Wisconsin Tipped Minimum Wage 2026
Figure basis: Official Wisconsin Department of Workforce DevelopmentWisconsin lets employers pay tipped workers a cash wage of $2.33 an hour and take a tip credit of up to $4.92, as long as tips bring total pay to at least the $7.25 minimum wage. This Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin, sourced from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. Tips you earn above the minimum are always yours to keep.
Wisconsin tipped workers get a cash wage of $2.33/hr, with up to a $4.92 tip credit toward the $7.25 minimum wage.
How the Wisconsin tipped wage and tip credit work
cash wage = $2.33/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 Wisconsin paycheck calculator, and for the regular rate the Wisconsin minimum wage calculator.
Wisconsin's $2.33 tipped wage and the twenty-cent federal gap
Wisconsin is one of the few states sitting at the $7.25 minimum that refuses to simply copy the federal $2.13 tipped cash wage. Its Department of Workforce Development sets the tipped cash wage at $2.33 an hour, twenty cents above the federal floor, and lets an employer take a tip credit of up to $4.92. The arithmetic is fixed: $2.33 in cash plus $4.92 in counted tips equals the $7.25 minimum. If your tips in a given week do not cover that $4.92 gap, the employer owes you the difference in cash.
A subtlety many payroll templates miss is the "opportunity" tipped wage. A worker under 20 can be paid $2.13 an hour, the federal figure, during their first 90 consecutive days with an employer. Once that window closes the $2.33 adult rate applies. Either way, cash plus tips has to average at least $7.25 across the whole workweek, not shift by shift, so a slow Monday can be offset by a busy Friday.
To check that you are being made whole, add every tip you took in the week to your cash wages, then divide by the hours you worked. If the result is under $7.25, Wisconsin and federal law require a top-up. Keep your own tip log, because credit disputes usually turn on whose records the state believes. Enter your real tips and hours above to see the top-up, if any, plus your effective hourly, weekly and yearly pay.
Wisconsin tipped minimum wage: frequently asked questions
What is the tipped minimum wage in Wisconsin in 2026?
In Wisconsin, the minimum cash wage for tipped employees is $2.33 an hour in 2026. Employers may count up to $4.92 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 Wisconsin allow a tip credit?
Yes. Wisconsin allows employers to take a tip credit of up to $4.92 an hour, meaning the direct cash wage can be as low as $2.33 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 Wisconsin?
Your employer must make up the shortfall. In any week where your cash wage of $2.33 plus your tips does not average at least $7.25 an hour, Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin?
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 $2.33 plus $12.00 tips is $14.33 an hour, which is above the $7.25 minimum, so the effective rate is $14.33 an hour, about $429.90 a week or $22,354.80 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: $2.33 in Wisconsin. The "tip credit" is how much of your tips the employer is allowed to count toward the regular minimum wage: $4.92 in Wisconsin. Cash wage plus tip credit equals the $7.25 minimum wage.
Official sources
- Wisconsin 2026 tipped and minimum wage figures: Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, 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. Wisconsin sets its own tipped cash wage of $2.33 (not the federal $2.13); cash plus tips must average at least $7.25/hr. The opportunity (under-20) tipped wage is $2.13.