Vermont tipped minimum wage (2026)
Vermont sets a tipped cash wage of $7.21/hr — above the federal $2.13 — with employers allowed to count up to $7.21/hr of your tips toward the $14.42/hr minimum.
Note: Maximum tip credit is 50% of the applicable minimum wage. Tipped employee defined as receiving more than $120 in tips monthly.
How Vermont compares
At $7.21/hr, Vermont ranks 14th of the 47 states with a single published tipped cash wage. No other state pays tipped workers exactly $7.21/hr.
Tips have to cover 50% of your $14.42/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 $216.30 before tips, $152.40 more than the same week would guarantee under the federal $2.13 floor.
Nearest rates on either side: Missouri at $7.50 and Massachusetts at $6.75.
Vermont pays at least as much as every state it borders (Massachusetts $6.75, New Hampshire $3.27), so crossing a state line does not raise your base wage.
What's different about tipped work in Vermont
Vermont caps the tip credit at 50% of the minimum wage, so the tipped cash wage moves in lockstep with it — $7.21 against $14.42, and it stays exactly half whenever the minimum changes.
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 Vermont 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 Vermont?＋
Employers in Vermont must pay tipped workers a cash wage of at least $7.21/hr, and tips must bring total pay to at least $14.42/hr. Figures as of July 1, 2026 (US DOL).
Can my Vermont employer take a tip credit?＋
Yes, up to $7.21/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 Vermont's wage rules built in. Free, no ads.
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