Law
Tipping law by state
Each line quotes what a statute or agency says, with its source and the month TipRecord last verified it. Pick a state for the full text and where to file.
The federal baseline
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, tips are the property of the employee. An employer, including managers and supervisors, may not keep any portion of employees' tips for any purpose, whether or not it takes a tip credit.
Source: 29 U.S.C. §203(m)(2)(B); DOL Fact Sheet #15 · Verified 2026-09
Federally, a mandatory service charge is not a tip. It belongs to the employer unless a state or local rule, or the employer's own representation, directs it to workers.
Source: 29 CFR 531.55 · Verified 2026-09
Federally, an employer may deduct from a card tip only the actual processing cost of that transaction, and only if the worker still receives at least the full minimum wage. Several states prohibit any deduction.
Source: DOL Fact Sheet #15 · Verified 2026-09
No federal law requires or forbids a tip prompt at checkout. If money collected as a "tip" is retained by the business rather than paid to workers, the federal tip-ownership rule and federal and state deceptive-practice laws may apply.
Source: FTC Act §5; FTC v. Amazon (Amazon Flex), 2021 · Verified 2026-09
State rules
“State rule” means the state has its own verified statute or regulation on that topic. Otherwise the federal baseline applies.
| State | Service charges | Card fees on tips | Tip ownership | Fee disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | Federal baseline | State rule | State rule | State rule |
| Colorado | Federal baseline | State rule | Federal baseline | State rule |
| Delaware | Federal baseline | State rule | Federal baseline | Federal baseline |
| District of Columbia | State rule | Federal baseline | Federal baseline | Federal baseline |
| Florida | Federal baseline | Federal baseline | Federal baseline | State rule |
| Georgia | Federal baseline | Federal baseline | Federal baseline | Federal baseline |
| Hawaii | State rule | Federal baseline | Federal baseline | Federal baseline |
| Illinois | Federal baseline | State rule | State rule | Federal baseline |
| Maine | State rule | State rule | Federal baseline | Federal baseline |
| Massachusetts | State rule | State rule | Federal baseline | State rule |
| Michigan | Federal baseline | Federal baseline | Federal baseline | Federal baseline |
| Minnesota | State rule | State rule | Federal baseline | State rule |
| New Jersey | Federal baseline | State rule | Federal baseline | Federal baseline |
| New York | State rule | State rule | Federal baseline | State rule |
| North Carolina | Federal baseline | Federal baseline | Federal baseline | Federal baseline |
| Ohio | Federal baseline | Federal baseline | Federal baseline | Federal baseline |
| Pennsylvania | State rule | State rule | Federal baseline | Federal baseline |
| Texas | Federal baseline | Federal baseline | Federal baseline | Federal baseline |
| Washington | State rule | Federal baseline | Federal baseline | State rule |
States not listed have no specific service-charge or card-fee rule that TipRecord has verified; the federal baseline applies.
TipRecord does not determine whether this business complies with any law. These lines quote what the cited statute or agency says, as of the verified date, and are not legal advice.