Mississippi Tipped Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour DivisionMississippi lets employers pay tipped workers a cash wage of $2.13 an hour and take a tip credit of up to $5.12, as long as tips bring total pay to at least the $7.25 minimum wage. This Mississippi 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 $7.25 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 Mississippi, sourced from the US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. Tips you earn above the minimum are always yours to keep.
Mississippi tipped workers get a cash wage of $2.13/hr, with up to a $5.12 tip credit toward the $7.25 minimum wage.
How the Mississippi tipped wage and tip credit work
cash wage = $2.13/hr (paid by employer)
total before top-up = cash wage + your tips per hour
if total < $7.25: employer tops up to $7.25
effective pay = greater of (cash + tips) and $7.25
These are gross figures before tax. Tips are taxable income and must be reported. For your after-tax pay, see the Mississippi paycheck calculator, and for the regular rate the Mississippi minimum wage calculator.
Mississippi runs on the federal tipped wage
Mississippi has no minimum wage law of its own, so its tipped rules are simply the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. An employer may pay a cash wage of $2.13 an hour and claim a tip credit of up to $5.12, provided your tips carry you the rest of the way to the $7.25 federal minimum. There is no separate Mississippi figure to look up.
Because this follows the federal rule, the make-whole test runs across the workweek, not shift by shift. Add your total cash wages for the week to your total tips, then divide by hours worked. If that average is below $7.25 an hour, your employer owes the difference. The $2.13 cash line only holds if tips actually reach the $5.12 credit; in a slow week they may not, and the top-up is then mandatory.
Mississippi also preempts city and county wage laws, so no local ordinance in Jackson or anywhere else changes these numbers. One narrow exception exists on coverage: a very small business grossing under $500,000 a year and not engaged in interstate commerce can fall outside the FLSA, though most workers are covered and keep the $7.25 guarantee.
Mississippi tipped minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the tipped minimum wage in Mississippi in 2026?
In Mississippi, the minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $2.13 an hour in 2026. Employers may count up to $5.12 an hour of tips (the "tip credit") toward the $7.25 minimum wage. If an employee's cash wage plus tips does not average at least $7.25 an hour, the employer must pay the difference.
Does Mississippi allow a tip credit?
Yes. Mississippi allows employers to take a tip credit of up to $5.12 an hour, meaning the direct cash wage can be as low as $2.13 an hour provided tips make up the rest to $7.25. The federal tip-credit floor is a $2.13 cash wage.
What happens if my tips do not reach minimum wage in Mississippi?
Your employer must make up the shortfall. In any week where your cash wage of $2.13 plus your tips does not average at least $7.25 an hour, Mississippi and federal law require the employer to top your pay up to $7.25. You should never earn less than the full minimum wage once tips are counted.
How much does a tipped worker make in Mississippi?
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 $2.13 plus $12.00 tips is $14.13 an hour, which is above the $7.25 minimum, so the effective rate is $14.13 an hour, about $423.90 a week or $22,042.80 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: $2.13 in Mississippi. The "tip credit" is how much of your tips the employer is allowed to count toward the regular minimum wage: $5.12 in Mississippi. Cash wage plus tip credit equals the $7.25 minimum wage.
Official sources
- Mississippi 2026 tipped and minimum wage figures: US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, 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. Follows the federal FLSA: $2.13 cash wage plus a $5.12 tip credit; tips must bring the total to $7.25.