New Hampshire minimum wage and tip laws (2026)

New Hampshire does not set its own minimum wage above the federal rate, so the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour applies.

Minimum wage

$7.25

For a 40-hour week

$290.00

Source: 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1) Read the rule

Employers in New Hampshire can pay tipped workers a cash wage as low as $3.27 an hour and count up to $3.98 an hour of tips toward the $7.25 minimum. That is called a tip credit. Your cash wage plus the tips you keep must reach at least $7.25 for every hour in each workweek. If they do not, your employer has to make up the difference.

Tips can count toward the wage

Yes

Tipped cash wage

$3.27

Maximum tip credit

$3.98

Employer must tell you first

Yes

Source: RSA 279:21: tipped employees of a restaurant, hotel, motel, inn, cabin or ballroom who customarily and regularly receive more than $30 a month in tips directly from customers must receive a base rate of not less than 45 percent of the applicable minimum wage (45% of $7.25 = $3.2625, published by NH DOL and US DOL as $3.27). If the federal minimum wage rises, the base rate becomes the federal minimum direct wage but not less than $3.27. Read the rule

• Hours past 40 in a workweek are paid at 1.5 times your regular rate.

Overtime rate at minimum wage

$10.875

Overtime cash rate with a tip credit

$6.895

For tipped workers, overtime is figured on the full minimum wage, not the cash wage. At $7.25, that is $10.875 an hour, so with the full tip credit the overtime cash rate cannot be less than $6.895.

Source: 29 U.S.C. 207(a)(1); 29 CFR 778.107; Fact Sheet #15 (overtime for tipped employees is computed on the full minimum wage, not the cash wage) Read the rule

Meal break

30 minutes when you work more than 5 hours

Rest break

Not required

Extra pay for a missed break

No

New Hampshire requires these breaks but does not set a fixed premium, like an extra hour of pay, when one is missed. If you work through a meal break, that time has to be paid.

Source: RSA 275:30-a: an employer may not require an employee to work more than 5 consecutive hours without a 30-minute lunch or eating period, unless it is feasible for the employee to eat while working and the employer permits it (in which case the time is paid). No rest break requirement; no premium for a missed meal period. Read the rule

Taxes and deductions you agreed to, like health insurance, are normal. These are the ones that cause trouble in restaurants and bars, and what New Hampshire allows:

Required uniforms

Not allowed

Register or cash shortages

Not allowed

Broken dishes or equipment

Not allowed

Card processing fee on card tips

Only if pay stays above minimum

Customers who walk out

Not allowed

"Only if pay stays above minimum" means the deduction cannot take your pay for the week below minimum wage. For a worker paid a tipped cash wage, that usually leaves no room for a uniform, shortage, breakage or walkout deduction. A card fee works differently: only the fee on the card tip itself, taken from that tip.

Source: RSA 275:48, I: no employer may withhold or divert any portion of wages except for the listed deductions; cash shortages, breakage and customer walkouts are not listed, and a mutually agreed deduction may not grant a financial advantage to the employer. RSA 275:48, V(b): required uniforms must be provided at no cost to the employee. Read the rule

Managers and owners can share in the pool

No

Kitchen staff can share when a tip credit is taken

No

Kitchen staff can share when no tip credit is taken

Yes

In most states, an employer can require tipped staff to pool tips with others who serve customers, like bussers, runners and bartenders. Managers, supervisors and owners can never take a share. Under federal law, cooks and dishwashers can share only when the employer takes no tip credit, and some states do not allow it at all. The answers above show the rule in New Hampshire.

Source: 29 U.S.C. 203(m)(2)(B); 29 CFR 531.54 Read the rule

Under federal law, a mandatory service charge, like an automatic 20% on large parties, is not a tip. It belongs to the business unless it is paid out, and when it is paid to you it counts as wages. It cannot be used to cover the tip credit, and it should not be reported as tips on your stub. Some states give the charge to the staff when customers were not clearly told it is not a tip, so if a charge was presented as a gratuity, it is worth asking where it went.

Source: 29 CFR 531.55 (a compulsory service charge is not a tip) Read the rule

New Hampshire does not require paid sick leave statewide. Some employers offer it anyway, and in a few places a city or county law requires it.

Source: No federal paid sick leave requirement for private employers.

Some parts of New Hampshire law depend on things a pay stub does not show. A TruWage result for New Hampshire can be off if any of these apply to you:

• If you were required to join a tip pool, New Hampshire allows pooling only when you agreed to it voluntarily. This check cannot see whether you agreed, so a pool it passes may still be unlawful.

Start with your manager or payroll and show them the numbers. Many mistakes get fixed that way. If it is not fixed, you can file a wage claim. It is free and you do not need a lawyer.

Agency

New Hampshire Department of Labor, Hearings Bureau (Wage Claims)

Phone

(603) 271-3176

File the Wage Claim Web Form online, or send the PDF form to DOLWageclaims@dol.nh.gov, fax (603) 271-2668, or Hearings Bureau, NH Department of Labor, PO Box 2076, Concord, NH 03302-2076. Claims may be filed within 36 months of when the wages were due (RSA 275:51, V).

How to file a wage claim

You can also file with the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, which enforces federal wage law, at 1-866-487-9243. They take complaints in many languages and keep the name of the person complaining confidential.