2026 Idaho Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2026 Idaho Tipped Minimum Wage is $3.35.
Effective 2026-01-01Source: Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (DOL)Verified 2026-08-30
Compared with 2025
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2025.
| Item | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $3.35 | $3.35 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Employers of tipped employees in Idaho. 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 $3.35 per hour as the minimum cash wage an employer may pay a tipped employee in Idaho. 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 Idaho in 2026?
- $3.35 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 Idaho. 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
Under federal law as explained by the Department of Labor, a tipped employee in Idaho is someone who works in an occupation where they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips. If you work as a server, bartender, bellhop, or in a similar role in Idaho and your tips regularly exceed that $30 monthly threshold, you are classified as a tipped employee. This classification matters because it determines whether your employer can pay you a lower cash wage and claim a tip credit toward its minimum wage obligations. In Idaho, the minimum cash wage for 2026 is $3.35 per hour. Only the tips you actually receive count when determining whether you meet this definition and when your employer applies the tip credit. If your tips fall below $30 in a given month, you may not be considered a tipped employee for that period, and different wage rules would apply to your work.
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
The tip credit is the amount your Idaho employer can count from your tips toward meeting its minimum wage obligation. Under federal law, an employer can take a tip credit equal to the difference between the direct wage (the cash wage paid directly to you) and the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The federal minimum cash wage is $2.13 per hour, and the maximum federal tip credit is $5.12 per hour. However, Idaho law sets its own minimum cash wage at $3.35 for 2026, which is higher than the federal floor. This means your Idaho employer must pay you at least $3.35 per hour in direct cash wages before claiming any tip credit. The tip credit your employer can claim is the difference between what you earn in cash wages and the minimum wage you are owed. Only tips you actually receive count toward this calculation, and your employer must ensure you receive enough tips plus cash wages to equal at least the full minimum wage in each workweek.
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. The maximum tip credit that an employer can currently claim is $5.12 per hour: ($7.25 - $2.13 direct (or cash) wage = $5.12).
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
If your tips plus the cash wage your Idaho employer pays you do not add up to at least $7.25 per hour in any workweek, the employer must make up the difference. This is a weekly guarantee: your employer cannot average your earnings across multiple weeks or rely on busy weeks to cover slow ones. Each workweek must independently show that you received at least the full minimum wage when your direct cash wages and your tips are combined. In Idaho, the minimum cash wage is $3.35 per hour for 2026. If in a particular week your tips are low and your total earnings fall below the minimum wage you are owed, your employer is legally required to pay you additional cash wages to reach that threshold. This protection ensures that tipped employees in Idaho never earn less than the minimum wage, even during slow periods when customer tips are insufficient to bridge the gap between the cash wage and the minimum wage.
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
Before your Idaho employer can claim a tip credit and pay you a reduced cash wage, it must give you specific notice about the tip credit provisions. The employer must inform you of the cash wage it will pay you, the tip credit amount it will claim, that the credit cannot exceed your actual tips, that you keep all your tips except for valid tip pooling, and that the credit does not apply unless you receive this notice. Your employer can provide this information orally or in writing. However, if your employer fails to give you the required notice, it cannot take the tip credit at all and must pay you the full minimum wage in cash. Idaho's minimum cash wage for 2026 is $3.35 per hour. This notice requirement ensures that tipped workers in Idaho understand their wage rights and how their compensation will be calculated before any tip credit is applied to their pay.
An employer that fails to provide the required information cannot take the section 3(m)(2)(A) tip credit.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
When state law gives more than the federal rule
When Idaho state law differs from the federal FLSA, employers must comply with the standard most protective to employees. This means that if Idaho law provides better wage protections for tipped workers than federal law does, your employer must follow Idaho's rules. Idaho sets its own minimum cash wage at $3.35 for 2026, which is higher than the federal floor. This means your employer in Idaho must pay you at least $3.35 per hour in direct cash wages. Some states go further and prohibit tip credits entirely, but Idaho allows them subject to its own cash wage requirements. The principle is straightforward: you are entitled to whichever rule gives you higher pay or stronger protections. If federal law sets one standard and Idaho sets a different one, your employer must follow whichever results in better wages for you. This ensures that state-level wage protections are not undercut by less generous federal standards.
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
Under federal law, employers in Idaho are prohibited from keeping any portion of employees' tips for any purpose, whether directly or through a tip pool. This rule applies regardless of whether the employer takes a tip credit or pays you the full minimum wage in cash. Your employer cannot require you to hand over your tips to the business, to a supervisor, or to a manager. Even if you receive at least $7.25 per hour in wages directly from your employer and the employer takes no tip credit, your tips still belong to you. This protection prevents employers, managers, and supervisors from appropriating the gratuities that customers intend for the workers who serve them. If your employer in Idaho attempts to keep any part of your tips, it violates federal law and you are entitled to recover those wages. This rule ensures that tips remain the property of the employees who earn them through their service to customers.
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. An employer may not require an employee to give their tips to the employer, a supervisor, or a manager, even where a tipped employee receives at least the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25) per hour in wages directly from the employer and the employer takes no tip credit.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
When your Idaho employer takes a tip credit, any mandatory tip pool you are required to join must be limited to employees in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive tips. This means the tip pool can only include workers like waiters, waitresses, bussers, bartenders, bellhops, and counter personnel who serve customers. The employer cannot require you to share your tips with cooks, dishwashers, janitors, or other back-of-house workers who do not customarily receive tips from customers. Your employer must notify you of any required tip pool contribution amount, can only take a tip credit for the tips you ultimately receive after the pool distribution, and cannot retain any portion of the tips for itself. If you work in Idaho and your employer operates a traditional tip pool while taking a tip credit, the pool must remain restricted to front-of-house staff who regularly interact with customers and receive gratuities. This rule ensures that tip pools serve their intended purpose of sharing customer gratuities among workers who depend on them.
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 Idaho, when you work two different jobs for the same employer, you are considered a tipped employee only with respect to the job where you customarily and regularly receive at least $30 a month in tips. For example, if you work as a maintenance person at a hotel and also work as a server, you are a tipped employee only for your server job. Your employer cannot take a tip credit for the hours you work as a maintenance person, even if you earn tips during your server shifts. You must be paid the full minimum wage for all hours worked in the non-tipped occupation. This rule prevents employers from applying tip credit provisions to work that does not involve receiving customer gratuities. If you hold dual jobs in Idaho, track your hours carefully to ensure you receive proper wages for each role. The tip credit applies only to the specific occupation where you regularly receive tips, not to all the work you perform for your employer.
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. The worker is employed in two occupations, and no tip credit can be taken for their hours of employment in their occupation as a maintenance person.
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
Idaho $7.25 $3.90 $3.35 More than $30
Other years
Every Idaho Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state