Tipped Minimum Wage in Massachusetts

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 Massachusetts

Massachusetts 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.

Massachusetts Labor-Law Snapshot

Massachusetts permits a tip credit toward the minimum wage for tipped employees. The Massachusetts minimum wage is $15.00/hour (about $7.75 above the federal $7.25), so a tipped worker's effective floor tracks that figure once tips top up the cash wage.

For Massachusetts employers these rules interact with timekeeping: accurate, audit-logged hours drive overtime, sick-leave accrual, final pay, and break records. Massachusetts requires meal breaks on longer shifts and does not mandate paid rest breaks; a final paycheck is due by the next regular payday (or the following Saturday if there is no scheduled payday) when an employee resigns. Confirm current Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts Guides

Tipped Minimum Wage in Other States

Massachusetts Tipped Minimum Wage: Frequently Asked Questions