South Carolina Minimum Wage Calculator

South Carolina has no separate state minimum-wage law. For workers covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the ordinary floor is $7.25 per hour, with time and a half after 40 working hours in a workweek for nonexempt employment.

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 Ordinary adult hourly work actually covered by federal minimum wage and 40-hour overtime, at the federal floor. No occupational exemption, special certificate, youth/training wage, public-contract rate, higher promised wage, meal/lodging credit or deduction applies. Tipped mode requires customary tips above 30/month, required notice, lawful pooling/retention and every entered hour eligible. 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. U.S. DOL state comparison · Federal coverage.

Federal coverage is the first question

Enterprise coverage and individual employee coverage are separate routes under the FLSA. A worker can be individually covered through interstate-commerce activities even at a business below the usual enterprise revenue threshold. Conversely, this calculator does not establish coverage just because the workplace is in South Carolina. Confirm the job’s coverage and exemptions before using the floor. DOL coverage tests.

Two cash treatments for a 36-hour restaurant week

Scenario	Initial employer cash	Employer shortfall	Gross including tips
Full cash, no tips	$261.00	$0	$261.00
Eligible credit, $80 tips	$76.68	$104.32	$261.00
Eligible credit, $250 tips	$76.68	$0	$326.68

The federal tipped cash floor is $2.13, but it is conditional on eligibility, notice and lawful tip retention or pooling. Mandatory service charges are not voluntary tips and can affect the regular rate. They are excluded from this tool. Federal tipped-wage requirements.

A pay decrease requires advance notice where the state rule applies

LLR explains that employers with five or more employees must give written notice at least seven calendar days before a proposed decrease in pay. The state’s payment rules address the agreed wage, not just the federal floor. An employer that promised $14 cannot treat this calculator’s $7.25 scenario as the amount owed for hours already worked at the higher rate. LLR pay-reduction FAQ · Terms of Employment Notice.

Save the written rate, time records, pay statements and change notices. The minimum-wage calculation cannot resolve whether a particular notice was sufficient or whether a deduction was authorized.

Final pay follows a deadline after separation

According to LLR, unpaid wages are due within 48 hours of separation or by the next regular payday, with a maximum of 30 days. State law does not generally require vacation or holiday pay, but an employer offering those benefits must follow its disclosed policy. Review that policy separately from pay for hours actually worked. Final wages and benefits FAQ.

Keep each workweek intact

At the full floor, 46 working hours produce $355.25, including six overtime hours. A second week of 34 hours produces $246.50. Their $601.75 total exceeds the $580 obtained by incorrectly treating an 80-hour two-week pay period as all straight time. In tipped work, calculate the premium from the full regular rate before subtracting a permitted credit. Federal weekly overtime.

For a repeated 36-hour schedule, 50 working weeks produce $13,050 at full cash before tips or deductions. Annual results repeat the entered week; they do not forecast schedule changes or guarantee take-home pay.

Choose the agency for the wage issue

South Carolina’s Office of Wages and Child Labor handles payment-of-wages matters. Federal minimum-wage and overtime enforcement belongs to the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division. Preserve the same dated records whichever process applies.

Neighboring states have distinct state-law coverage: North Carolina minimum wage and Georgia minimum wage and, farther down the coast, Florida minimum wage. Sources · Methodology.

Updated October 5, 2026 First published September 4, 2026

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