Colorado Tipped Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official Colorado Department of Labor and EmploymentColorado lets employers pay tipped workers a cash wage of $12.14 an hour and take a tip credit of up to $3.02, as long as tips bring total pay to at least the $15.16 minimum wage. This Colorado tipped minimum wage calculator shows what that means in practice. Enter your average tips per hour and your weekly hours, and it works out whether your tips clear the tip credit, whether your employer owes you a top-up to reach the $15.16 minimum, and your effective hourly, weekly and yearly pay. A tip credit lets an employer pay a lower direct cash wage and count part of your tips toward the regular minimum wage, but it can never leave you below the minimum: if tips fall short in a given week, the law requires the employer to make up the difference. The cash wage, tip credit and minimum wage used here are the 2026 figures for Colorado, sourced from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. Tips you earn above the minimum are always yours to keep.
Colorado tipped workers get a cash wage of $12.14/hr, with up to a $3.02 tip credit toward the $15.16 minimum wage.
How the Colorado tipped wage and tip credit work
cash wage = $12.14/hr (paid by employer)
total before top-up = cash wage + your tips per hour
if total < $15.16: employer tops up to $15.16
effective pay = greater of (cash + tips) and $15.16
These are gross figures before tax. Tips are taxable income and must be reported. For your after-tax pay, see the Colorado paycheck calculator, and for the regular rate the Colorado minimum wage calculator.
In Denver your make-whole target is $19.29, not $15.16
Colorado caps the tip credit at $3.02 an hour, so an employer can pay a tipped worker a direct cash wage as low as $12.14 as long as tips carry them to the $15.16 statewide minimum. The credit is a ceiling, not a quota: tips you earn beyond the minimum are always yours, and the $3.02 is simply the most of your gratuities the employer may count toward the wage.
Where you work changes the target. Colorado is one of the few states that lets local governments set higher minimums, and several have. In Denver the floor is $19.29 an hour, in Edgewater it is $18.17, and unincorporated Boulder County runs its own higher rate, with the tip credit measured against whichever local figure applies. A Denver server therefore has to clear $19.29 on a cash-plus-tips basis, not the $15.16 state number, a difference of more than $8,000.00 a year for full-time hours.
The make-whole test runs over the workweek: add your cash wages to every tip kept, divide by the hours you worked, and compare the average to the minimum that applies where you clock in. Fall short and the employer owes you the difference for that week; keep a personal tip record as your cross-check. Because the state rate and several local rates reset each January, confirm the current figures with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and your city before you rely on them.
Colorado tipped minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the tipped minimum wage in Colorado in 2026?
In Colorado, the minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $12.14 an hour in 2026. Employers may count up to $3.02 an hour of tips (the "tip credit") toward the $15.16 minimum wage. If an employee's cash wage plus tips does not average at least $15.16 an hour, the employer must pay the difference.
Does Colorado allow a tip credit?
Yes. Colorado allows employers to take a tip credit of up to $3.02 an hour, meaning the direct cash wage can be as low as $12.14 an hour provided tips make up the rest to $15.16. The federal tip-credit floor is a $2.13 cash wage.
What happens if my tips do not reach minimum wage in Colorado?
Your employer must make up the shortfall. In any week where your cash wage of $12.14 plus your tips does not average at least $15.16 an hour, Colorado and federal law require the employer to top your pay up to $15.16. You should never earn less than the full minimum wage once tips are counted.
How much does a tipped worker make in Colorado?
It depends on tips, but here is a worked example: a server working 30 hours a week and averaging $12.00 an hour in tips. Cash wage $12.14 plus $12.00 tips is $24.14 an hour, which is above the $15.16 minimum, so the effective rate is $24.14 an hour, about $724.20 a week or $37,658.40 a year before tax. Use the calculator with your own tips and hours.
Is the tip credit the same as the tipped wage?
No, they are two sides of the same figure. The "tipped minimum wage" (or tipped cash wage) is what the employer pays directly: $12.14 in Colorado. The "tip credit" is how much of your tips the employer is allowed to count toward the regular minimum wage: $3.02 in Colorado. Cash wage plus tip credit equals the $15.16 minimum wage.
Official sources
- Colorado 2026 tipped and minimum wage figures: Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, as at July 11, 2026.
- Federal tip credit and the $2.13 cash-wage floor: US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 11 July 2026. See our methodology. General information, not legal or financial advice. Employers may take a tip credit of up to $3.02/hr, so the tipped cash wage is $12.14, provided tips bring the worker to $15.16/hr.