---
title: "Server Minimum Wage in Washington (2026)"
url: https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/washington/server-wage
language: en
publisher: TipMax (Entermaurs Incorporated)
date_published: 2026-09-23
last_verified: 2026-09-23
---

# What’s the minimum wage for servers in Washington?

**Short answer:** In Washington, your employer owes you the full state minimum wage of $17.13 an hour. The state does not allow a tip credit, so tips can’t be counted toward that $17.13. Every tip guests leave is on top of your hourly pay. Washington also has no individual income tax right now.

## Washington at a glance

| Rule | Washington | Federal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Minimum wage | $17.13 | Federal: $7.25 |
| Tipped cash wage (paid before tips) | $17.13 | Federal: $2.13 |
| Can tips count toward minimum wage? | No | DOL: No |
| State tax on the federal tips deduction | Washington doesn’t currently have an individual income tax. A new tax on income over $1 million starts January 1, 2028. |  |

As of the U.S. Department of Labor table revised July 1, 2026. Your city may set a higher rate.

## What’s different in Washington

Washington’s $17.13 is the highest state minimum wage in the DOL table, and it applies to tipped and untipped workers alike. The minimum is adjusted every year by a set formula.

Federal law lets a server’s cash wage go as low as $2.13. Here your base pay alone is well above the entire federal minimum of $7.25 before a single tip comes in, which makes a slow night far less painful.

Because the state doesn’t currently tax individual income, your tips aren’t taxed by Washington as income. That changes only at the very top: a new tax on income over $1 million begins January 1, 2028. The state’s May 2025 BLS median for waiters and waitresses was $26.98 an hour, an employer-estimated figure that includes reported tips. BLS counted about 45,400 waiters and waitresses working in the state that month.

## Example shift

Say you work 6 hours and walk out with $120 in tips (illustrative numbers; use your own).

1. Wages: $17.13 × 6 = **$102.78**.
2. With tips: $102.78 + $120 = **$222.78**, or **$37.13 an hour**.

**What servers earn:** BLS estimates the median hourly wage for waiters and waitresses in Washington was **$26.98** in May 2025. BLS counts tips in this figure, but the numbers come from employers’ estimates.

Check your own week: https://www.tipmaxapp.com/tools/tipped-wage-check

## Official sources

- [U.S. Department of Labor: Minimum wages for tipped employees (state table)](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/state/minimum-wage/tipped)
- [U.S. Department of Labor: State minimum wage laws](https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/minimum-wage/state)
- [BLS: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, waiters and waitresses (35-3031)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes353031.htm)
- [Washington labor agency](http://www.lni.wa.gov/)
- [Washington Department of Revenue: income tax](https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/income-tax)

## Last verified

September 23, 2026. Checked the U.S. Department of Labor state tables (revised July 1, 2026) and BLS OEWS May 2025.

## About TipMax

Washington pays servers $17.13 an hour before tips with no tip credit, so tracking tips by shift is how you see what the floor is really adding on top.

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.