Illinois tipped minimum wage (2026)
Illinois sets a tipped cash wage of $9.00/hr — above the federal $2.13 — with employers allowed to count up to $6.00/hr of your tips toward the $15.00/hr minimum.
Note: Maximum tip credit is 40% of the applicable minimum wage.
How Illinois compares
At $9.00/hr, Illinois ranks 11th of the 47 states with a single published tipped cash wage. No other state pays tipped workers exactly $9.00/hr.
Tips have to cover 40% of your $15.00/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 $270.00 before tips, $206.10 more than the same week would guarantee under the federal $2.13 floor.
Nearest rates on either side: District of Columbia at $10.30 and Maine at $7.55.
Illinois pays at least as much as every state it borders (Indiana $2.13, Iowa $4.35, Kentucky $2.13, Missouri $7.50, Wisconsin $2.33), so crossing a state line does not raise your base wage.
What's different about tipped work in Illinois
A Chicago server and a server one town over work under different rules — the state allows a 40% tip credit, the city currently allows 24%, and the city's is on a clock to zero.
Some Illinois cities require more than the state floor. Where a local ordinance is higher, it wins:
| City | Minimum wage | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago | $17.05 | Tipped cash wage $12.96 as of July 1, 2026. |
Where it's heading: Chicago's One Fair Wage ordinance is phasing its tip credit out entirely, but on May 20, 2026 the City Council paused it: the credit stays at 24% of the minimum through July 2027 instead of dropping to 16%, and full elimination slips from July 1, 2028 to July 1, 2029.
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 Illinois 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 Illinois?＋
Employers in Illinois must pay tipped workers a cash wage of at least $9.00/hr, and tips must bring total pay to at least $15.00/hr. Figures as of July 1, 2026 (US DOL).
Can my Illinois employer take a tip credit?＋
Yes, up to $6.00/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.
Do any Illinois cities require a higher wage?＋
Yes. Several Illinois cities set local minimums above the state floor: Chicago ($17.05/hr). City ordinances override the state rate when they're higher, so check your specific location.
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 Illinois's wage rules built in. Free, no ads.
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