District of Columbia tipped minimum wage (2026)
District of Columbia sets a tipped cash wage of $10.30/hr — above the federal $2.13 — with employers allowed to count up to $8.10/hr of your tips toward the $18.40/hr minimum.
Note: Employers must currently pay a minimum cash wage of at least 56% of the standard minimum wage and may claim the remaining difference in tip credit.
How District of Columbia compares
At $10.30/hr, District of Columbia ranks 10th of the 47 states with a single published tipped cash wage. No other state pays tipped workers exactly $10.30/hr.
Tips have to cover 44% of your $18.40/hr minimum here. On a shift where they don't, the shortfall is your employer's to pay — but only if you can show what you actually made.
Thirty hours on the schedule guarantees $309.00 before tips, $245.10 more than the same week would guarantee under the federal $2.13 floor.
Nearest rates on either side: Florida at $10.98 and Illinois at $9.00.
District of Columbia pays at least as much as every state it borders (Maryland $3.63, Virginia $2.13), so crossing a state line does not raise your base wage.
What's different about tipped work in District of Columbia
DC voters abolished the tip credit at the ballot box and the Council put it back. The tipped floor is now a percentage of the minimum deliberately designed never to reach 100%.
Where it's heading: Initiative 82, passed by DC voters in 2022, was meant to eliminate the tip credit outright by July 2027. The Council reversed course: the tipped cash wage was frozen at $10.00 until July 1, 2026, when it became 56% of the full minimum. It steps to 60% in 2028, then 5 points every two years to a 75% ceiling in 2034 — leaving a permanent 25% tip credit.
The number that actually matters
Official wage tables lean on reported pay and miss most cash tips, so your real hourly — cash plus card, minus tip-out — lives only in your own records. That's the number that tells you whether a shift was worth it, and the one you'll need at tax time.
Simulate a District of Columbia shift
Legal minimums are the floor. Enter a real shift — your actual hourly is what decides whether the night was worth it.
Federal tipped minimum cash wage is $2.13/hr — but many states require more, and if tips don't bring you to the full minimum wage ($7.25 federal), your employer must make up the difference. Enter your state's tipped minimum as the base wage for an accurate number.
Quick answers
What is the tipped minimum wage in District of Columbia?＋
Employers in District of Columbia must pay tipped workers a cash wage of at least $10.30/hr, and tips must bring total pay to at least $18.40/hr. Figures as of July 1, 2026 (US DOL).
Can my District of Columbia employer take a tip credit?＋
Yes, up to $8.10/hr — but only if your tips actually cover the gap. If they don't, the employer must make up the difference.
What if my tips don't reach the full minimum wage?＋
Federal law (FLSA) requires your employer to make up the difference whenever cash wage + tips falls below the applicable minimum wage for the pay period. Track every shift so you can prove a shortfall.
Source: U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division (July 1, 2026). Federal floor: $2.13 cash / $7.25 total. Not legal advice — local ordinances (city minimum wages) may set higher rates.
Compare with other states
Working out what a shift actually paid you? Run it through the tips-to-hourly calculator — base pay plus tips, minus tip-out, divided by the hours you really worked.
TipScan reads your checkout slip and computes your real hourly every shift — with District of Columbia's wage rules built in. Free, no ads.
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