Virginia tip pooling laws & tipped minimum wage
In Virginia, employers can pay tipped workers $2.13/hr as long as tips bring them to the $12.77 minimum — here's how that works and who can legally share your tips.
| Regular minimum wage | $12.77/hr |
| Minimum cash wage for tipped workers | $2.13/hr |
| Maximum tip credit | $10.64/hr |
| Tips belong to | Employees — always |
A tip credit lets an employer count your tips toward the minimum wage it owes you. Rates reviewed July 2026. Rates change — confirm with the Virginia labor department. Not legal advice.
What's specific to Virginia
Virginia raised its minimum wage but kept the federal $2.13 tipped cash wage, creating a large tip credit. Employers must make up any shortfall.
Virginia raised its minimum wage but kept the $2.13 tipped cash wage
Virginia’s minimum wage is $12.77 an hour. But the state never raised the cash wage an employer may pay a tipped worker, which stays at the federal floor of $2.13. That gap is the tip credit: your employer may count up to $10.64 of your tips toward the minimum, one of the largest tip credits of any state.
Because the credit is so large, the arithmetic matters. Your $2.13 cash wage has to be carried the rest of the way to $12.77 by tips. If a slow shift or a bad section leaves you short, the shortfall is real money, and it is your employer’s responsibility to close it, not yours.
If your tips do not reach $12.77 an hour, your employer owes the difference
Under the Virginia Minimum Wage Act, the tip credit is only allowed when your cash wage plus tips actually average at least $12.77 an hour. In any pay period where they do not, your employer must make up the difference so you still earn the full minimum.
Virginia law also lets your employer count your tips only up to the amount you actually received. If your employer assumed you made more in tips than you did, you can establish the real figure and your pay is treated as increased only by that lesser amount.
A tip pool is allowed, but owners and managers cannot take a share
Your employer may require you to share tips through a tip pool with other employees who customarily receive tips. What the employer may not do is keep any of it. Owners, managers, and supervisors are barred from taking a share of the pool, and your employer must tell you about the pooling arrangement in advance.
Tip pooling in Virginia
Virginia follows the federal baseline: employers may require tip pooling. If your employer takes the tip credit (pays $2.13/hr cash), the pool may only include customarily tipped workers — servers, bussers, bartenders, runners, hosts. Back-of-house can only be included if everyone is paid full minimum wage with no tip credit. Managers and supervisors are always excluded.
One federal rule applies everywhere: managers and supervisors can never take from a tip pool. Separately, credit card processing fees may only be deducted from tips where state law allows it.
What this means for your tip-out
Because part of your legal wage in Virginia comes from tips, the employer's tip credit assumes those tips reached you. Use the tip-out calculator to split a shift by your house's percentages or by hours, and see standard tip-out percentages to check whether your house's rates are typical.
Virginia tip law FAQs
What is the tipped minimum wage in Virginia?
Employers in Virginia may pay tipped employees a cash wage of $2.13/hr and claim a tip credit of up to $10.64/hr toward the $12.77 minimum wage. If tips don't close the gap in a workweek, the employer must make up the difference.
Is mandatory tip pooling legal in Virginia?
Virginia follows the federal baseline: employers may require tip pooling. If your employer takes the tip credit (pays $2.13/hr cash), the pool may only include customarily tipped workers — servers, bussers, bartenders, runners, hosts. Back-of-house can only be included if everyone is paid full minimum wage with no tip credit. Managers and supervisors are always excluded.
Can my manager take a share of the tip pool in Virginia?
No. Federal law prohibits managers, supervisors, and owners from keeping any portion of employee tips in every state, including Virginia. A manager may keep only tips they directly and solely earned (e.g., a table they personally served start to finish).
Why is Virginia’s tip credit so much larger than the federal one?
Because Virginia raised its state minimum to $12.77 while leaving the tipped cash wage at the federal $2.13. The difference an employer can claim in tips — up to $10.64 an hour — is far larger than the federal $5.12 credit, so hitting the full minimum depends heavily on your tips.
What happens if a slow week leaves me below $12.77 an hour?
Your employer must pay you the difference. The tip credit only applies when your cash wage plus tips average at least $12.77 an hour for the pay period; if they fall short, the employer covers the gap. You can file a claim with the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry if they do not.