Tennessee tips calculator: no state tax, no state wage law
Tennessee has neither a tax on wages nor a minimum wage statute, so a Nashville server’s numbers come entirely from federal law.
No state return at all
Tennessee never taxed wages, and the Hall income tax on interest and dividends was repealed for tax periods beginning on or after January 1, 2021; the Department of Revenue tells filers not to file a Hall return for those years. The federal tips deduction is the only income-tax change a Tennessee worker will see.
Tennessee figures
| Cash wage / minimum | $2.13 / $7.25 |
|---|---|
| In force | July 1, 2026 |
| Next change | none scheduled |
| Tipped threshold | More than $30 a month in tips |
| Tips on the 2025 return | no state income tax on wages. Tennessee never taxed wages; the Hall tax on interest and dividends was repealed from 2021. Source: Tennessee Department of Revenue |
| Tips on the 2026 return | no state income tax on wages. Unchanged. Source: Tennessee Department of Revenue |
FLSA floor
Without a state minimum wage, FLSA-covered employers may pay $2.13 an hour in cash and claim a $5.12 tip credit, and must make up any shortfall to $7.25 for the workweek. A worker counts as tipped above $30 a month in tips, the federal threshold.
A Nashville bartender on Broadway
$32,000 of tips hit the cap, so the deduction is $25,000, saving $2,870. In a 32-hour week, $400 of tips plus $68 of cash wages far exceed $232.
Check a Tennessee workweek
Where these figures come from
- Tennessee Department of Revenue · U.S. DOL Wage and Hour Division (Tennessee has no state minimum wage law)
- Hall Income Tax (2026)
- Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (table by state) (2026-07-01)
Federal rules: how the deduction works. Nearby: Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri.
Figures verified against primary sources on