---
title: "Overtime for Servers: How Tipped Overtime Works"
description: "Overtime for tipped workers is figured on the full $7.25 minimum wage, not your $2.13 cash wage. Here’s the math and the mistake to check your stub for."
url: https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/overtime-for-tipped-employees
language: en
publisher: TipMax (Entermaurs Incorporated)
date_published: 2026-09-23
last_verified: 2026-09-23
---

# How is overtime calculated when I make $2.13 an hour?

**Short answer:** Under federal law, you get overtime for hours over **40 in a workweek**, at time and a half. If your employer takes a tip credit, overtime is figured on the **full $7.25 minimum wage**, not your lower cash wage. Your employer can’t take a bigger tip credit for an overtime hour than for a regular hour. So at $2.13 an hour, each overtime hour pays about **$5.76** in cash wages, not $3.20.

## Example math

You work **45 hours** in one workweek at the federal $2.13 cash wage, and your employer takes the $5.12 tip credit (illustrative).

| Line | Right way | Common mistake |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Overtime rate | 1.5 × $7.25 = $10.875 | 1.5 × $2.13 = $3.195 |
| Tip credit for the hour | −$5.12 | none |
| Cash wage per overtime hour | $5.755 | $3.195 |
| 5 overtime hours | **$28.78** | $15.98 |

1. Your 40 regular hours pay 40 × $2.13 = **$85.20** either way.
2. Figured the wrong way, the check is short about **$12.80** for the week.
3. Your state may require a higher cash wage or daily overtime, which changes these numbers.

**Not tax or legal advice.**

## Plain English

### The federal rule

The Department of Labor says covered employees must get overtime for hours worked over 40 in a workweek, at no less than time and one-half their regular rate. A workweek is a fixed, repeating period of seven days, and your employer can’t average hours across two weeks. Federal law doesn’t require extra pay just for working a weekend or holiday.

### Where the tip credit fits

DOL Fact Sheet #15 says an employer that takes a tip credit must make sure your cash wages plus tips reach at least the minimum wage **and** the overtime pay the law requires. It names a common mistake: figuring the overtime premium from the reduced cash wage. When the employer takes a tip credit, overtime is based on the full minimum wage, and the tip credit for an overtime hour can’t be bigger than for a regular hour.

Fact Sheet #15 also says that under certain circumstances an employer may be able to claim an additional overtime tip credit. It doesn’t spell those out, so if your stub shows something other than the math above, ask payroll how they figured it.

### Service charges count toward overtime

A required service charge isn’t a tip. When your employer passes service-charge money to you, it’s part of your pay and must be included in your regular rate when overtime is figured.

## Common mistakes

- Figuring overtime from the $2.13 cash wage.
- Averaging two weeks so a 50-hour week and a 30-hour week look like two 40-hour weeks.
- Leaving service-charge money out of the regular rate.

## Official sources

- [U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #23: Overtime Pay Requirements of the FLSA](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/23-flsa-overtime-pay)
- [U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the FLSA (tip credit and overtime)](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/15-tipped-employees-flsa)
- [U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: State Labor Offices](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/contacts)

## Last verified

September 23, 2026. Checked DOL Fact Sheet #23 (40 hours in a workweek, time and one-half, no averaging, no weekend or holiday premium as such) and Fact Sheet #15 (overtime figured on the full minimum wage when a tip credit is taken; service charges in the regular rate).

**Still open:** Fact Sheet #15 mentions an additional overtime tip credit “under certain circumstances” without saying which.

## Related

- [Why is my server paycheck so small?](https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/server-paycheck-explained)
- [Do servers have to pay for walkouts?](https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/do-servers-have-to-pay-for-walkouts)
- [What if my employer keeps part of the tips?](https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/employer-keeping-tips)

## How TipMax helps with this

Overtime is counted by the workweek, so a log with every shift’s hours shows when you crossed 40.

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

- Log cash and card tips per shift in seconds.
- See your true hourly rate: wage plus tips.
- Weekly, monthly, and pay-period totals.

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

---

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.