
-static const char *const TAG = "helpers";
+ESPHOME_LOG_TAG(TAG, "helpers");
 
 __attribute__((noinline, cold)) void *callback_manager_grow(void *data, uint16_t size, uint16_t &capacity,
                                                             size_t elem_size) {
diff --git a/esphome/core/log.h b/esphome/core/log.h
index 362ed83b91..145ba3a6f8 100644
--- a/esphome/core/log.h
+++ b/esphome/core/log.h
@@ -190,4 +190,12 @@ struct LogString;
 
 #endif
 
+// Declares a static log tag at namespace scope in a .cpp file; on ESP8266 it lives in flash, so read it with
+// the _P functions, never strcmp/strlen.
+#ifdef USE_ESP8266
+#define ESPHOME_LOG_TAG(name, tag) static const char name[] PROGMEM = tag
+#else
+#define ESPHOME_LOG_TAG(name, tag) static constexpr const char *const name = tag
+#endif
+
 }  // namespace esphome
diff --git a/esphome/core/scheduler.cpp b/esphome/core/scheduler.cpp
index afb323f78e..5acd2eec27 100644
--- a/esphome/core/scheduler.cpp
+++ b/esphome/core/scheduler.cpp
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 
 namespace esphome {
 
-static const char *const TAG = "scheduler";
+ESPHOME_LOG_TAG(TAG, "scheduler");
 
 // Maximum number of logically deleted (cancelled) items before forcing cleanup.
 // Empirically chosen to balance cleanup overhead against tombstone accumulation in items_.
diff --git a/esphome/core/time_64.cpp b/esphome/core/time_64.cpp
index 25076228d5..1b0a49acaf 100644
--- a/esphome/core/time_64.cpp
+++ b/esphome/core/time_64.cpp
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 namespace esphome {
 
 #ifdef ESPHOME_DEBUG_SCHEDULER
-static const char *const TAG = "time_64";
+ESPHOME_LOG_TAG(TAG, "time_64");
 #endif
 
 #ifdef ESPHOME_THREAD_SINGLE
diff --git a/tests/components/logger/log_tag_test.cpp b/tests/components/logger/log_tag_test.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c702790da1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/components/logger/log_tag_test.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+#include <gtest/gtest.h>
+#include <map>
+#include <string>
+
+#include "esphome/components/logger/log_buffer.h"
+#include "esphome/components/logger/logger.h"
+#include "esphome/core/log.h"
+
+namespace esphome::logger::testing {
+
+ESPHOME_LOG_TAG(TEST_TAG, "test.tag");
+
+TEST(LogTagTest, HeaderContainsTagAndLine) {
+  char data[256];
+  LogBuffer buf{data, sizeof(data)};
+  buf.write_header(5, TEST_TAG, 42, nullptr);
+  const std::string header(data, buf.pos);
+  EXPECT_NE(header.find("[D][test.tag:042]"), std::string::npos) << header;
+}
+
+TEST(LogTagTest, PerTagLevelLookupMatchesByContent) {
+  std::map<const char *, uint8_t, CStrCompare> levels{{"api", 1}, {"sensor", 2}, {"wifi", 3}};
+  // Copies, so a match must compare content rather than pointers
+  char api[] = "api", sensor[] = "sensor", wifi[] = "wifi", missing[] = "switch";
+  EXPECT_EQ(levels.find(FlashTag{api})->second, 1);
+  EXPECT_EQ(levels.find(FlashTag{sensor})->second, 2);
+  EXPECT_EQ(levels.find(FlashTag{wifi})->second, 3);
+  EXPECT_EQ(levels.find(FlashTag{missing}), levels.end());
+}
+
+}  // namespace esphome::logger::testing