Florida tipped minimum wage (2026)
Florida sets a tipped cash wage of $10.98/hr — above the federal $2.13 — with employers allowed to count up to $3.02/hr of your tips toward the $14.00/hr minimum.
Note: The Florida minimum wage is scheduled to increase by $1.00 every year on September 30th until reaching $15.00 on September 30, 2026.
How Florida compares
At $10.98/hr, Florida ranks 9th of the 47 states with a single published tipped cash wage. No other state pays tipped workers exactly $10.98/hr.
Tips have to cover 22% of your $14.00/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 $329.40 before tips, $265.50 more than the same week would guarantee under the federal $2.13 floor.
Nearest rates on either side: Minnesota at $11.41 and District of Columbia at $10.30.
Florida pays at least as much as every state it borders (Alabama $2.13, Georgia $2.13), so crossing a state line does not raise your base wage.
What's different about tipped work in Florida
Florida's $3.02 tip credit is fixed in the state constitution and is not indexed, so every dollar the full minimum has gained since 2021 has landed in tipped workers' cash wage — from $5.54 up to $11.98.
Where it's heading: On September 30, 2026 the state minimum reaches $15.00 and the tipped cash wage $11.98 — the last of the fixed $1.00 steps set by Amendment 2 in 2020. From September 2027 the rate is adjusted annually for inflation (CPI-W, South region).
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 Florida 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 Florida?＋
Employers in Florida must pay tipped workers a cash wage of at least $10.98/hr, and tips must bring total pay to at least $14.00/hr. Figures as of July 1, 2026 (US DOL).
Can my Florida employer take a tip credit?＋
Yes, up to $3.02/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 Florida's wage rules built in. Free, no ads.
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