Tipped Minimum Wage in Kentucky

How the Tip Credit Works

Under federal law, employers can pay tipped employees a cash wage as low as $2.13 per hour and claim a 'tip credit' for the difference — but only if tips bring the worker up to at least the full minimum wage. If tips fall short, the employer must make up the gap.

Tipped Wages in Kentucky

Kentucky allows a tip credit, but the required tipped cash wage and the exact rules vary and change. Confirm the current tipped minimum with the state before you run payroll.

Staying Compliant

Track tipped hours and tips so you can show that cash wages plus tips met the full minimum for every shift — the most common tipped-wage claim is exactly that they didn't.

Kentucky Labor-Law Snapshot

Kentucky permits a tip credit toward the minimum wage for tipped employees. The Kentucky minimum wage is $7.25/hour (the federal floor), so a tipped worker's effective floor tracks that figure once tips top up the cash wage.

For Kentucky employers these rules interact with timekeeping: accurate, audit-logged hours drive overtime, final pay, and break records. Kentucky requires meal breaks on longer shifts and requires paid rest breaks; a final paycheck is due by the next payday or within 14 days, whichever is later when an employee resigns. Confirm current Kentucky figures with the state labor office before relying on any single number.

Official Sources

• U.S. DOL — Minimum wage by state
• U.S. DOL — State overtime
• U.S. DOL — State labor offices

More Kentucky Guides

Tipped Minimum Wage in Other States

Kentucky Tipped Minimum Wage: Frequently Asked Questions