2026 Colorado Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2026 Colorado Tipped Minimum Wage is $12.14.
Effective 2026-01-01Source: Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (DOL)Verified 2026-08-30
Who it applies to
Employers of tipped employees in Colorado. The cash wage is the part of the minimum wage the employer pays directly. The rest may be met by the employee's tips, up to the maximum tip credit the same row of the table states, and the table sets out separately how much an employee must receive in tips to count as a tipped employee at all.
What changed this year, and why
The Wage and Hour Division's table of minimum wages for tipped employees, in the version last revised July 1, 2026, gives $12.14 per hour as the minimum cash wage an employer may pay a tipped employee in Colorado. The table carries only its own revision date and never dates the rate, so this page reports the figure as in force as of that revision rather than claiming an effective date no document states.
Common questions
- What is the tipped minimum wage in Colorado in 2026?
- $12.14 per hour in cash wages. That is what the Department of Labor's table of minimum wages for tipped employees, last revised July 1, 2026, gives as the minimum cash wage for a tipped employee in Colorado. Tips make up the remainder of the applicable minimum wage, up to the maximum tip credit stated in the same row.
- What if tips do not bring the employee up to the full minimum wage?
- The employer pays the difference. A tip credit is a credit against the minimum wage the employer already owes, not a lower wage in its own right, so an employee whose cash wage and tips together fall short of the applicable minimum wage is owed the shortfall in wages.
- Where does the figure on this page come from?
- From Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees, the table the Wage and Hour Division publishes by state, in the version last revised July 1, 2026. The row it was read from is quoted on this page, and the snapshot it was verified against is the one captured for this record.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Tips needed per hour takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
Who counts as a tipped employee
In Colorado, you are considered a tipped employee under federal law if you work in an occupation where you customarily and regularly receive more than $30 per month in tips. This definition determines whether your employer can pay you the tipped minimum cash wage of $12.14 per hour and take a tip credit against the tips you receive from customers. Only the tips you actually receive count toward determining your status as a tipped employee and toward satisfying the tip credit requirement. If you work in an occupation where tips are not customary or regular, or if you receive $30 or less per month in tips, you are not a tipped employee and your employer must pay you the full minimum wage without taking a tip credit. This threshold matters because it establishes which workers fall under the special rules that allow employers to pay a lower direct cash wage while counting tips toward minimum wage obligations.
Under the FLSA, a tipped employee is an employee engaged in an occupation in which they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
In Colorado, a tip credit is the amount an employer counts from a worker's tips toward meeting the minimum wage obligation. The employer must pay the tipped worker a direct cash wage of at least $12.14 per hour. The tip credit equals the difference between that direct cash wage and the full minimum wage. For example, if the full minimum wage is higher than $12.14, the employer may count the gap against the tips the employee receives. The employer must verify each workweek that the cash wage it pays plus the tips actually received by the employee together equal at least the full minimum wage. Only tips the employee actually receives count toward this calculation. This structure means the worker always receives a guaranteed cash wage of $12.14 from the employer, with the employer allowed to take credit for a portion of the tips earned on top of that cash wage toward its overall minimum wage obligation.
An employer can take an FLSA tip credit equal to the difference between the direct wage, or the cash wage it pays directly to the tipped employee, and the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
In Colorado, if a tipped employee's tips combined with the employer's direct cash wages do not equal the full minimum wage in a given workweek, the employer must make up the difference. This rule protects workers during slow periods when tips are low. The employer's obligation is calculated on a workweek-by-workweek basis, not averaged over a longer period. Even though the employer may pay a cash wage of $12.14 per hour and take a tip credit against the tips earned, the total compensation in every workweek must reach at least the full minimum wage. If the tips fall short of closing the gap between $12.14 and the full minimum wage, the employer bears the cost of the shortfall. This ensures that Colorado tipped workers are never paid less than the minimum wage regardless of customer generosity or business conditions.
If an employee’s tips combined with the employer’s direct (or cash) wages do not equal the minimum hourly wage of $7.25 per hour in each workweek, the employer must make up the difference.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit
In Colorado, before an employer can claim a tip credit against a tipped employee's wages, it must first give the employee specific information about how the credit works. The notice must state the amount of the direct cash wage being paid, the amount claimed as a tip credit, a statement that the tip credit cannot exceed the tips actually received, confirmation that all tips belong to the employee except for valid tip pooling, and notice that the tip credit will not apply unless the employee has been informed of these provisions. The employer may deliver this notice orally or in writing. If the employer fails to provide all of this information before taking the credit, it loses the right to claim the tip credit entirely and must pay the full minimum wage. This upfront disclosure requirement ensures that Colorado tipped workers understand how their pay is calculated before the employer counts their tips toward the minimum wage.
Employers must provide the following information to tipped employees before taking a tip credit under the FLSA:
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
When state law gives more than the federal rule
In Colorado, when state law and federal law set different standards for tipped employees, the employer must follow whichever rule is more protective of the worker. Colorado's minimum cash wage for tipped employees in 2026 is $12.14 per hour, which is substantially higher than the federal cash wage. Under this principle, Colorado employers must use the state's more favorable standard rather than the weaker federal baseline. If Colorado law requires a higher cash wage, greater tip protections, or other stronger requirements, those state rules control. This means that tipped workers in Colorado always receive the benefit of whichever level of government provides the strongest wage and tip protections on any given issue. The rule prevents employers from cherry-picking the most favorable provision from federal law when state law offers workers a better deal.
When state law differs from the federal FLSA, an employer must comply with the standard most protective to employees.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips
In Colorado, the law prohibits employers from keeping any portion of a tipped employee's tips for any purpose, whether directly or through a tip pool. This rule applies regardless of whether the employer takes a tip credit. The employer may not require the employee to hand over tips to the employer, a supervisor, or a manager. This protection holds even if the employer pays the full minimum wage in direct wages and takes no tip credit at all. In Colorado, this means your tips belong to you. A manager or supervisor is defined as any employee whose primary duty is managing the enterprise or a department, who regularly directs the work of at least two full-time employees, and who has hiring or firing authority. A manager may keep only tips they personally receive from customers they directly served.
Regardless of whether an employer takes a tip credit, the FLSA prohibits employers from keeping any portion of employees’ tips for any purpose, whether directly or through a tip pool.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
In Colorado, when an employer takes a tip credit, the tip pool must be limited to employees in occupations where they customarily and regularly receive tips. This is known as a traditional tip pool. Eligible workers include waiters, bellhops, counter personnel who serve customers, bussers, and service bartenders. The employer cannot force tipped workers to share tips with non-tipped employees such as cooks or dishwashers when the tip credit is in effect. The employer must notify tipped employees of any required tip pool contribution amount, may only take a tip credit for tips each employee ultimately receives after the pool distribution, and may not retain any of the tips for itself. Managers and supervisors are barred from receiving tips from a traditional tip pool. Colorado tipped workers in these occupations can be required to participate, but the pool must stay within the group of workers who earn tips as a regular part of their jobs.
An employer that takes a tip credit can require tipped employees to contribute tips only to a tip pool which is limited to employees in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive tips, such as waiters, bellhops, counter personnel (who serve customers), bussers, and service bartenders.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Doing two jobs for one employer
In Colorado, when an employee holds two separate jobs for the same employer, one of which is tipped and one is not, the worker is a tipped employee only with respect to their employment in the tipped occupation. For example, a hotel maintenance worker who also works as a server must receive at least $30 a month in tips from the server job to qualify as a tipped employee. The employer may take a tip credit only for the hours the worker spends as a server. For all hours spent in the non-tipped occupation, the employer must pay the full minimum wage without any tip credit. The employer must track the time spent in each occupation separately. Colorado's minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $12.14 per hour for 2026, which applies to the tipped occupation hours. This rule prevents employers from paying a lower cash wage for work that does not generate tips.
In such a situation the employee, if they customarily and regularly receive at least $30 a month in tips for their work as a server, is a tipped employee only with respect to their employment as a server.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (DOL)
- Minimum cash wage
Colorado $15.16 $3.02 $12.14 More than $30
Other years
- 2026
Every Colorado Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state