CashoutTipped minimum wage / Illinois
Illinois tipped minimum wage
What employers must pay
In Illinois, the minimum wage is $15.00 an hour. An employer can pay a tipped employee as little as $9.00 an hour in cash, as long as tips bring the total to at least $15.00. The difference, $6.00, is the tip credit.
The state minimum applies to employers with 4 or more workers. Workers under 18 who work fewer than 650 hours a year may be paid $13.00. Chicago and suburban Cook County set higher rates.
Who counts as a tipped employee: $20 or more a month in tips.
If your cash wage plus tips comes up short of $15.00 an hour in a workweek, your employer has to make up the difference.
What changes next
No change to the Illinois minimum wage is scheduled. The state rate is not tied to inflation, so it stays at $15.00 until lawmakers change it. Chicago and Cook County adjust their rates each July 1.
Local and regional rates
Some places in Illinois have their own minimum wage or a regional rate. If you work there, the rate listed here applies.
| Place | Minimum | Cash wage | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChicagoFor employers with 4 or more workers. The tipped wage is 76 percent of the minimum until July 1, 2028, when it goes to 84 percent, then 92 percent in 2029 and the full minimum in 2030. Both rates adjust for inflation each July 1. | $17.05 | $12.96 | July 1, 2026 |
| Suburban Cook CountyApplies only in towns that have not opted out (for example Evanston, Oak Park and Skokie); most Cook County suburbs have opted out. Adjusts each July 1. | $15.40 | $9.25 | July 1, 2026 |
Tip pooling and service charges
Tips are the employee's property, the employer may not keep them, and they must be paid within 13 days after the end of the pay period. Tip pools are allowed as federal law permits: managers, supervisors and the employer may not take part, and back-of-house staff may share only if no tip credit is taken.
Overtime
Time and a half after 40 hours a week, with no daily overtime. Tipped overtime is figured on the full minimum wage, not the cash wage.
Taxes on your tips
Illinois 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
Enter one workweek to see whether your cash wage plus tips reached the minimum wage where you work.
You reached the minimum this week.
You came up short. Your employer owes you at least
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 Illinois Department of Labor, Fair Labor Standards Division: how to file. You can also call the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, at 1-866-487-9243.
Sources
- Illinois Department of Labor, Minimum Wage Law
- 56 Ill. Adm. Code 210.110, Definitions (tipped employee, $20 a month)
- Illinois Department of Labor press release on tips as employee property (Feb 2020)
- Cook County, Minimum Wage Ordinance and Regulations
- WTTW, Minimum Wage to Increase in Chicago, Suburban Cook County Starting July 1 (June 30, 2026)
- GovDocs, Cook County and Chicago Announce Minimum Wage Increases for July 1, 2026
