West Virginia Tipped Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official West Virginia Division of LaborWest Virginia lets employers pay tipped workers a cash wage of $2.62 an hour and take a tip credit of up to $6.13, as long as tips bring total pay to at least the $8.75 minimum wage. This West Virginia 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 $8.75 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 West Virginia, sourced from the West Virginia Division of Labor. Tips you earn above the minimum are always yours to keep.
West Virginia tipped workers get a cash wage of $2.62/hr, with up to a $6.13 tip credit toward the $8.75 minimum wage.
How the West Virginia tipped wage and tip credit work
cash wage = $2.62/hr (paid by employer)
total before top-up = cash wage + your tips per hour
if total < $8.75: employer tops up to $8.75
effective pay = greater of (cash + tips) and $8.75
These are gross figures before tax. Tips are taxable income and must be reported. For your after-tax pay, see the West Virginia paycheck calculator, and for the regular rate the West Virginia minimum wage calculator.
West Virginia's 70% credit and the six-employee catch
West Virginia sets its tipped cash wage at $2.62 an hour, a little above the federal $2.13, because state law caps the tip credit at 70% of the $8.75 minimum, which works out to $6.13. But the state minimum only reaches employers with six or more non-exempt employees at one location. At a smaller business you fall under federal law instead, where the cash wage is $2.13 and the floor is $7.25, so the first thing to settle is which minimum actually covers your job.
Once you know your floor, the make-whole test is the usual weekly one: add your cash wages to the tips you kept, divide by the hours worked, and compare to $8.75 (or $7.25 if you are federally covered). Any week the total falls short, the West Virginia Division of Labor requires the employer to make up the difference in that paycheck, and the tip credit claimed can never exceed the tips you actually reported. The state rate is not indexed and has held since 2016, so it will not drift upward on its own between legislative sessions.
Enter your real tips per hour and weekly hours above to see your effective rate, weekly pay and the annual figure across a 2,080-hour year.
West Virginia tipped minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the tipped minimum wage in West Virginia in 2026?
In West Virginia, the minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $2.62 an hour in 2026. Employers may count up to $6.13 an hour of tips (the "tip credit") toward the $8.75 minimum wage. If an employee's cash wage plus tips does not average at least $8.75 an hour, the employer must pay the difference.
Does West Virginia allow a tip credit?
Yes. West Virginia allows employers to take a tip credit of up to $6.13 an hour, meaning the direct cash wage can be as low as $2.62 an hour provided tips make up the rest to $8.75. The federal tip-credit floor is a $2.13 cash wage.
What happens if my tips do not reach minimum wage in West Virginia?
Your employer must make up the shortfall. In any week where your cash wage of $2.62 plus your tips does not average at least $8.75 an hour, West Virginia and federal law require the employer to top your pay up to $8.75. You should never earn less than the full minimum wage once tips are counted.
How much does a tipped worker make in West Virginia?
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 $2.62 plus $12.00 tips is $14.62 an hour, which is above the $8.75 minimum, so the effective rate is $14.62 an hour, about $438.60 a week or $22,807.20 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: $2.62 in West Virginia. The "tip credit" is how much of your tips the employer is allowed to count toward the regular minimum wage: $6.13 in West Virginia. Cash wage plus tip credit equals the $8.75 minimum wage.
Official sources
- West Virginia 2026 tipped and minimum wage figures: West Virginia Division 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. West Virginia allows a 70% tip credit: tipped cash wage $2.62; cash plus reported tips must equal $8.75/hr.