Texas Tipped Minimum Wage 2026
Current year
The 2026 Texas Tipped Minimum Wage is $2.13.
Effective 2026-01-01Source: Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (DOL)Verified 2026-08-30
Who it applies to
Employers of tipped employees in Texas. 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 $2.13 per hour as the minimum cash wage an employer may pay a tipped employee in Texas. 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 Texas in 2026?
- $2.13 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 Texas. 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 Texas, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act defines a tipped employee as someone who works in an occupation where they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips. If you meet that threshold, your employer is allowed to pay you a lower direct cash wage and count a portion of your tips toward its minimum wage obligation. Only tips you actually receive count toward this determination — not estimated or shared tips that never reach you. If you work in a role where tips are occasional or do not regularly exceed $30 per month, you are not considered a tipped employee under this rule and your employer must pay you the full minimum wage for all your hours worked.
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 a Texas employer can count toward the minimum wage from a tipped employee's tips, rather than paying it directly as cash. The employer must still pay a direct cash wage of at least $2.13 per hour. The tip credit equals the difference between that direct cash wage and the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The employer must ensure that the employee's tips plus the direct cash wage equal at least the full minimum wage in every workweek. Only tips actually received by the employee count when determining whether the employee qualifies as a tipped employee and when applying the tip credit. If tips fall short, the employer must cover the gap. The employer cannot take a tip credit larger than the tips the employee actually brings in during the 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
Even with the tip credit, a Texas employer must guarantee that tipped employees earn at least the full minimum wage of $7.25 per hour in every workweek. If an employee's tips combined with the employer's direct cash wages fall short of that amount, the employer must make up the difference. This protection applies week by week, so employers cannot average out slow weeks with busy ones. The employer bears the risk if tips are insufficient, not the employee. Texas employers claiming the tip credit must track each workweek to ensure compliance with this requirement.
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 taking a tip credit, Texas employers must give tipped employees specific information about their pay. The notice must include the amount of the direct cash wage the employer is paying, which must be at least $2.13 per hour, and the additional amount claimed as a tip credit. Employers must also inform employees that the tip credit cannot exceed the tips actually received, that all tips belong to the employee except for valid tip pool contributions, and that the employee must be notified of all these provisions. Notice can be oral or written, but it must come before the employer starts using the tip credit. An employer that fails to provide this required information cannot take the tip credit at all, meaning it would owe the full minimum wage in cash.
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
When Texas state law provides greater protection to employees than federal law, employers must follow whichever rule is most beneficial to the worker. For example, if Texas required a higher cash wage than the federal $2.13 per hour or prohibited the tip credit entirely, Texas employers would have to comply with that stricter standard. This principle ensures that federal minimum standards do not override state laws that give workers more money or stronger protections. Texas employers operating under the tip credit must check both federal and state requirements and apply whichever gives tipped employees the 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
The FLSA strictly prohibits Texas employers, managers, and supervisors from keeping any portion of employees' tips, regardless of whether the employer takes a tip credit. This rule applies whether the employer takes tips directly or through a tip pool. Even if a Texas tipped employee earns well above the minimum wage in cash wages alone, the employer cannot require them to hand over their tips to the business, a supervisor, or a manager. Tips belong to the employees who receive them from customers. This protection is absolute and does not depend on the employer's financial situation or the employee's total compensation.
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
When a Texas employer takes a tip credit, it can only require tipped employees to contribute to a traditional tip pool limited to employees in occupations where they customarily and regularly receive tips. Eligible participants include waiters, bellhops, counter personnel who serve customers, bussers, and service bartenders. The employer cannot include back-of-house workers like cooks or dishwashers in this type of pool. Texas employers must notify tipped employees of any required tip pool contribution and can only take a tip credit for the tips each employee ultimately receives after pool contributions. The employer cannot retain any of the pooled tips.
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 a Texas employee works two different jobs for the same employer, one tipped and one not, the tip credit only applies to hours spent in the tipped occupation. For example, if someone works as both a maintenance person and a server, and they regularly receive enough tips for their serving work to qualify as a tipped employee, they are a tipped employee only for their server hours. The employer cannot apply the tip credit to hours worked in the non-tipped role and must pay the full minimum wage for those hours. The cash wage for the tipped hours must be at least $2.13 per hour. This prevents employers from using the tip credit to reduce wages for non-tipped work, even when the same employee performs both types of duties for the same business.
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
Texas 12 $7.25 $5.12 $2.13 More than $20