Illinois Tipped Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official Illinois Department of LaborIllinois lets employers pay tipped workers a cash wage of $9.00 an hour and take a tip credit of up to $6.00, as long as tips bring total pay to at least the $15.00 minimum wage. This Illinois 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 $15.00 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 Illinois, sourced from the Illinois Department of Labor. Tips you earn above the minimum are always yours to keep.
Illinois tipped workers get a cash wage of $9.00/hr, with up to a $6.00 tip credit toward the $15.00 minimum wage.
How the Illinois tipped wage and tip credit work
cash wage = $9.00/hr (paid by employer)
total before top-up = cash wage + your tips per hour
if total < $15.00: employer tops up to $15.00
effective pay = greater of (cash + tips) and $15.00
These are gross figures before tax. Tips are taxable income and must be reported. For your after-tax pay, see the Illinois paycheck calculator, and for the regular rate the Illinois minimum wage calculator.
How Illinois ties the tipped wage to a percentage
Illinois pegs its tipped wage to a percentage of the minimum rather than a flat dollar amount, which keeps the two in step as the wage rises. The tipped cash wage is 60 percent of the minimum, or $9.00 an hour against the $15.00 floor, and the tip credit is the other 40 percent, up to $6.00. An employer may pay $9.00 in direct cash and count as much as $6.00 of your tips toward the minimum, but your cash plus tips must still average $15.00 an hour or the employer owes the difference.
To check you are made whole, add your $9.00 cash wage to your weekly tips, divide by the hours you worked, and compare against $15.00. Because the cash wage already covers 60 percent of the floor, most weeks clear it easily, but the top-up right still applies in any week that falls short. Full time at $15.00 is roughly $31,200.00 a year before tax.
Location changes the answer inside Illinois. Chicago and Cook County set higher minimums than the state, and Chicago is separately phasing out its tip credit altogether, so a downtown server's numbers will not match the statewide $9.00 and $15.00. Workers under 18 who log fewer than 650 hours in a year can also be paid a $13.00 youth rate. Confirm which set of figures applies to your worksite with the Illinois Department of Labor or your city.
Illinois tipped minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the tipped minimum wage in Illinois in 2026?
In Illinois, the minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $9.00 an hour in 2026. Employers may count up to $6.00 an hour of tips (the "tip credit") toward the $15.00 minimum wage. If an employee's cash wage plus tips does not average at least $15.00 an hour, the employer must pay the difference.
Does Illinois allow a tip credit?
Yes. Illinois allows employers to take a tip credit of up to $6.00 an hour, meaning the direct cash wage can be as low as $9.00 an hour provided tips make up the rest to $15.00. The federal tip-credit floor is a $2.13 cash wage.
What happens if my tips do not reach minimum wage in Illinois?
Your employer must make up the shortfall. In any week where your cash wage of $9.00 plus your tips does not average at least $15.00 an hour, Illinois and federal law require the employer to top your pay up to $15.00. You should never earn less than the full minimum wage once tips are counted.
How much does a tipped worker make in Illinois?
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 $9.00 plus $12.00 tips is $21.00 an hour, which is above the $15.00 minimum, so the effective rate is $21.00 an hour, about $630.00 a week or $32,760.00 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: $9.00 in Illinois. The "tip credit" is how much of your tips the employer is allowed to count toward the regular minimum wage: $6.00 in Illinois. Cash wage plus tip credit equals the $15.00 minimum wage.
Official sources
- Illinois 2026 tipped and minimum wage figures: Illinois Department of Labor, 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. Illinois tipped cash wage is 60% of the minimum ($9.00); maximum tip credit is 40% ($6.00). Tips plus cash must reach $15.00 or the employer makes up the difference. Chicago is separately phasing out its tip credit.