Tipped Minimum Wage by State: 2026 Rates and Payroll Examples

• There is no single nationwide tipped cash wage that fits every location.
• Seven states prohibit a tip credit; many others set a higher cash wage than the federal $2.13 floor.
• Florida, Alaska, Oregon, and D.C. changed rates during 2026.
• Confirm the work location, effective date, occupation, and employer coverage before using a table in payroll.

A tip credit allows a permitted amount of employee tips to count toward the employer's minimum-wage obligation. Under the federal baseline, a qualifying employer may pay $2.13 directly and count up to $5.12 in tips toward $7.25. That requires the notice, tip-retention, pooling, and shortfall rules to be met.

State and local rules can require more. The cash wage is the employer-paid amount; the combined minimum is the required floor after permitted tip-credit treatment. Employees keep qualifying tips above the amount needed to meet that floor. See DOL Fact Sheet 15.

The table below is a general adult-worker reference checked October 8, 2026. It starts with the DOL tipped-wage table and includes the dated changes discussed below. It is not a table of every local, industry, youth, training, or employer-size exception.

For a multi-location employer, store the source and effective date alongside the payroll rule. A general state rate should never silently override a higher local requirement.

Florida: $14.00 total and $10.98 cash through September 29; $15.00 and $11.98 from September 30. See Florida Commerce.

Alaska: $13.00 through June 30 and $14.00 from July 1, with no tip credit. See Alaska Labor.

Oregon: from July 1, $14.55 nonurban, $15.55 standard, and $16.80 Portland metro. See Oregon BOLI.

D.C.: from July 1, $18.40 total and $10.30 cash. See D.C. DOES.

Hawaii: the $1.25 maximum credit is conditional; cash wages plus tips must meet the additional earnings threshold. See the state tip-credit guidance.

New York: this table shows food-service workers, not every hospitality occupation. Confirm the separate region and service-employee schedule in the state fact sheet.

Nebraska and Virginia: a $2.13 cash floor does not mean a $7.25 total floor. Their general 2026 total minimums are $15.00 and $12.77 respectively. See Nebraska Labor and Virginia DOLI.

For a covered Texas server with enough tips and a valid credit, 30 straight-time hours at $2.13 produce $63.90 in direct wages. The employee must have at least $153.60 in supporting tips to reach the $217.50 federal floor.

For a Florida server working those hours after September 30, 2026, the minimum direct wages are 30 × $11.98 = $359.40. The full minimum-wage floor is 30 × $15.00 = $450.00. The permitted $3.02 hourly credit accounts for the remaining $90.60, provided the employee actually has enough tips and the other conditions are satisfied.

These examples exclude overtime, bonuses, local exceptions, and other adjustments. Use the overtime guide for workweeks over 40 hours.

An annual W-2 total does not prove minimum wage was paid in every workweek. Keep time, tip-credit, and shortfall records at the frequency required by the applicable wage law. Then reconcile those records to payroll and year-end reporting.

The 2026 W-2 guide explains TP, TT, and occupation codes. A tax deduction does not authorize a lower wage, a different tip pool, or a skipped shortfall payment.

Which states do not allow tip credits?

Alaska, California, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington prohibit tip credits. Their wage floors and coverage exceptions still differ.

Is the federal 80/20/30-minute rule still the current rule?

The 2021 federal dual-jobs rule was vacated, and DOL restored the earlier regulation in December 2024. State rules may still impose specific limits. Review the current DOL rule and your state requirements rather than applying an old nationwide summary.

Can I average a shortfall across a whole month?

Do not use a monthly total to erase a deficient federal workweek. Some states require a more protective calculation period as well. Apply the rule for the actual location.

For every location, save the applicable wage notice, effective date, direct-wage floor, and tip-credit conditions. Check a payroll run after each rate change and retain the result. A location list without dates will be difficult to use when reviewing earlier wages.

Once the wage review is complete, use the tip reconciliation worksheet to compare employee records with payroll. Contact TipFort about organizing those tip records if the manual process is growing. Wage-rate selection and legal review remain separate responsibilities.