Illinois tipped minimum wage 2026
The Illinois tipped cash wage is $9.00 per hour. Employers may take a tip credit of up to $6.00 per hour, provided the worker's cash wage plus tips reaches the state minimum of $15.00 per hour for every workweek. [DOL Tipped][IL 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 Illinois minimum of $15.00 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
Public Act 101-0001 (2019) phased the rate to $15.00 on 2025-01-01. No further scheduled steps. Tipped cash wage is 60 percent of the standard rate. Chicago and Cook County set higher local rates and Chicago is phasing out its tip credit by 2028 under ordinance O2023-3651.