New Hampshire Tipped Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official New Hampshire Department of LaborNew Hampshire lets employers pay tipped workers a cash wage of $3.27 an hour and take a tip credit of up to $3.98, as long as tips bring total pay to at least the $7.25 minimum wage. This New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire, sourced from the New Hampshire Department of Labor. Tips you earn above the minimum are always yours to keep.
New Hampshire tipped workers get a cash wage of $3.27/hr, with up to a $3.98 tip credit toward the $7.25 minimum wage.
How the New Hampshire tipped wage and tip credit work
cash wage = $3.27/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 New Hampshire paycheck calculator, and for the regular rate the New Hampshire minimum wage calculator.
Running the New Hampshire top-up test
New Hampshire writes its own tipped floor rather than borrowing the federal one. A restaurant or hotel worker who makes more than $30 a month in tips can be paid a cash wage as low as $3.27 an hour, which is 45 percent of the $7.25 minimum and noticeably above the federal $2.13. The employer keeps the remaining $3.98 as a tip credit only if your tips actually cover it.
The made-whole test runs weekly. Add the cash your employer paid to all the tips you earned, divide by hours worked, and the figure must reach at least $7.25 an hour. If a slow week leaves you short, say your tips averaged only $3.00 an hour on top of the $3.27 base for $6.27 total, the employer owes the $0.98 gap for every hour to bring you up to $7.25. You should never take home less than the straight minimum once tips are counted.
Keep your own record of hours, cash wage and declared tips, because the burden of showing the top-up was paid falls on the employer, and your notes are the easiest cross-check. A valid tip pool may only be shared among employees who customarily receive tips, so managers and owners cannot take a share. Overtime is time and a half on the full minimum, not on the $3.27 cash wage.
New Hampshire tipped minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the tipped minimum wage in New Hampshire in 2026?
In New Hampshire, the minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $3.27 an hour in 2026. Employers may count up to $3.98 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 New Hampshire allow a tip credit?
Yes. New Hampshire allows employers to take a tip credit of up to $3.98 an hour, meaning the direct cash wage can be as low as $3.27 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 New Hampshire?
Your employer must make up the shortfall. In any week where your cash wage of $3.27 plus your tips does not average at least $7.25 an hour, New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire?
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 $3.27 plus $12.00 tips is $15.27 an hour, which is above the $7.25 minimum, so the effective rate is $15.27 an hour, about $458.10 a week or $23,821.20 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: $3.27 in New Hampshire. The "tip credit" is how much of your tips the employer is allowed to count toward the regular minimum wage: $3.98 in New Hampshire. Cash wage plus tip credit equals the $7.25 minimum wage.
Official sources
- New Hampshire 2026 tipped and minimum wage figures: New Hampshire 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. New Hampshire sets its own tipped cash-wage floor of $3.27/hr (higher than the federal $2.13) for restaurant and hotel staff earning more than $30 a month in tips; tips plus cash must reach $7.25.