Montana Tipped Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official Montana Department of Labor & IndustryMontana does not allow a tip credit. Tipped workers must be paid the full $10.85 minimum wage in cash, and they keep all their tips on top. This Montana tipped minimum wage calculator shows what that means in practice. Enter your tips and hours to see your total pay: the full $10.85 minimum in cash plus every dollar of tips on top. 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 Montana, sourced from the Montana Department of Labor & Industry. Tips you earn above the minimum are always yours to keep.
Montana does not allow a tip credit: tipped workers get the full $10.85/hr minimum wage in cash, plus all tips.
How the Montana tipped wage and tip credit work
cash wage = $10.85/hr (full minimum, no tip credit)
effective pay = $10.85 + your tips per hour
These are gross figures before tax. Tips are taxable income and must be reported. For your after-tax pay, see the Montana paycheck calculator, and for the regular rate the Montana minimum wage calculator.
Montana pays tipped workers the full wage: what to verify
Montana bans the tip credit, so a tipped worker must receive the full $10.85 minimum wage in cash for 2026, with tips paid entirely on top. There is no service rate and no arithmetic that lets tips reduce your base pay. The minimum is recalculated every January using the Consumer Price Index, so expect it to tick up rather than hold flat.
Checking that you were made whole is therefore straightforward: your base hourly rate on the pay stub should read at least $10.85 for every hour, no matter how good or bad your tips were. If tips appear to be offsetting your wage, that is not permitted in Montana, and the underpayment is recoverable.
One wrinkle can cloud the picture. A business not covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less may legally pay as little as $4.00 an hour. But FLSA coverage often attaches to the individual worker (for example, anyone handling goods that moved in interstate commerce), and a covered worker is entitled to at least the federal $7.25. Because a worker always gets the highest applicable rate, the practical floor for nearly all tipped employees is the full $10.85.
Montana tipped minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the tipped minimum wage in Montana in 2026?
Montana does not use a tipped minimum wage. Tipped workers must receive the full Montana minimum wage of $10.85 an hour in cash from their employer, and any tips are theirs to keep on top of that.
Does Montana allow a tip credit?
No. Montana is one of the states that does not allow a tip credit. Every worker, tipped or not, must be paid at least the full $10.85 minimum wage in cash before tips.
What happens if my tips do not reach minimum wage in Montana?
That situation does not arise in Montana, because you are paid the full $10.85 minimum wage in cash regardless of tips. Tips are always extra.
How much does a tipped worker make in Montana?
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. Full minimum cash wage $10.85 plus $12.00 tips is $22.85 an hour, about $685.50 a week or $35,646.00 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: $10.85 in Montana (the full minimum, because there is no tip credit). The "tip credit" is how much of your tips the employer is allowed to count toward the regular minimum wage: $0.00 in Montana. Cash wage plus tip credit equals the $10.85 minimum wage.
Official sources
- Montana 2026 tipped and minimum wage figures: Montana Department of Labor & Industry, 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. Montana prohibits any tip credit; tipped employees receive the full $10.85 minimum wage plus tips.