2026 Pennsylvania Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2026 Pennsylvania Tipped Minimum Wage is $2.83.
Effective 2026-01-01Source: Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (DOL)Verified 2026-08-30
Who it applies to
Employers of tipped employees in Pennsylvania. 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 $2.83 per hour as the minimum cash wage an employer may pay a tipped employee in Pennsylvania. 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 Pennsylvania in 2026?
- $2.83 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 Pennsylvania. 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 Pennsylvania, you are a tipped employee under federal law if you work in an occupation where you customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips. This definition matters because it determines whether your employer can pay you a lower cash wage and count your tips toward the minimum wage. If you do not meet this threshold—for example, because your tips are sporadic or your role rarely generates them—your employer must pay you the full minimum wage with no tip credit. Only the tips you actually receive count; projected or shared tips do not determine whether you qualify as a tipped employee. Once you meet the $30-a-month standard, special rules apply to how your employer pays you, what notice they must give, and how tip pools operate.
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 mechanism that allows Pennsylvania employers to count a portion of your tips toward their minimum wage obligation. The employer pays you a direct cash wage of $2.83 per hour, then takes a credit for the tips you receive. The tip credit equals the difference between this direct cash wage and the full minimum wage. Your employer must ensure that your cash wages plus your actual tips equal at least the full minimum wage for every workweek. Only tips you actually receive count when applying this credit, so your employer cannot claim credit for tips you never saw. The maximum tip credit they can claim depends on the difference between the cash wage they pay you and the applicable minimum wage, but regardless of how the calculation works, your total compensation must meet the minimum wage requirement 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.
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
Pennsylvania employers claiming a tip credit have a legal duty to ensure you earn at least the full minimum wage in every workweek. They must calculate your total compensation by adding the cash wages they pay you directly plus the tips you actually receive from customers. If this combined amount falls short of the minimum hourly wage for any workweek, the employer must make up the difference. This means your employer cannot simply pay you the lower cash wage and hope your tips will be sufficient. They must verify each week that your total earnings meet the minimum wage requirement, and if they don't, your employer is obligated to pay you the additional amount needed to reach that threshold.
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 Pennsylvania employer can take a tip credit, they must provide you with specific information about how the tip credit works. This notice must include the amount of the direct cash wage the employer is paying you. It must also state the additional amount the employer is claiming as a tip credit and explain that this credit cannot exceed the difference between the cash wage and the full minimum wage. The employer must inform you that the tip credit cannot exceed the actual tips you receive, and that all tips you receive belong to you unless you are required to contribute to a valid tip pool. This notice can be provided orally or in writing, but if the employer fails to give you this required information, they cannot legally claim the tip credit and must pay you the full minimum wage. Pennsylvania employers must ensure you receive this notice before they begin using the tip credit.
Employers must provide the following information to tipped employees before taking a tip credit under the FLSA: the amount of the direct (or cash) wage the employer is paying a tipped employee
Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (DOL)
When state law gives more than the federal rule
When Pennsylvania state law provides greater protections than federal law, employers must comply with the standard most protective to employees. This means if Pennsylvania requires a higher minimum cash wage than the federal level, or if state law restricts tip credits in ways the federal law does not, your employer must follow the Pennsylvania rule. Some states mandate a higher cash wage than the federal minimum, and others prohibit employers from taking any tip credit at all. In Pennsylvania, you are entitled to the minimum cash wage of $2.83 per hour, but if state law evolves to provide stronger protections, those protections apply to you. Your employer cannot hide behind weaker federal standards when Pennsylvania law offers you better safeguards.
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
Regardless of whether your Pennsylvania employer takes a tip credit, the law prohibits employers from keeping any portion of employees' tips for any purpose. This prohibition applies whether the employer tries to take your tips directly or through a tip pool arrangement. Your employer cannot require you to hand over your tips to them, to a supervisor, or to a manager. This protection applies even if your employer pays you the full minimum wage in cash and takes no tip credit at all. The tips you receive from customers belong to you, not to the business or its management. Managers and supervisors are specifically barred from participating in or retaining any share of the tips that tipped employees earn, ensuring that customer gratuities reach the workers who earned them.
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
If your Pennsylvania employer takes a tip credit, they can require you to participate in a tip pool, but that pool is limited to employees in occupations in which they customarily and regularly receive tips. This means the tip pool can only include workers like waiters, bellhops, counter personnel who serve customers, bussers, and service bartenders. The employer cannot force you to share your tips with cooks, dishwashers, janitors, or other back-of-house staff who do not customarily receive tips. Your employer must notify you of any required tip pool contribution amount, and they can only take a tip credit for the tips you ultimately retain after the pool distribution. The employer cannot retain any portion of the tips in the pool for themselves. This type of arrangement is sometimes known as a traditional tip pool. If your employer takes no tip credit and pays you the full minimum wage, different rules may apply that allow broader tip pool participation.
Traditional Tip Pooling: 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
When you work two different jobs for the same Pennsylvania employer, the tip credit rules apply differently depending on which job you are performing. For example, if you work as both a maintenance worker and a server, you are a tipped employee only with respect to your employment as a server. This means your employer can only take a tip credit for the hours you spend working as a server and receiving tips. For the hours you work as a maintenance worker, no tip credit can be taken, and your employer must pay you the full minimum wage. You must customarily and regularly receive at least $30 a month in tips for your server work to qualify as a tipped employee in that role. The law carefully distinguishes between truly dual jobs and situations where you perform related duties in a single occupation, such as a server who also cleans tables or makes coffee.
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
Pennsylvania $7.25 $4.42 $2.83 $135 per month
Other years
- 2026
Every Pennsylvania Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state