Maryland tipped minimum wage 2026
The Maryland tipped cash wage is $3.63 per hour. Employers may take a tip credit of up to $11.37 per hour, provided the worker's cash wage plus tips reaches the state minimum of $15.00 per hour for every workweek. [DOL Tipped][MD 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 Maryland 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
Senate Bill 555 (2023) phased the rate to $15.00 on 2024-01-01 for all employers. Tipped cash wage frozen at $3.63 under Lab. and Empl. section 3-419. Montgomery and Howard counties set higher local rates.