One workweek at a time — the minimum wage is checked week by week, not averaged over a month
Enter the higher of the federal and your state or city rate — this tool doesn't look it up
The sales your commission is a percentage of
0 if you're paid by commission only
0 if your employer pays the full minimum wage in cash
What is a tip credit?
Federal guidance lets an employer pass on no more than the fee the card company actually charged — some states don't allow it at all
Owed to reach the minimum wage
$0
Estimate for reference only, not verified proof — check the sources below, and their access date, before relying on this for a claim or filing.
- Commission earned
- $0
- Employer pay (base + commission)
- $0
- Minimum-wage floor for the week
- $0
- Pay per hour, before tips
- —
- Tips you keep after card fees
- $0
This is a federal minimum-wage check for an employee, using the rate you entered. It does not decide overtime, whether you're an employee or a contractor, or what your state requires — some states regulate how commission pay is structured, not just how much.
Commission minimum wage calculator
Paid by commission at a salon, barbershop or spa? Check whether this week's pay reaches the minimum wage, and what your employer owes if it doesn't.
Under federal law an employee paid partly or wholly by commission must still earn at least the minimum wage for every hour worked, and each workweek is checked on its own — a strong week doesn't cover a weak one. If commission plus any base pay falls short of hours worked × the minimum wage, the employer owes the difference. Tips only count toward it when the employer uses a tip credit, and only up to that credit.
Reviewed by RuleCost Editorial Team. Rules for 2026, updated 24 Sept 2026.
How to use it
- 1Enter the hours you worked in one workweek. The check is done a week at a time.
- 2Enter the minimum wage that applies where you work — the higher of the federal, state and city rate. The calculator doesn't look it up.
- 3Enter your service sales, commission rate and any guaranteed hourly base pay (0 if you're paid by commission only).
- 4If your employer uses a tip credit, enter it per hour, then your card and cash tips and the card fee taken from card tips.
How this calculator works
One workweek at a time, in four steps.
1. Commission. Your service sales × your commission rate.
2. Employer pay. Guaranteed hourly base pay × hours, plus the commission.
3. The floor. The minimum wage you entered × hours worked.
4. The gap. If employer pay is below the floor, the difference is what’s owed. If your employer uses a tip credit, tips you kept (after the card fee) count toward the floor, but only up to the credit — tips beyond that stay yours and don’t reduce what’s owed.
A worked example
Federal minimum wage of $7.25, 40 hours, 40% commission, no base pay, no tip credit.
| Week | Service sales | Commission | Floor (40 × $7.25) | Owed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | $500 | $200 | $290 | $90 |
| B | $1,000 | $400 | $290 | $0 |
Week B doesn’t erase week A: the two weeks average $300 of commission, above the floor, but each workweek stands alone.
With a tip credit
Employer pays a $2.13 base, claims the $5.12 maximum federal credit, 40 hours.
| Tips kept | Cash wage | Credit counted | Owed |
|---|---|---|---|
| $300 | $85.20 | $204.80 (capped at 40 × $5.12) | $0 |
| $100 | $85.20 | $100 | $104.80 |
What this calculator does not decide
- Overtime. Over 40 hours a week, different rules apply.
- Whether you’re an employee. Minimum wage covers employees. A true independent contractor or booth renter isn’t covered, but the label on the paperwork doesn’t decide it — the actual working relationship does.
- Whether federal law covers the business. Some very small businesses fall outside it, in which case state law governs.
- Your state’s rules. They can be stricter on the minimum wage, the tip credit, card fees and how commission pay is structured. See the tipped minimum wage by state for your state’s rate and tip credit, with this calculator prefilled.
Questions
- Does a commission worker still get the minimum wage?
- If you're an employee, yes. Commission counts as pay, but the total for the workweek still has to work out to at least the minimum wage for each hour worked. If it doesn't, the employer owes the difference for that week. Contractors and people who rent a chair or booth are not covered this way.
- Can a good week make up for a bad week?
- No. The Department of Labor's guidance is that each workweek stands alone for minimum wage and overtime, with no averaging of two or more weeks. A week of $200 commission on 40 hours is $90 short of a $7.25 minimum even if the next week is far above it.
- Do my tips count toward the minimum wage?
- Only if your employer uses a tip credit, which requires that you were told about it and that you keep all your tips. Then tips count up to the credit claimed, and if your tips are less than the credit the employer makes up the rest. Without a tip credit, the full minimum wage must be paid by the employer, and tips are on top.
- Can my employer take the card fee out of my card tips?
- Federal guidance lets an employer reduce card tips by no more than the fee the card company actually charged — paying out 97% when the fee is 3%, for example — and only if that doesn't push pay below the minimum wage. The money is due by the regular payday. Some states don't allow the deduction at all.
- Does this cover overtime?
- No. Over 40 hours in a week overtime rules apply. Some commissioned employees at retail and service businesses can be exempt from overtime under a specific test, but that depends on how the business is paid and set up, so the calculator only checks the minimum wage.
- Is this the rule where I live?
- It's the federal baseline. Your state or city may set a higher minimum wage, limit or ban the tip credit, or regulate how commission pay is structured — California, for example, only treats licensed salon pay as commission when there's also a base rate of at least twice the state minimum wage. Where they differ, the rule more protective of the employee applies.