Overtime for tipped employees
On the $2.13 federal cash wage, a 50-hour week owes at least $142.75 in cash wages, not the $117.15 you get by multiplying $2.13 by one and a half. Overtime for a tipped worker is figured on the full minimum wage, and the tip credit cannot grow in the overtime hours.
| $2.13 cash wage, $7.25 minimum | Cash wages owed | If overtime is 1.5x cash | Short by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 hours | $85.20 | $85.20 | Nothing |
| 42 hours | $96.71 | $91.59 | $5.12 |
| 46 hours | $119.73 | $104.37 | $15.36 |
| 50 hours | $142.75 | $117.15 | $25.60 |
| 60 hours | $200.30 | $149.10 | $51.20 |
How the overtime hour is worked out
Your employer pays a cash wage and counts part of your tips, the tip credit, toward the minimum wage. Under federal rules the credit is at most $5.12 an hour, and it must be the same in an overtime hour as in any other. So each overtime hour is one and a half times the full minimum, $10.88, less that same credit: $5.76 in cash. Paying one and a half times the cash wage instead shorts you $2.56 for every hour past 40. If your tips in a week don't cover the credit, your employer owes the difference on top.
Your state's cash wage
Many states set a higher cash wage than the federal one, and some allow no tip credit at all, so check your state's rule before using the federal figures. Florida is one example: from September 30, 2026 the minimum is $15.00 and the tipped cash wage $11.98, so each overtime hour owes $19.48 in cash and a 50-hour week at least $674.00. The Florida overtime rules page works through more weeks.
Checking your stub
Find the overtime line and divide it by the overtime hours. If the result is one and a half times your cash wage, the premium was figured on the wrong number. Overtime still only starts after 40 hours in the workweek, which the overtime calculator counts for you, and overtime laws by state shows whether your state also pays it by the day.