District of Columbia Tipped Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official District of Columbia Department of Employment ServicesDistrict of Columbia lets employers pay tipped workers a cash wage of $10.30 an hour and take a tip credit of up to $8.10, as long as tips bring total pay to at least the $18.40 minimum wage. This District of Columbia 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 $18.40 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 District of Columbia, sourced from the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services. Tips you earn above the minimum are always yours to keep.
District of Columbia tipped workers get a cash wage of $10.30/hr, with up to a $8.10 tip credit toward the $18.40 minimum wage.
How the District of Columbia tipped wage and tip credit work
cash wage = $10.30/hr (paid by employer)
total before top-up = cash wage + your tips per hour
if total < $18.40: employer tops up to $18.40
effective pay = greater of (cash + tips) and $18.40
These are gross figures before tax. Tips are taxable income and must be reported. For your after-tax pay, see the District of Columbia paycheck calculator, and for the regular rate the District of Columbia minimum wage calculator.
How Initiative 82 changes the check on your tips
The District is unusual because its tipped wage is a moving target by design. Under Initiative 82, which voters approved in 2022, the tipped base cash wage is climbing toward the full minimum wage over several years, and the DC Council amended the schedule in 2025 to slow that climb. Right now the tipped base sits at $10.30 an hour against a standard minimum of $18.40, so the tip credit an employer can claim is $8.10. Both halves are set to shift again, with the base moving toward roughly 75 percent of the minimum by 2034.
Because DC also re-indexes the standard wage every July 1, the number you are owed can change in the middle of the year. To confirm you are made whole, add your $10.30 base to your weekly tips, divide by the hours you worked, and check the total against the current $18.40 minimum. If it falls short, the employer must pay the difference in cash; a full week at the floor is about $736.00, or roughly $38,272.00 a year before tax.
The practical risk here is a stale figure. A tipped base that was correct in one year can be superseded the next as the phase-in steps up, and the July index can move the minimum at the same time. Before you rely on $10.30 or $18.40, check the current schedule with the DC Department of Employment Services, since these are the two numbers most likely to have moved.
District of Columbia tipped minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the tipped minimum wage in District of Columbia in 2026?
In District of Columbia, the minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $10.30 an hour in 2026. Employers may count up to $8.10 an hour of tips (the "tip credit") toward the $18.40 minimum wage. If an employee's cash wage plus tips does not average at least $18.40 an hour, the employer must pay the difference.
Does District of Columbia allow a tip credit?
Yes. District of Columbia allows employers to take a tip credit of up to $8.10 an hour, meaning the direct cash wage can be as low as $10.30 an hour provided tips make up the rest to $18.40. The federal tip-credit floor is a $2.13 cash wage.
What happens if my tips do not reach minimum wage in District of Columbia?
Your employer must make up the shortfall. In any week where your cash wage of $10.30 plus your tips does not average at least $18.40 an hour, District of Columbia and federal law require the employer to top your pay up to $18.40. You should never earn less than the full minimum wage once tips are counted.
How much does a tipped worker make in District of Columbia?
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 $10.30 plus $12.00 tips is $22.30 an hour, which is above the $18.40 minimum, so the effective rate is $22.30 an hour, about $669.00 a week or $34,788.00 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: $10.30 in District of Columbia. The "tip credit" is how much of your tips the employer is allowed to count toward the regular minimum wage: $8.10 in District of Columbia. Cash wage plus tip credit equals the $18.40 minimum wage.
Official sources
- District of Columbia 2026 tipped and minimum wage figures: District of Columbia Department of Employment Services, 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. Tipped base cash wage is $10.30/hr. If tips plus base wage do not reach $18.40/hr, the employer must pay the difference.