CashoutTipped minimum wage / Utah
Utah tipped minimum wage
What employers must pay
In Utah, the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. An employer can pay a tipped employee as little as $2.13 an hour in cash, as long as tips bring the total to at least $7.25. The difference, $5.12, is the tip credit.
Who counts as a tipped employee: at least $30 a month in tips.
If your cash wage plus tips comes up short of $7.25 an hour in a workweek, your employer has to make up the difference.
What changes next
No change to the Utah minimum wage is scheduled. Utah follows the federal rate, so it changes only if Congress changes it. A 2026 bill to raise it to $20 did not pass.
Tip pooling and service charges
Employers may require pooling only among employees who customarily and regularly receive tips; dishwashers, cooks, chefs and janitors may not be in a mandatory pool. The pool arrangement must be in writing and given to employees at hire or before it starts.
A mandatory service charge is not a tip and belongs to the employer; for card tips, the employer may deduct no more than the card company's percentage fee.
Overtime
Utah has no state overtime law; the federal rule applies: 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours a week, figured on the full $7.25 for tipped workers.
Taxes on your tips
Utah 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 Utah's minimum of $7.25 an hour.
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 Utah Labor Commission, Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division: how to file. You can also call the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, at 1-866-487-9243.
