Florida Minimum Wage 2026: What Employers Have to Do by September 30

On September 30, 2026, the Florida minimum wage goes from $14.00 to $15.00 an hour. The cash wage for tipped employees goes from $10.98 to $11.98 on the same day, and their tips have to make up the rest so they still reach $15.00. This is the last of six one dollar increases that Florida voters approved in 2020. It applies to hours worked on and after that date, and every employer has to put up the new state poster.

I am Dr. Michael Wendrow. I have run a chiropractic office in North Miami for more than 30 years, and I started Prime Time Business Network in 2012. I have made payroll through every one of these increases since 2021, and so have most of the owners in our South Florida chapters. What comes up at the August meetings is almost never the dollar itself. It is the person already earning $15.50 who is about to be paid the same as somebody hired next week. By the end you will know the exact rates and dates, where the $11.98 comes from, the six things to handle before September 30, the other renewal due that same day, and what a wage claim costs you.

What Changes on September 30, 2026

Two rates change, and they change on the same day. According to FloridaCommerce, the state agency that publishes the rate, the minimum wage reaches $15.00 per hour on September 30, 2026.

The federal rate has not moved since 2009, so in Florida you pay the state rate. The schedule is written into Section 24 of Article X of the Florida Constitution. It says the wage goes up a dollar each September 30 "until the Minimum Wage reaches $15.00 per hour on September 30th, 2026."

Here is a detail the payroll guides skip. September 30, 2026 is a Wednesday. If you run a two week payroll, the increase happens in the middle of the period for almost everybody. Hours worked through Tuesday the 29th are paid at the old rate, and hours worked from Wednesday the 30th are paid at the new one, on the same check.

Where the $11.98 Tipped Rate Comes From

The tipped rate is the full minimum wage minus $3.02, and that $3.02 never changes. Most articles print $11.98 without saying why, which leaves owners guessing whether it moves on its own.

The rule behind it is short. The Florida Constitution lets you count tips toward the minimum wage, but only "up to the amount of the allowable FLSA tip credit in 2003." FLSA is the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. In 2003 the federal minimum wage was $5.15 an hour under 29 U.S.C. 206. The cash wage a tipped worker had to be paid was $2.13. The federal tip rules at 29 CFR Part 531 still name that same $2.13 floor today. The difference between the two is $3.02, and Florida locked that number in.

So the math is $15.00 minus $3.02, which is $11.98. Two things follow. Your tipped cash wage will always be exactly $3.02 below the full rate, whatever the full rate becomes. And you only get to count the tips if the tips are really there: when cash wages plus tips do not reach $15.00 for that week's hours, you owe the difference.

6 Things to Handle Before September 30

These are in the order I would do them. The second one is where the real money is.

1. Pull a list of everyone under the new floor. Anyone paid $14.00 to $14.99 goes to $15.00. Anyone tipped and paid $10.98 to $11.97 goes to $11.98. This part is simple, and it is the part every guide covers.
2. Look at the people just above the floor. A supervisor at $15.50 who has been with you four years will now earn 50 cents more than a brand new hire. Nothing in the law makes you fix that, but if you do not, you usually hear about it in October. Decide now what your whole pay scale looks like, not just the lowest rate. That is the part that actually costs you.
3. Split the pay period at the date. Tell your payroll company in writing which hours fall on each side of September 30. If you run payroll yourself, set the new rate to start on that Wednesday, not at the start of the period.
4. Get the new poster up. Under Florida Statute 448.109, an employer has to "prominently display" the minimum wage poster "in a conspicuous and accessible place in each establishment." FloridaCommerce gives it away in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. Each establishment means each location, so three offices need three posters.
5. Check everything else that is tied to the wage. Commission draws, piece rates, tip pools, service charges, and any salaried worker who still gets overtime. If a draw was written against $14.00, rewrite it. Check your shift differentials too. They are usually a flat amount added on top, and that amount buys less once the base rate goes up.
6. Tell your people before they see it on a check. A short note a week ahead is worth more than the raise itself in a small office. It also gives anyone who thinks they were missed a chance to say so while it is still easy to fix.

The Other September 30 Deadline: Your Business Tax Receipt

September 30 is also the day your local business tax receipt expires, and that one catches South Florida owners every year. Florida Statute 205.053 puts them on sale July 1 and makes them "due and payable on or before September 30 of each year." Miss it and the statute adds 10 percent for October. Every month after that adds another 5 percent, up to a 25 percent cap.

The counties publish the same ladder in plain numbers. The Broward County Tax Collector opens renewals July 1, expires receipts September 30, and calls them late on October 1. From there the penalty runs from 10 percent in October up to 25 percent plus a $25 fee after December. Miami-Dade and Palm Beach work off the same statute, so check your own tax collector for the local fee.

Watch for two things. Running a business with no receipt at all carries its own penalty of 25 percent of the tax due, on top of the late one. And if you sit inside city limits, most cities want their own receipt before the county will issue theirs, so you are chasing two renewals instead of one.

What It Costs If You Get the Wage Wrong

Florida gives an honest employer a chance to fix a mistake before it turns into a lawsuit. Under Florida Statute 448.110, an employee who wants to claim unpaid minimum wage has to write to you first. That notice has to name the wage they claim, the work dates and hours, and the total they say is owed. You then get 15 calendar days to pay it or settle it. Their deadline to sue is paused while those days run.

If it does reach a court and they win, the numbers get worse. The employee gets the unpaid wages back, plus the same amount again on top, plus their lawyer's fees. A judge can cut that second payment if you show the mistake was honest and you had fair reason to think you were paying right. The Attorney General can also bring a case. It can ask for a $1,000 fine per violation against an employer who broke the rule on purpose. Punishing someone for raising it is against the law by itself.

That 15 day window is the most useful line in the whole statute for a small employer. A letter about a payroll error is not a lawsuit yet, and paying it inside two weeks usually ends it. This is general information and not legal advice, so run anything specific past your payroll provider or an employment lawyer.

What Happens After September 30, 2026

Nothing, for 15 months. That surprises people, because most articles say Florida switches to yearly inflation raises after 2026, which sounds like the next one lands in September 2027.

The constitution is more specific than that. Starting September 30, 2027, and every September 30 after, the state works out a new rate. It uses the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, a federal measure of the past year's prices. Then comes the part most articles leave out. The new rate "shall be published and take effect on the following January 1st."

So the rate is set at the end of September 2027 and the money changes on January 1, 2028. Florida stays at $15.00 for 15 months. If you are building a 2027 wage budget, that is one raise you do not have to plan for. It is also a good stretch of time to fix the pay scale problem in step two instead.

FAQ

What is the Florida minimum wage in 2026?

It depends on the date. Through September 29, 2026 it is $14.00 an hour, or $10.98 for tipped employees plus tips. From September 30, 2026 it is $15.00 an hour, or $11.98 for tipped employees plus tips.

Does the increase apply to employees who work outside Florida?

No. The state constitution sets the minimum wage "for all hours worked in Florida," so it follows where the work happens rather than where your office is. A crew that spends part of a week on a job in another state is paid that state's rate for those hours.

Does the $15 minimum wage apply to independent contractors?

No, minimum wage rules cover employees. Whether someone is really a contractor depends on how the work actually happens, not on what the paperwork calls them, so a misclassified worker can still bring a wage claim.

Are any employees exempt from the Florida minimum wage?

Florida ties this to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Section 448.110 says only people entitled to the federal minimum wage can get the state one, and it pulls in the federal exemptions directly. So the federal exemptions carry over. Check a specific job with your payroll provider rather than guessing.

When does the new poster have to be up?

By September 30, 2026. Section 448.109 puts the duty on any employer who has to pay the Florida minimum wage, so the poster goes up even when everybody on your team already earns well above $15.00.

Do I need to update my job postings?

Fix any posting that advertises a rate under $15.00 for work starting on or after September 30, and check offer letters already sent for October start dates. It is a small job that turns into an awkward first day if you miss it.

Talk It Through With Owners Doing the Same Math

Prime Time Business Network is a category-exclusive networking group in South Florida. We started in 2012, and we now have more than 400 members across 15 chapters in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach. One seat per business category means the payroll company, the bookkeeper and the employment attorney in your chapter are the only ones in the room. September is when those conversations are worth having. Come as a guest and see how it works: pick a chapter near you, read what our members say, or get in touch to visit a meeting.