Ohio Tipped Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official Ohio Department of CommerceOhio lets employers pay tipped workers a cash wage of $5.50 an hour and take a tip credit of up to $5.50, as long as tips bring total pay to at least the $11.00 minimum wage. This Ohio 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 $11.00 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 Ohio, sourced from the Ohio Department of Commerce. Tips you earn above the minimum are always yours to keep.
Ohio tipped workers get a cash wage of $5.50/hr, with up to a $5.50 tip credit toward the $11.00 minimum wage.
How the Ohio tipped wage and tip credit work
cash wage = $5.50/hr (paid by employer)
total before top-up = cash wage + your tips per hour
if total < $11.00: employer tops up to $11.00
effective pay = greater of (cash + tips) and $11.00
These are gross figures before tax. Tips are taxable income and must be reported. For your after-tax pay, see the Ohio paycheck calculator, and for the regular rate the Ohio minimum wage calculator.
Checking your $5.50 cash wage clears the $11.00 line
In Ohio, a tipped server or bartender can be paid a direct cash wage of just $5.50 an hour, exactly half the state's $11.00 minimum wage. The other half, the $5.50 tip credit, is the amount your employer is allowed to cover with your own tips. The rule only applies once you earn more than $30 a month in tips; below that, you are owed the full $11.00 in cash. The arithmetic to remember is simple: $5.50 cash plus $5.50 in tips per hour equals the $11.00 floor, and every dollar you make above that is yours.
To confirm you have been made whole, average your cash wage and tips across the whole workweek, not shift by shift. Take your total tips for the week, divide by hours worked, and add the $5.50 cash wage. If that figure falls below $11.00 for the week, Ohio law requires your employer to pay the difference so you reach $11.00 an hour. Keep your own tip log, because tip-out to bussers and bartenders can quietly pull your effective rate down.
One Ohio-specific catch is worth checking first: the $5.50 cash wage and $11.00 minimum apply only to employers grossing $405,000 a year or more. A smaller business may legally use the federal $2.13 tipped wage against the federal $7.25 floor, so ask which rate your employer uses before you assume the state figures apply to your paycheck.
Ohio tipped minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the tipped minimum wage in Ohio in 2026?
In Ohio, the minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $5.50 an hour in 2026. Employers may count up to $5.50 an hour of tips (the "tip credit") toward the $11.00 minimum wage. If an employee's cash wage plus tips does not average at least $11.00 an hour, the employer must pay the difference.
Does Ohio allow a tip credit?
Yes. Ohio allows employers to take a tip credit of up to $5.50 an hour, meaning the direct cash wage can be as low as $5.50 an hour provided tips make up the rest to $11.00. The federal tip-credit floor is a $2.13 cash wage.
What happens if my tips do not reach minimum wage in Ohio?
Your employer must make up the shortfall. In any week where your cash wage of $5.50 plus your tips does not average at least $11.00 an hour, Ohio and federal law require the employer to top your pay up to $11.00. You should never earn less than the full minimum wage once tips are counted.
How much does a tipped worker make in Ohio?
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 $5.50 plus $12.00 tips is $17.50 an hour, which is above the $11.00 minimum, so the effective rate is $17.50 an hour, about $525.00 a week or $27,300.00 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: $5.50 in Ohio. The "tip credit" is how much of your tips the employer is allowed to count toward the regular minimum wage: $5.50 in Ohio. Cash wage plus tip credit equals the $11.00 minimum wage.
Official sources
- Ohio 2026 tipped and minimum wage figures: Ohio Department of Commerce, 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 employees (over $30/month in tips) may be paid $5.50 cash plus tips; combined earnings must reach $11.00 or the employer pays the difference.