When does my restaurant have to pay me my credit card tips?
The short answer
What to check
Federal deadlines for money tied to your tips. Your state may be stricter.
| Money | Federal deadline |
|---|---|
| Tips customers put on a card | No later than the regular payday |
| Tips your employer collects for a tip pool | The regular payday for that workweek (or for the pay period that week ends in) |
| Pool tips that can’t be counted before payroll | As soon as practicable after the regular payday |
| Make-up pay when $2.13 plus tips falls short of $7.25 | The regular payday for the period that week ends in |
Say you work Monday through Sunday, you’re paid every Friday for the week before, and you logged $640 in card tips (illustrative). On Friday, check that the card tips on your stub match your log, less at most the card company’s fee. If your employer says it takes a 3% fee, that’s up to $19.20.
Not tax or legal advice. The numbers are made up.
Plain English
Card tips: the payday rule
DOL’s Fact Sheet #15 says that under federal law, the amount due you from card tips must be paid no later than the regular payday. It may not be held while your employer is waiting to be paid by the credit card company.
The card fee
If your employer pays the card company a percentage as a fee, it may pass that same percentage on to you. DOL’s example: with a 3% fee, your employer can pay you 97% of the card tip. It can’t take more than the actual fee, and the fee can’t drop your pay below the minimum wage. Some states don’t allow the fee to come out of tips at all. See Can my employer take the card fee out of my tips?
Tip pools your employer runs
When your employer collects tips to split among the staff, it must fully pay them out by the regular payday for that workweek. If the pay period is longer than a week, it’s the regular payday for the period that week ends in. If the amounts truly can’t be worked out before payroll, the tips must go out as soon as practicable after payday.
Why it matters for your budget
Cash tips you keep are in your pocket the night you earn them. Card tips may not reach you until payday, so a week heavy on card tips can feel tight even when it was a good week. Knowing your payday and your card total helps you plan bills around it. See How do I budget when I’m paid in tips?
If your card tips are late or short
Compare your log with your stub first, and ask payroll what each line covers. If tips are still missing, DOL’s Wage and Hour Division takes calls at 1-866-487-9243, and complaints are confidential. See How to file a complaint. Your state may have stricter rules; DOL keeps a list of state labor offices.
Common mistakes
- Accepting “we haven’t been paid by the card company yet” as a reason to hold your tips.
- Not knowing what fee, if any, your employer takes from card tips.
- Not keeping your own card-tip total, so you can’t check the stub.
- Counting on card tips for a bill that’s due before payday.
Official sources
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #15: Tipped Employees Under the FLSA (credit cards, tip pools, make-up pay)dol.gov
- 29 CFR 531.54, Tip pooling (full and prompt distribution)ecfr.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: How to File a Complaintdol.gov
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: State Labor Officesdol.gov
Last verified:
Checked DOL Fact Sheet #15 (card tips paid no later than the regular payday and not held for card-company reimbursement; the card-fee rule; tip-pool payout; make-up pay at the regular payday) and 29 CFR 531.54 as current on eCFR.
Still open: DOL’s fact sheet ties the deadline to your regular payday; it doesn’t say how often payday has to come. State rules on paydays and card fees aren’t covered here.