Iowa Minimum Wage Calculator

Iowa’s general minimum wage is $7.25 per hour in 2026. Eligible tipped service work has a $4.35 cash floor, with an employer payment required if tips do not support the credit. This tool models adult covered employment after the initial-employment period.

Time card Calculate pay for a covered hourly job

Work date Weeks at this rate and schedule

Hours worked each day this week

Week total 40 h

Enter zero on days off. Overtime here depends on the weekly total.

Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 5Day 6Day 7

Tips retained in that week ($) Cash-wage treatment This is ordinary adult hourly work covered by Iowa minimum wage and federal overtime, after the initial-employment period. If using tip credit, this is an eligible restaurant, hotel, motel, inn or cabin job with more than $30 in customary monthly tips. No exemption, certificate or special contract applies. No bonuses, compulsory service charges, multiple pay rates, or wage deductions. If using the tip credit, eligibility, required advance notice, and lawful tip retention/pooling are confirmed. All hours entered are in that eligible tipped occupation.

Earnings statement Needs your inputs

Weekly gross including tips—

Confirm coverage to calculate.

Hourly floor—
Per workday—
Weekly gross—
Monthly average—
Yearly gross—

Employer cash before shortfall: —
Weekly tips retained: —
Employer shortfall payment: —
Total employer cash: —

Overtime uses the full regular rate before subtracting a permitted tip credit. The employer must cover a weekly tip shortfall within the selected scope. This floor scenario does not calculate pay at a higher agreed rate. Per-workday pay divides the week by the days with hours. Annual figures repeat the rounded weekly result.

Reviewed rate period: 2026-01-01 through 2027-12-31. Gross earnings before taxes or deductions. Annual figures repeat this weekly scenario; they do not combine different rate periods.

Reviewed October 2, 2026. Iowa DIAL wage FAQ; 2026 Iowa Code § 91 D.1.

Iowa’s $300,000 test differs from the federal enterprise threshold

The state law generally applies at $300,000 annual sales or business volume. Specified enterprises—including construction, fabric cleaning or repair, hospitals, schools and public agencies—are covered without that sales threshold. Separate federal coverage may arise from the enterprise or the employee’s work. Do not use the federal $500,000 figure alone to decide whether Iowa’s law applies. § 91 D.1(2), coverage and exceptions.

Server and waitress pay: the credit is at most $2.90

Iowa’s statute permits up to 40% of the applicable minimum as a tip allowance for its specified restaurant and lodging occupations. At $7.25, that is $2.90, leaving $4.35 cash. The statute says more than $30 in customary monthly tips; this calculator uses that threshold when asking you to confirm eligibility. § 91 D.1(1)(c).

40-hour scenario	Cash before adjustment	Retained tips	Employer adjustment	Gross total
Full minimum before tips	$290.00	$0	$0	$290.00
Eligible credit, low tips	$174.00	$80.00	$36.00	$290.00
Eligible credit, sufficient tips	$174.00	$200.00	$0	$374.00

In the low-tip example, the employer pays $210 cash after adjustment, plus the worker’s $80 tips. A cash rate of $2.13 would not satisfy this Iowa-covered scenario. Enter tips retained for this week, not total customer tips before lawful distribution.

The $6.35 initial wage is not a blanket federal exemption

Iowa allows an initial employment wage for the first 90 calendar days. DIAL says a rehire does not restart an already-used 90-day allowance and distinguishes Iowa’s rule from the federal training wage. Federal protections still require their own review. This calculator deliberately requires employment after that period, so it does not assign $6.35 merely because a hire date is recent. DIAL initial employment and rehire guidance.

Overtime uses the full regular rate

For ordinary federally covered nonexempt work, 45 hours at the floor requires $344.375 before weekly rounding. An eligible $2.90 credit on 45 hours leaves $213.875 cash, rounded to $213.88. With $200 tips, gross is $413.88. Overtime is calculated before subtracting the credit. DOL tipped-overtime requirements.

DIAL directs overtime questions to the U.S. Department of Labor. A state-covered job is not automatically established as federally overtime-covered by this page; confirmation is required in the form. Bonuses, multiple hourly rates and exempt work require a different calculation. Iowa overtime and wage-claim guidance.

Convert a schedule into gross annual pay

At 40 hours for 52 weeks, full-cash earnings are $15,080, averaging $1,256.67 monthly. At 25 hours for 40 weeks, they are $7,250. Those are schedule calculations before taxes, not estimates of rent or living costs. Border workplaces need their own rate and coverage review: Illinois minimum wage, Minnesota minimum wage, Nebraska minimum wage, Missouri minimum wage, South Dakota minimum wage and Wisconsin minimum wage.

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Updated October 5, 2026 First published September 4, 2026

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