Wage compliance has a rhythm. Rates step on a handful of predictable dates, payroll-tax filings fall on fixed deadlines, and indexed jurisdictions announce next year's numbers in a known window. The timeline below is assembled automatically from the verified rate schedules in the 50-state center and the hotel ordinance dataset, so it cannot drift from the data; the sections after it turn that timeline into an operating calendar and a cutover playbook.

At a glance#

  • Two rate waves dominate: January 1 (most states) and July 1 (DC, Oregon, Chicago, and the LA-area hotel ordinances).
  • Indexed jurisdictions announce in the fall: CPI-adjusted figures for January 1 land between September and December — the window to update pay bands and exempt-salary floors.
  • Payroll-tax filings are fixed: W-2s and the new tip/overtime boxes by January 31; Form 8027 by the end of February (paper) or March 31 (electronic); Forms 941 quarterly.
  • Mid-week effective dates are the trap: a July 1 increase rarely lands on a workweek boundary, so the week that straddles it must be paid at two rates — resolved per day in the workweek auditor.

Dates marked Annual recur every year. CPI-indexed jurisdictions announce exact figures in the months before each effective date — treat indexed entries as placeholders until the agency publishes the number.

  1. Chicago (employers with 4+ employees): tipped cash wage moves to 76% of the minimum wage#

    Frozen at 76% for two years by the May 20, 2026 compromise ordinance (49–1) — no step on 7/1/2026 or 7/1/2027. About $12.96 against the $17.05 minimum.

  2. July 1 rate wave Annual#

    The mid-year adjustment date: DC, Oregon, Chicago, Cook County, Montgomery County (MD), most LA-area cities, and the major hotel-specific ordinances (LA, Santa Monica, Glendale, Long Beach, West Hollywood) all adjust July 1. Specific changes appear below.

  3. Alaska: minimum wage rises to $14.00#

  4. District of Columbia: minimum wage rises to $18.40#

  5. Oregon: minimum wage rises to $15.55#

  6. Los Angeles: hotel wage rises to $25.00#

    Citywide Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance (LAMC §186.00 et seq.), as amended by the 2025 "Olympic Wage" Ordinance 188610 and Ordinance 188944 (2026)

  7. Los Angeles: hotel health benefit payment moves to $4.25/hour#

    Citywide Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance (LAMC §186.00 et seq.), as amended by the 2025 "Olympic Wage" Ordinance 188610 and Ordinance 188944 (2026)

  8. Santa Monica: hotel wage rises to $25.00#

    Hotel Worker Living Wage (SMMC ch. 4.63)

  9. West Hollywood: hotel wage rises to $20.87#

    Hotel Worker Minimum Wage & Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance (WHMC ch. 5.127, 2021)

  10. Glendale: hotel wage rises to $25.00#

    Hotel Workers Protection Ordinance (GMC ch. 5.120, 2022)

  11. Long Beach: hotel wage rises to $26.50#

    Hotel Worker Minimum Wage (LBMC 5.48; Measure N (2012) as raised by Measure RW (March 2024))

  12. District of Columbia: tipped cash wage moves to 56% of the minimum wage#

    FY2026 Budget Support Act schedule: $10.30 against the $18.40 minimum.

  13. Chicago (employers with 4+ employees): minimum wage rises to $17.05#

    Announced by BACP for July 1, 2026; CPI-indexed annually thereafter.

  14. Florida: minimum wage rises to $15.00#

  15. January 1 rate wave Annual#

    Most CPI-indexed state minimum wages (CA, WA, CO, AZ, and others) and many local rates adjust each January 1. Watch state labor-agency announcements each fall.

  16. California hotel recall law (Labor Code §2810.8) scheduled repeal#

    AB 858 extended the hotel/event-center/airport-hospitality recall law through January 1, 2027; violations through December 31, 2026 remain enforceable. Watch for further extension or permanence legislation.

  17. Michigan: minimum wage rises to $15.00#

  18. Rhode Island: minimum wage rises to $17.00#

  19. Michigan: tipped cash wage moves to 42% of the minimum wage#

  20. W-2s due with new tip and overtime reporting for 2026 wages#

    2026 W-2s must report qualified tips (Box 12 code TP), qualified overtime compensation (Box 12 code TT), and the employee's Treasury Tipped Occupation Code (Box 14b). The 2025 transition penalty relief (Notice 2025-62) does not extend to 2026 wages.

  21. Form 8027 (paper) due for 2026 — large food & beverage establishments Annual#

    Annual information return of tip income and allocated tips for each large food or beverage establishment (e-file deadline March 31). Most full-service hotel restaurants and banquet operations qualify.

  22. Alaska: minimum wage rises to $15.00#

  23. Los Angeles: hotel health benefit payment moves to $6.00/hour#

    Citywide Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance (LAMC §186.00 et seq.), as amended by the 2025 "Olympic Wage" Ordinance 188610 and Ordinance 188944 (2026)

  24. Long Beach: hotel wage rises to $28.00#

    Hotel Worker Minimum Wage (LBMC 5.48; Measure N (2012) as raised by Measure RW (March 2024))

  25. Hawaii: minimum wage rises to $18.00#

  26. Michigan: tipped cash wage moves to 44% of the minimum wage#

  27. Long Beach: hotel wage rises to $29.50#

    Hotel Worker Minimum Wage (LBMC 5.48; Measure N (2012) as raised by Measure RW (March 2024))

  28. District of Columbia: tipped cash wage moves to 60% of the minimum wage#

  29. Chicago (employers with 4+ employees): tipped cash wage moves to 84% of the minimum wage#

  30. Michigan: tipped cash wage moves to 46% of the minimum wage#

  31. Chicago (employers with 4+ employees): tipped cash wage moves to 92% of the minimum wage#

  32. San Diego: hotel wage rises to $25.00#

    Hospitality and Event-Center Minimum Wage Ordinance (adopted September 2025)

  33. Michigan: tipped cash wage moves to 48% of the minimum wage#

  34. Los Angeles: hotel wage rises to $30.00#

    Citywide Hotel Worker Minimum Wage Ordinance (LAMC §186.00 et seq.), as amended by the 2025 "Olympic Wage" Ordinance 188610 and Ordinance 188944 (2026)

  35. District of Columbia: tipped cash wage moves to 65% of the minimum wage#

  36. Chicago (employers with 4+ employees): tipped cash wage moves to 100% of the minimum wage#

    Full parity for larger employers; businesses with 4–20 employees have until July 1, 2033.

  37. Michigan: tipped cash wage moves to 50% of the minimum wage#

    Tip credit preserved permanently at 50% of the minimum wage from 2031 (SB 8 / PA 6 of 2025).

  38. District of Columbia: tipped cash wage moves to 70% of the minimum wage#

  39. District of Columbia: tipped cash wage moves to 75% of the minimum wage#

    Permanent cap — Initiative 82's full phase-out was repealed.

The compliance year, month by month#

The dated timeline above tells you what changes; this table tells you when to act so a change is scheduled, not discovered in a payroll week.

The hotel wage-compliance year
MonthWhat landsWhat to do
JanuaryThe January 1 minimum-wage wave (most states and many cities); new exempt-salary floorsConfirm new rates posted and in payroll; re-test exempt employees against the new state salary floors; furnish W-2s by Jan. 31 with the new tip (Box 12 TP / 14b TTOC) and overtime (Box 12 TT) entries; file Q4 Form 941
FebruaryForm 8027 paper-filing deadline (large food/beverage establishments)File Form 8027 (or calendar the March 31 e-file date); reconcile reported tips and any allocation
MarchForm 8027 electronic-filing deadline (Mar. 31)Complete tip reporting; begin gathering July 1 ordinance bulletins as cities publish
April–JuneJuly 1 jurisdictions publish their bulletins (DC, Oregon, Chicago, the LA-area hotel ordinances)Stage the July 1 rates; note the LA-area hotel rates drive Santa Monica and Glendale by reference; file Q1 Form 941 (Apr. 30); run the cutover runbook below
JulyThe July 1 wave — including hotel-specific ordinance and health-benefit steps; mid-week effective datesApply the new rates per day across the straddling workweek; update written tip-credit notices; swap wage posters; file Q2 Form 941 (Jul. 31)
August–SeptemberFlorida's September 30 step under Amendment 2; early CPI signalsSchedule the Florida change before the payroll year turns; watch for the first CPI announcements
October–DecemberCPI-indexed states (CA, WA, CO, AZ, and others) announce January 1 figuresUpdate pay bands and exempt-salary floors as numbers publish — not in the December payroll week; re-issue tip-credit notices that reference the changing cash wage; file Q3 Form 941 (Oct. 31)

Payroll-tax dates are the federal defaults; a date falling on a weekend or holiday shifts to the next business day, and state filings have their own calendars. The wage-rate entries are enacted schedules, never proposals (see the methodology).

Rate-change cutover runbook#

A rate increase is not a one-field change in the payroll system; for hotels it is a small project, and the mid-year wave is where most errors happen. The checklist for each cutover:

  • Handle the mid-week boundary. A January 1 or July 1 increase rarely falls on the first day of a workweek. The week that straddles the change is paid at the old rate through the day before the effective date and the new rate from the effective date — resolved per day, exactly as the workweek auditor reconstructs it.
  • Recompute overtime across the straddle. Overtime in the straddling week builds on the regular rate as it changes mid-week; do not apply a single week-long rate to a week that spanned two floors.
  • Update written tip-credit notices. Where the cash wage or credit changes, re-issue the notice (in writing, and always in writing in New York) before the first shift at the new rate — the credit is lost for any period the notice is stale. See tip credit.
  • Re-test exempt salaries. When a state's exempt-salary floor rises (California and others index it to the minimum wage), re-confirm every exempt employee still clears it; a manager who no longer does is non-exempt until the salary is raised.
  • Swap the posters and update systems of record. Replace required wage posters, update the POS tip-credit configuration, and confirm the new floor flows to every property and pay code.
  • Recheck workload and premium thresholds. Hotel-ordinance health-benefit payments and workload premiums step on the same July 1 dates as the wage — calendar them together.

Key authorities#

  • Scheduled rate steps are drawn from enacted state and local schedules; the timeline is generated from the same verified records that drive the state guides and the hotel ordinance brief.
  • Filing deadlines: IRS Forms W-2 (furnish by Jan. 31), 8027 (Feb. 28 paper / Mar. 31 electronic), and 941 (quarterly); confirm against current IRS instructions, which control.
  • OBBBA W-2 reporting (Box 12 codes TP/TT, Box 14b TTOC) per TD 10044 — see tip tax and payroll.