---
title: "Tip pooling rules in Massachusetts"
description: "Massachusetts law limits tip pool money to wait staff, service employees, and service bartenders. Managers are out on any day they manage."
url: https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/massachusetts/tip-pooling
language: en
publisher: TipMax (Entermaurs Incorporated)
date_published: 2026-09-23
last_verified: 2026-09-23
---

# Who is allowed to share my tip pool in Massachusetts?

**Short answer:** **Only wait staff, service employees, and service bartenders.** Massachusetts General Laws chapter 149, section 152A bars an employer from having you pay into a pool that sends money to anyone outside those three groups. Your employer may run a valid pool and keep records of it. The Attorney General adds that managers can’t share a pool on a day they have any managerial duties.

## The rules in Massachusetts

| Rule | What it says |
| --- | --- |
| Who can receive pool money | Wait staff employees, service employees, and service bartenders only. |
| Employer’s role | May administer a valid tip pool and record amounts for bookkeeping or tax reporting. |
| Managers and supervisors | Can’t share in a tip pool on a day they have any managerial responsibilities, even if they help serve (Attorney General). |

> “No employer or person shall cause, require or permit any wait staff employee, service employee, or service bartender to participate in a tip pool through which such employee remits any wage, tip or service charge, or any portion thereof, for distribution to any person who is not a wait staff employee, service employee, or service bartender.” (Mass. General Laws c.149 §152A: service charges and tips; tip pools, https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXI/Chapter149/Section152A)

## What’s different in Massachusetts

Federal law lets the kitchen into a required pool once every worker gets $7.25 an hour in cash. Section 152A draws the line by job instead: pool money can reach only wait staff, service employees, and service bartenders. The statute doesn’t switch on your cash wage, which is $6.75 in Massachusetts against a $15.00 minimum.

The Attorney General’s office is also stricter on managers in one way. Federal law keeps a manager out of the pool by duties; the AG says a manager who serves tables still can’t share on any day they had managerial duties. Which coworkers count as a “service employee” turns on definitions in the statute that this page doesn’t restate.

## Official sources

- [Mass. General Laws c.149 §152A: service charges and tips; tip pools](https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXXI/Chapter149/Section152A)
- [Massachusetts Attorney General: tip pool violations citation](https://www.mass.gov/news/ag-campbell-cites-high-end-boston-restaurant-over-18-million-for-tip-pool-violations)

## Last verified

September 23, 2026. Checked the agency pages linked above.

**Still open:** The Attorney General’s tips law page returned “not found” when we checked; the rules here come from the statute text and an AG press release.

## About TipMax

Massachusetts lets your employer keep pool records for bookkeeping, and your own log of each shift’s pool share gives you a record to compare against.

TipMax is an iPhone app for servers and bartenders that tracks tips and tip-outs and turns a restaurant menu into study flashcards.

Download TipMax free: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tipmax-study-track-earn/id6744850146

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TipMax Answers explains public government guidance on pay and workplace rules in plain English for tipped workers. It is **not legal, tax, or accounting advice**. Rules change and local rules can add to them. Confirm with the agency linked on this page or a qualified professional. TipMax the app helps you track tips and pay; it doesn’t enforce wage law or decide disputes.