Tipping in Tennessee

Last reviewed October 2026

Tennessee Tipping Laws in 2026: Quick Facts

Federal minimum wage in effect since July 24, 2009

Tennessee Minimum Wage

$7.25 per hour (federal minimum wage; Tennessee has no state minimum wage law)¹

Tennessee Tipped Minimum Wage

$2.13 per hour (federal)¹

Maximum Tip Credit

$5.12 per hour¹

Who Qualifies as a Tipped Employee?

An employee who customarily and regularly receives more than $30 per month in tips²

Are Tip Pools Allowed?

Yes, under federal rules²

Are Mandatory Service Charges Tips?

No²

Can Employers Keep Employee Tips?

No. Tips belong to employees, apart from lawful tip pools.²

Can Credit Card Fees Be Taken From Tips?

Yes, with limits. Employers can deduct only the actual card-processing percentage.²

Tennessee follows federal rules for wages and tips, and its Nashville honky-tonks, Smoky Mountain cabins, and Memphis barbecue joints create tipping situations many visitors may not be familiar with.

Work in Tennessee? Learn about Tennessee's tipping laws, minimum wage, tip pools, and your rights when it comes to tips.

Visiting Tennessee? Explore popular Tennessee experiences where tipping is common and see what customers and workers report about tipping.

What Is Tennessee's Minimum Wage for Tipped Employees?

A tip credit lets an employer count part of an employee's tips toward the minimum wage, so it can pay a lower hourly wage as long as tips make up the difference.

Tennessee has no state minimum wage law, so employers covered by federal law must pay at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.¹ Tipped employees can be paid a direct wage of $2.13 per hour, with the employer taking a tip credit of up to $5.12 per hour.¹

If an employee's direct wages plus tips don't reach $7.25 per hour for the workweek, the employer must make up the difference.² Before taking a tip credit, employers must tell employees how much they'll be paid and how the tip credit works.²

Who Owns Tips in Tennessee?

Under federal law, tips belong to the employee. Employers, managers, and supervisors cannot keep any part of employees' tips, whether or not the employer takes a tip credit.² Managers can keep only tips they receive directly for service they personally provide.

Are Tip Pools Allowed in Tennessee?

A tip pool is an arrangement where employees' tips are combined and shared among a group, such as servers, bussers, and bartenders.

Yes. Tennessee follows the federal rules for tip pools:²

With a tip credit: When an employer pays the $2.13 tipped wage, the pool can include only employees who customarily and regularly receive tips, such as servers, bartenders, and bussers.
Without a tip credit: When every employee is paid at least $7.25 per hour in direct wages, the pool can also include back-of-house staff, such as cooks and dishwashers.
Managers and owners are out. Managers, supervisors, and owners cannot take tips from the pool.

Are Service Charges Considered Tips in Tennessee?

No. A mandatory service charge, such as an automatic 18% added to a large party's bill, is not a tip under federal law.²

The difference comes down to customer choice. A tip is voluntary, and the customer decides how much to leave. A mandatory service charge is part of the required price, and the business decides how to distribute it.

Can Employers Take Credit Card Fees Out of Tips?

Yes, but only the actual fee. If a card company charges the employer a percentage on each sale, the employer can reduce a card tip by that same percentage.² It cannot deduct more than the transaction fee.

Tipping While Visiting Tennessee

Tennessee's music cities, mountain towns, and whiskey trail create tipping situations many visitors haven't run into before. Nashville's Broadway honky-tonks, Memphis's Beale Street, and the Great Smoky Mountains draw millions of visitors each year.

Whether you're celebrating in Nashville or staying in a cabin near Gatlinburg, here are popular experiences where travelers often have questions about tipping.

Music and Nightlife

Honky-Tonks and Live Music

Many Nashville and Memphis bars have live bands with no cover charge. Bands often play for tips and take song requests for a tip, which can be new to first-time visitors.

Do You Tip Live Musicians?
Bartender Tipping

Party Buses and Pedal Taverns

Party buses, pedal taverns, and open-air party wagons are popular for bachelorette parties and group celebrations in Nashville. Groups often aren't sure whether the driver or host expects a tip.

Do You Tip on a Party Bus?

Tours and Outdoor Adventures

Distillery and Music History Tours

Whiskey distillery tours, Graceland, and Nashville's music history tours are popular stops. Visitors often wonder whether to tip a guide on a ticketed tour.

Do You Tip on a Distillery Tour?
Do You Tip a Tour Guide?

Smoky Mountains

Guided hikes, horseback rides, and whitewater rafting on the Pigeon and Ocoee rivers are popular around the Great Smoky Mountains.

Do You Tip a Rafting Guide?
Do You Tip a Horseback Riding Guide?
Do You Tip a Hiking Guide?

Theme Parks and Shows

Theme Parks and Dinner Shows

Pigeon Forge is home to a large theme park and many dinner shows. Guests at a dinner show often aren't sure whether to tip servers when the meal is included in the ticket price.

Do You Tip at a Theme Park?
Do You Tip at a Dinner Show?

Lodging

Cabins and Hotels

Cabin rentals around Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are a popular way to stay in the mountains. Guests often aren't sure whether to tip housekeeping when a cleaning fee is already on the bill.

Do You Tip Cabin Rental Housekeeping?
Hotel Housekeeping
Bellhops
Valet Parking

Food and Drink

Barbecue, Hot Chicken, and Restaurants

Restaurants and bars are the most familiar places to tip. Memphis barbecue and Nashville hot chicken spots often use counter service, which raises a common question: do you tip when you order at the counter?

Restaurant Tipping
Do You Tip for Counter Service?

What Customers and Workers Report

Tipping customs and expectations don't always match people's real-life behavior.

TippingGuide.com collects feedback from both customers and workers to show the two sides of tipping.

Our Customer and Worker Averages compare what customers report tipping for average service with what workers report expecting to receive.

Explore the categories above to see what customers and workers report for different services and tipping situations.

Information about Tennessee wage and tipping laws is provided for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Laws, regulations, and minimum wages can change. This information was last reviewed in October 2026.

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