Maine tipped minimum wage (2026)
Maine sets a tipped cash wage of $7.55/hr — above the federal $2.13 — with employers allowed to count up to $7.55/hr of your tips toward the $15.10/hr minimum.
Note: Maximum tip credit is 50% of the applicable minimum wage. Tipped employee defined as receiving more than $191 in tips monthly.
How Maine compares
At $7.55/hr, Maine ranks 12th of the 47 states with a single published tipped cash wage. No other state pays tipped workers exactly $7.55/hr.
Tips have to cover 50% of your $15.10/hr minimum here. On a shift where they don't, the shortfall is your employer's to pay — but only if you can show what you actually made.
Thirty hours on the schedule guarantees $226.50 before tips, $162.60 more than the same week would guarantee under the federal $2.13 floor.
Nearest rates on either side: Illinois at $9.00 and Missouri at $7.50.
Maine pays at least as much as every state it borders (New Hampshire $3.27), so crossing a state line does not raise your base wage.
What's different about tipped work in Maine
Because Portland's tipped wage is defined as half the city minimum, a server there earns $8.38 in cash — more than the entire minimum wage in the states still on $7.25.
Some Maine cities require more than the state floor. Where a local ordinance is higher, it wins:
| City | Minimum wage | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Portland | $16.75 | Tipped cash wage $8.38 — half the city minimum. |
| Rockland | $16.00 | — |
Maine caps the tip credit at 50% of the applicable minimum wage, and you only count as tipped above $191 a month in tips. The shortfall is reconciled weekly, not averaged over a season.
The number that actually matters
Official wage tables lean on reported pay and miss most cash tips, so your real hourly — cash plus card, minus tip-out — lives only in your own records. That's the number that tells you whether a shift was worth it, and the one you'll need at tax time.
Simulate a Maine shift
Legal minimums are the floor. Enter a real shift — your actual hourly is what decides whether the night was worth it.
Example amounts to start. Enter your actual base wage and shift, including paid sidework time.
This is earnings before taxes and other payroll deductions, not cash paid out tonight. Include each tip once, even when card tips arrive later through payroll.
Use your actual base wage from your pay record. The starting value is only an example. This calculator does not determine the minimum wage required for your job.
Quick answers
What is the tipped minimum wage in Maine?＋
Employers in Maine must pay tipped workers a cash wage of at least $7.55/hr, and tips must bring total pay to at least $15.10/hr. Figures as of July 1, 2026 (US DOL).
Can my Maine employer take a tip credit?＋
Yes, up to $7.55/hr — but only if your tips actually cover the gap. If they don't, the employer must make up the difference.
What if my tips don't reach the full minimum wage?＋
Federal law (FLSA) requires your employer to make up the difference whenever cash wage + tips falls below the applicable minimum wage for the pay period. Track every shift so you can prove a shortfall.
Do any Maine cities require a higher wage?＋
Yes. Several Maine cities set local minimums above the state floor: Portland ($16.75/hr), Rockland ($16.00/hr). City ordinances override the state rate when they're higher, so check your specific location.
Source: U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division (July 1, 2026). Federal floor: $2.13 cash / $7.25 total. Not legal advice — local ordinances (city minimum wages) may set higher rates.
Compare with other states
Working out what a shift actually paid you? Run it through the tips-to-hourly calculator — base pay plus tips, minus tip-out, divided by the hours you really worked.
TipScan reads your checkout slip and computes your real hourly every shift — with Maine's wage rules built in. Free, no ads.
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