CashoutTipped minimum wage / New York
New York tipped minimum wage
What employers must pay
In New York, the minimum wage is $16.00 an hour. An employer can pay a tipped employee as little as $10.70 an hour in cash, as long as tips bring the total to at least $16.00. The difference, $5.30, is the tip credit.
Rates shown are for food service workers outside New York City, Long Island and Westchester; downstate the minimum is $17.00 with an $11.35 cash wage, and other tipped service workers get $13.30 upstate or $14.15 downstate. No tip credit is allowed on a day you spend more than 2 hours, or more than 20 percent of your shift, on work that doesn't earn tips.
Who counts as a tipped employee: food service workers who regularly get tips, such as servers, bartenders, bussers and captains, with no monthly dollar amount.
If your cash wage plus tips comes up short of $16.00 an hour in a workweek, your employer has to make up the difference.
What changes next
No change to the New York minimum wage is scheduled. New York's rates were due to rise with inflation on January 1, 2027, but a pause written into the law was triggered, so the general and tipped rates stay the same in 2027.
Local and regional rates
Some places in New York have their own minimum wage or a regional rate. If you work there, the rate listed here applies.
| Place | Minimum | Cash wage | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York City, Long Island and WestchesterFood service workers: tip credit $5.65. Other tipped service workers get $14.15. No change on January 1, 2027. | $17.00 | $11.35 | January 1, 2026 |
Tip pooling and service charges
Employers may require a tip pool among directly and indirectly tipped workers who give personal service to customers. Eligibility depends on duties, not titles, and anyone with meaningful authority over other workers, such as hiring, firing or discipline, may not share. Employers may never keep any part of a tip.
A charge that customers could take as a gratuity is presumed to be a tip unless the customer is clearly told it is not, and employers may deduct only the pro-rated credit card fee from card tips.
Overtime
Time and a half after 40 hours in a week. Tipped overtime is 1.5 times the full minimum wage minus the same tip credit, and workers get an extra hour at minimum wage when the workday spans more than 10 hours.
Taxes on your tips
New York 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 New York State Department of Labor, Division of Labor Standards: how to file. You can also call the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, at 1-866-487-9243.
