Massachusetts tipped minimum wage 2026
The Massachusetts tipped cash wage is $6.75 per hour. Employers may take a tip credit of up to $8.25 per hour, provided the worker's cash wage plus tips reaches the state minimum of $15.00 per hour for every workweek. [DOL Tipped][MA 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 Massachusetts 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
Grand Bargain (2018, Ch. 121) phased the rate to $15.00 on 2023-01-01 and eliminated Sunday and holiday premium pay by 2023. Tipped cash wage of $6.75 set by M.G.L. c. 151 section 7. Question 5 (2024 ballot) to eliminate the tip credit was defeated.