Tipped minimum wage / Connecticut

By NorseHorse. Rates in force on October 15, 2026, checked against the sources at the bottom of this page. General information, not legal advice.

What employers must pay

In Connecticut, the minimum wage is $16.94 an hour. An employer can pay a tipped employee as little as $6.38 an hour in cash, as long as tips bring the total to at least $16.94. The difference, $10.56, is the tip credit.

Hotel and restaurant servers may be paid $6.38 an hour in cash. Bartenders must get at least $8.23. In other industries, the employer can count only 35 cents an hour of tips toward the minimum. Your employer must keep a record of your tips, and it can't take a tip credit on any day you spend 2 hours or more, or more than 20 percent of your shift, on work that doesn't earn tips.

Who counts as a tipped employee: any job where tips are a normal part of pay.

If your cash wage plus tips comes up short of $16.94 an hour in a workweek, your employer has to make up the difference.

What changes next

On January 1, 2027, the minimum wage goes to $17.48, and the tipped cash wage stays at $6.38. Cash wages are set by law at $6.38 for servers and $8.23 for bartenders, so the tip credit grows to $11.10 for servers and $9.25 for bartenders.

Tip pooling and service charges

Connecticut has no tip pooling law of its own, so federal rules apply: if your employer takes a tip credit, a required pool may include only workers who usually get tips. Employers, managers and supervisors may never keep tips from a pool.

Overtime

1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours in a week, no daily overtime. Restaurant and hotel restaurant workers get 1.5 times the minimum rate for work on a seventh straight day. Tipped overtime is figured on the full minimum wage.

Taxes on your tips

Connecticut taxes wage income, and tips are wages, so its income tax applies to your tips. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare still apply. The federal tip deduction can cut the income tax part: see how the No Tax on Tips deduction works.

Check a week's pay

If you are underpaid

Start by comparing your pay stubs with your own record of hours and tips. If the numbers don't add up, you can file a complaint with the Connecticut Department of Labor, Wage and Workplace Standards Division: how to file. You can also call the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, at 1-866-487-9243.

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