Colorado tipped minimum wage 2026
The Colorado tipped cash wage is $12.14 per hour. Employers may take a tip credit of up to $3.02 per hour, provided the worker's cash wage plus tips reaches the state minimum of $15.16 per hour for every workweek. [DOL Tipped][CO 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 Colorado minimum of $15.16 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
DOL's page was updated 1 July 2026 and therefore predates Colorado's 13 August 2026 announcement of the 2027 rate.