2023 Maryland Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2023 Maryland Tipped Minimum Wage is $3.63.
Effective 2023-01-01Source: Tipped Employees: Payment of Less than Minimum Wage - The Maryland Guide to Wage Payment and Employment Standards (Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Labor and Industry)Verified 2026-09-01
Compared with 2022
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2022.
| Item | 2022 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $3.63 | $3.63 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Employers of tipped employees in Maryland
What changed this year, and why
Maryland's minimum cash wage for tipped employees
Common questions
- What is the minimum cash wage for tipped employees in Maryland in 2023?
- Employers must pay tipped employees at least $3.63 per hour in cash wages. This amount plus tips must equal at least the full State Minimum Wage Rate.
- Who counts as a tipped employee?
- An employee who regularly receives tips as part of their compensation.
- What if a tipped employee also performs non-tip work?
- The employer must pay at least the full minimum wage rate for any time spent on non-tip related tasks.
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
In Maryland, a tip credit is the difference between what your employer pays you in direct cash wages and the full applicable minimum wage. The law allows restaurant employers to pay tipped employees a lower direct wage — currently $3.63 per hour in cash — and count your tips toward making up the rest of the minimum wage. The tip credit itself is equal to the difference between the direct wage you receive and the full minimum wage that applies. However, your employer cannot take a larger tip credit for overtime hours than for regular hours, and overtime must still be calculated based on the full minimum wage, not the lower cash wage. If your cash wages plus tips do not reach the full minimum wage for the workweek, your employer must make up the difference.
Where the employer takes the tip credit, overtime is calculated on the full minimum wage, not the lower direct (or cash) wage payment.
Tip Credit Wage Statement Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Labor and Industry)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
In Maryland, if your hourly cash wages plus your tips for a workweek do not add up to at least the full applicable minimum wage per hour, your employer must make up the difference. This is a critical protection for tipped employees: your employer cannot use a slow week or low tips as a reason to pay you below minimum wage. For example, if you earn $3.63 per hour in cash wages and your tips for the workweek average out to less than what is needed to reach the full minimum wage, your employer must add "make-up pay" to bring you to the required minimum. This rule applies under federal, state, and local wage laws and covers all hours worked in the workweek, not just individual shifts.
Under federal, state and local wage laws, if tipped employees do not make enough in hourly cash wages plus tips (for tip credit hours) to earn at least the full applicable minimum wage per hour for the workweek, the employer must make up the difference.
Tip Credit Wage Statement Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Labor and Industry)
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.
Tipped Employees: Payment of Less than Minimum Wage - The Maryland Guide to Wage Payment and Employment Standards (Maryland Department of Labor, Division of Labor and Industry)
- Minimum cash wage
Employers must pay at least $3.63 per hour.
Other years
Every Maryland Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state