Pennsylvania Tipped Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official Pennsylvania Department of Labor & IndustryPennsylvania lets employers pay tipped workers a cash wage of $2.83 an hour and take a tip credit of up to $4.42, as long as tips bring total pay to at least the $7.25 minimum wage. This Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania, sourced from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry. Tips you earn above the minimum are always yours to keep.
Pennsylvania tipped workers get a cash wage of $2.83/hr, with up to a $4.42 tip credit toward the $7.25 minimum wage.
How the Pennsylvania tipped wage and tip credit work
cash wage = $2.83/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 Pennsylvania paycheck calculator, and for the regular rate the Pennsylvania minimum wage calculator.
How $2.83 in cash is meant to reach $7.25
Pennsylvania sets its own tipped cash wage at $2.83 an hour, higher than the federal $2.13 but still far below the $7.25 minimum wage. The difference, a maximum tip credit of $4.42, is the slice of your tips an employer may count toward the minimum. So $2.83 in cash plus $4.42 in tips per hour is the $7.25 floor, and tips beyond that are yours to keep.
Pennsylvania's 2022 tipped-worker regulations added a threshold worth knowing: you are only treated as a tipped employee if you receive more than $135 a month in tips. Earn less than that, and your employer must pay the full $7.25 in cash. The same rules bar an employer from deducting credit-card processing fees from your tips in a way that drops your pay below the minimum.
To confirm you were made whole, average your tips across the workweek: total tips divided by hours worked, plus the $2.83 cash wage. If that weekly average is below $7.25 an hour, the employer owes the difference. Keep your own tally, since mandatory tip pools and tip-outs reduce what you actually take home. One more Pennsylvania reality check: because the state sits at the federal $7.25 floor while every neighboring state pays more, many employers already offer above the legal minimum, so compare your written rate against the going local rate, not just the $2.83 statutory figure.
Pennsylvania tipped minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the tipped minimum wage in Pennsylvania in 2026?
In Pennsylvania, the minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $2.83 an hour in 2026. Employers may count up to $4.42 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 Pennsylvania allow a tip credit?
Yes. Pennsylvania allows employers to take a tip credit of up to $4.42 an hour, meaning the direct cash wage can be as low as $2.83 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 Pennsylvania?
Your employer must make up the shortfall. In any week where your cash wage of $2.83 plus your tips does not average at least $7.25 an hour, Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania?
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 $2.83 plus $12.00 tips is $14.83 an hour, which is above the $7.25 minimum, so the effective rate is $14.83 an hour, about $444.90 a week or $23,134.80 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: $2.83 in Pennsylvania. The "tip credit" is how much of your tips the employer is allowed to count toward the regular minimum wage: $4.42 in Pennsylvania. Cash wage plus tip credit equals the $7.25 minimum wage.
Official sources
- Pennsylvania 2026 tipped and minimum wage figures: Pennsylvania 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. Pennsylvania sets a tipped cash wage of $2.83 (higher than the federal $2.13); maximum tip credit $4.42. Applies to employees receiving more than $135/month in tips.