2021 North Carolina Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2021 North Carolina Tipped Minimum Wage is $2.13.
Effective 2021-01-01Source: Minimum Wage in N.C. (North Carolina Department of Labor)Verified 2026-08-30
Compared with 2020
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2020.
| Item | 2020 | 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $2.13 | $2.13 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Employers in North Carolina who have tipped employees and are covered by state minimum wage requirements.
What changed this year, and why
For 2021, North Carolina's minimum cash wage for tipped employees remains $2.13 per hour. Employers may take a tip credit toward the full minimum wage as long as tipped employees receive enough in tips to bring their total hourly earnings to at least the minimum wage; otherwise the employer must make up the difference.
Common questions
- What is the minimum cash wage for tipped employees in North Carolina in 2021?
- Employers must pay tipped employees at least $2.13 per hour in cash wages. If tips do not bring the employee's total hourly earnings to at least the full minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference.
- Are there conditions an employer must meet to take a tip credit?
- Yes. Tipped employees must be notified in advance, permitted to retain all tips, and the employer must maintain accurate records of tips received, certified by the tipped employees monthly or each pay period.
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
In North Carolina, an employer MUST pay at least $2.13 an hour to tipped employees as long as each employee receives enough in tips to make up the difference between the wages paid and the minimum wage ($7.25). This means that if you work in a role where you customarily receive tips, your employer can pay you a lower direct cash wage, but only if your tips fill the gap between that cash wage and the full state minimum wage. The $2.13 figure is the lowest hourly cash wage your employer can pay you directly. If your tips in a given workweek are not enough to bring your total earnings up to $7.25 per hour for every hour you worked, your employer must increase your cash pay to cover the shortfall. This rule ensures that tipped workers in North Carolina always receive at least the full minimum wage when their direct wages and tips are combined. Employers cannot use the tip credit unless they meet all the notice and recordkeeping requirements described elsewhere on this page.
In North Carolina, an employer MUST pay at least $2.13 an hour to tipped employees as long as each employee receives enough in tips to make up the difference between the wages paid and the minimum wage ($7.25).
Minimum Wage in N.C. (North Carolina Department of Labor)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
In North Carolina, if a tipped employee's direct cash wage plus tips do not add up to at least the full minimum wage for a given workweek, the employer must make up the difference. The state requires employers to pay at least $2.13 per hour in direct cash wages, but that lower rate is only allowed because the employer assumes tips will cover the rest of the gap up to the full minimum wage. If your tips in a particular week fall short — perhaps because you worked slow shifts or had fewer customers than usual — your employer cannot simply absorb that shortfall. Instead, it must pay you additional cash wages so that your total compensation for every hour worked reaches the applicable minimum wage. This rule places the risk of low tip weeks on the employer, not the employee. Employers in North Carolina are responsible for tracking both the cash wages they pay and the tips you report, and for making sure the combined total never drops below the minimum wage floor.
Employers MUST pay more than the $2.13 hourly cash wage if the tipped employee earns less than the credit in tips per hour, as it is the employer’s responsibility to make sure that all tipped employees earn at least the minimum wage in cash wages and tips.
Minimum Wage in N.C. (North Carolina Department of Labor)
The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit
In North Carolina, before an employer can count your tips toward its minimum wage obligation and pay you the lower cash wage, the law requires that you be notified in advance. This notice must make clear that the employer is taking a tip credit, how much cash wage you will receive, and what additional amount the employer is claiming as a credit from your tips. You must also be told that you are permitted to retain all of your tips, except as allowed in a valid tip pooling arrangement. Without this advance notice, the employer loses the right to use the tip credit and must pay you the full minimum wage directly from its own funds. In addition to the notice requirement, the employer must maintain accurate and complete records of the tips you receive, and those tips must be certified by you monthly or for each pay period. North Carolina workers who have not received this notice should ask their employer for it in writing, because the employer cannot legally apply the tip credit until the information has been provided.
However, for an employer to be able to count tips as wages and take a tip credit towards the minimum wage, the law requires that tipped employees be notified in advance and be permitted to retain all tips, and requires that the employer maintains accurate and complete records of tips received by each employee and such tips must be certified by tipped employees monthly or for each pay period.
Minimum Wage in N.C. (North Carolina Department of Labor)
When state law gives more than the federal rule
In North Carolina, when both state and federal wage rules apply, the employer must follow whichever standard gives the worker greater protection. This means that even if the federal Fair Labor Standards Act sets a baseline, a North Carolina law or rule that provides a higher minimum wage, a larger required cash wage, or stronger tip-pooling safeguards will control. For example, North Carolina currently requires employers to pay at least $2.13 per hour in cash wages to tipped employees, and the state minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. If federal law were to change in a way that offered workers less, the state rule would still apply. Conversely, if federal law offered more — such as a higher cash wage floor — the employer would have to follow that instead. The principle is straightforward: North Carolina workers always get the benefit of the rule that puts more money in their pocket or provides stronger safeguards. Employers in the state cannot pick and choose the weaker standard just because it is easier to administer.
Employers doing business in North Carolina are required to pay at least $7.25 per hour to all employees (agricultural and domestic employees are subject to the federal minimum wage).
Minimum Wage in N.C. (North Carolina Department of Labor)
Your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips
In North Carolina, your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips. The law requires that tipped employees be permitted to retain all tips, and the employer may only count those tips toward the minimum wage obligation if it has given proper advance notice and maintains accurate records. The only exception is a valid tip pooling arrangement among employees who customarily receive tips, and even then the employer itself cannot participate in or skim from the pool. If an employer in North Carolina violates this rule by taking a cut of your tips, it loses the right to use the tip credit and must pay you the full minimum wage directly. Workers who believe their employer is keeping their tips should contact the North Carolina Department of Labor or the U.S. Department of Labor. The rule is designed to ensure that gratuities go to the workers who earn them from customers, not to management or the business itself.
However, for an employer to be able to count tips as wages and take a tip credit towards the minimum wage, the law requires that tipped employees be notified in advance and be permitted to retain all tips, and requires that the employer maintains accurate and complete records of tips received by each employee and such tips must be certified by tipped employees monthly or for each pay period.
Minimum Wage in N.C. (North Carolina Department of Labor)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
In North Carolina, tip pooling is permitted, but only under certain conditions. In businesses covered by the state Department of Labor for minimum wage purposes — generally those with less than $500,000 in gross sales — tip pooling is allowed as long as the tipped employees retain at least 85 percent of the tips they receive. This means that while you may be required to share a portion of your tips with other workers who customarily receive them, such as bussers or bartenders, the pool must leave the vast majority of your gratuities with you. The employer must maintain accurate and complete records of the tips received and the amount earned under the pooling arrangement, and those tips must be certified by the tipped employees monthly or for each pay period. If the pool includes workers who do not customarily receive tips, or if the arrangement causes tipped employees to retain less than 85 percent of what they receive, it violates North Carolina law. Workers in the state should verify that any tip pool they are asked to join meets these requirements.
In businesses that are covered by NCDOL for minimum wage (generally businesses that make less than $500,000 in gross sales), tip pooling is permitted as long as the tipped employees retain at least 85 percent of the tips they receive, which means the employer must maintain accurate and complete records of the tips received and the amount of tips earned under the tip pooling arrangement.
Minimum Wage in N.C. (North Carolina Department of Labor)
Doing two jobs for one employer
In North Carolina, if you perform both tipped and non-tipped work for the same employer, you are a tipped employee only with respect to the work in which you customarily and regularly receive tips. This means your employer can take the tip credit and pay you the lower cash wage only for the hours you spend in the tipped occupation. For the hours you spend in non-tipped work — such as cooking, cleaning, or hosting — the employer must pay you at least the full minimum wage without relying on a tip credit. The rule prevents employers from using your server tips to subsidize your pay during shifts when you are performing duties that do not generate gratuities. North Carolina workers who split their time between tipped and non-tipped roles should track their hours carefully and verify that their employer is applying the tip credit only to the appropriate portion of their workweek. If your employer treats all your hours as tipped hours even though you spend significant time in non-tipped duties, that may violate state and federal wage rules.
For employers who have “tipped employees,” employers are permitted to take a credit for a certain amount of tips earned by their employees toward the employers’ payment of the minimum wage.
Minimum Wage in N.C. (North Carolina Department of Labor)
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 Wage in N.C. (North Carolina Department of Labor)
- Minimum cash wage
In North Carolina, an employer MUST pay at least $2.13 an hour to tipped employees
Other years
Every North Carolina Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state