Arkansas tipped minimum wage 2026
The Arkansas tipped cash wage is $2.63 per hour. Employers may take a tip credit of up to $8.37 per hour, provided the worker's cash wage plus tips reaches the state minimum of $11.00 per hour for every workweek. [DOL Tipped][AR labor dept.]
Cash wage and tip credit
When tips fall short
If a worker's cash wage plus reported tips do not average to the Arkansas minimum of $11.00 per hour over a workweek, the employer must pay the shortfall. The Tip Credit Checker tool runs the math at /tools/tip-credit. Under the 2021 DOL final rule, time spent on non-tip-producing work above 20 percent of the shift (or 30 continuous minutes) must be paid at the full minimum, not the tip-credited rate. [DOL FS-15]
Background
Initiative 5 (2018) phased the rate to $11.00 on 2021-01-01. No further automatic increases scheduled. Tip credit allowed up to $8.37 per hour; combined wage must reach $11.00.