Calculators
Tipped Minimum Wage Calculator
Tipped employees must still earn at least the full minimum wage once tips are counted. Enter your cash wage, hours and tips to see your effective hourly rate and any make-up pay your employer owes.
Cash wage + tips vs. the minimum wage
Your tipped pay
Does it meet the minimum wage?
Effective hourly
$10.46
Meets the $7.25/hr minimum wage
Cash wage$2.13/hr
Tips per hour$8.33/hr
Federal law lets employers pay a $2.13 cash wage and take a tip credit, but cash plus tips must reach the minimum wage every hour.
Notes
- Federally, the tipped cash wage can be as low as $2.13/hr, but cash wage + tips must reach $7.25. If not, the employer makes up the difference.
- Seven states do not allow a tip credit: California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Montana, Minnesota and Alaska. In those states the full minimum wage must be paid in cash before tips.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if my tips don't bring me to minimum wage?
Your employer must make up the difference so your total reaches at least the applicable minimum wage for every hour worked.
Guides that explain the rules
- Tipped Minimum Wage and the Tip Credit, Explained How the tip credit works, the $2.13 federal tipped wage, the seven states that ban tip credits, and how to check whether your tips are actually making up the difference.
- Tip Pooling Rules: Who Can Share Your Tips (and Who Can't) Federal tip pooling rules for 2026: how the tip credit changes who can join the pool, why managers and owners are banned, and when back-of-house can share tips.