Summer jobs work under a mix of federal and state rules that govern how old you have to be, how many hours you can put in, what you can be paid, and how much of your paycheck goes to taxes. The Fair Labor Standards Act sets the national floor, and where a state law is stricter, the state rule wins. What follows is the practical version for teens taking a seasonal job, parents signing the paperwork, and employers hiring for the busy months.
How Old You Have to Be, and What Paperwork Comes First
The federal minimum age for most non-farm work is 14. At 14 and 15, you can take jobs in retail, food service, and similar industries, but manufacturing, mining, and any occupation the Department of Labor has labeled hazardous are off limits. At 16, the range of legal jobs expands considerably. At 18, federal youth employment rules stop applying.1U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations
Most states require anyone under 18 to get an employment certificate, usually called a work permit, before starting. These are issued either by school officials or the state labor department.2U.S. Department of Labor. Employment/Age Certificate The form typically needs signatures from the employer and a parent, and it spells out the job duties and location. Sort this out before your first shift, or the delay eats into your first weeks of pay.
How Many Hours You Can Work in the Summer
If you are 14 or 15, federal rules cap your hours even during summer. When school is out of session, you can work up to 8 hours in a day and 40 in a week, and your shifts have to fall between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day.1U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 43 – Child Labor Provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act for Nonagricultural Occupations Outside that summer window the evening cutoff drops back to 7 p.m.
At 16 and 17, federal law places no cap on daily or weekly hours. You can work a full-time summer schedule the same as an adult. Several states add their own limits on 16- and 17-year-olds, so check the state labor department before assuming unlimited availability.
Jobs and Tasks That Are Off Limits
Even when you are old enough to work long hours, certain jobs remain closed to anyone under 18. The Department of Labor’s list of hazardous occupations includes roofing, excavation, and operating power-driven equipment like circular saws.3eCFR. 29 CFR Part 570 Subpart E – Occupations Particularly Hazardous for the Employment of Minors Between 16 and 18 Years of Age
Two categories catch teens by surprise every summer. Warehouse and distribution work is one. No one under 18 can operate, service, or ride on forklifts, high-lift trucks, cranes, or similar hoisting equipment, regardless of training. A 16- or 17-year-old can ride a freight elevator operated by an assigned adult, and that’s about the limit.
The other is driving for work. No one under 17 can drive a motor vehicle as part of an FLSA-covered job. At 17, limited driving is allowed only if all of these are true: a valid state license, a completed state-approved driver education course, no moving violations on the record, daylight hours only, and a vehicle weighing 6,000 pounds or less.4U.S. Department of Labor. Hazardous Occupations Order No. 2 – Youth Employment Provision and Driving Automobiles and Trucks Under the FLSA Even then, driving can be no more than a third of any workday and no more than 20 percent of the workweek. Urgent or time-sensitive runs like pizza delivery are flatly prohibited, along with route deliveries, towing, and trips more than 30 miles from the workplace. No one under 18 can serve as an outside helper riding on the exterior of a vehicle.
One boundary worth naming: farm work follows a separate, more lenient set of federal rules, with lower minimum ages and fewer restrictions on hazardous tasks.5U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 40 – Overview of Youth Employment Provisions of the FLSA for Agricultural Occupations The protections that would bar you from certain machinery in a warehouse may not apply on a farm.
What You Get Paid
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, and it applies to summer workers the same as anyone else.6U.S. Department of Labor. Minimum Wage More than 30 states set a higher minimum, and you get whichever is higher. Check your state’s rate before accepting an offer.
Youth Training Wage
Employers are allowed to pay workers under 20 a reduced rate of $4.25 per hour during their first 90 consecutive calendar days on the job. Once those 90 days pass or the worker turns 20, pay has to jump to at least the applicable minimum.6U.S. Department of Labor. Minimum Wage This subminimum wage can’t be used to displace existing workers. Most seasonal employers skip it in practice.
Tips
Restaurants, ice cream shops, and resorts often involve tips. Under federal law, employers can pay tipped workers a direct cash wage as low as $2.13 per hour, provided tips bring total compensation up to at least $7.25. The employer takes a “tip credit” of up to $5.12 per hour to close the gap.7U.S. Department of Labor. Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees If your tips fall short in any pay period, the employer has to make up the difference. Several states don’t allow a tip credit at all and require the full state minimum before tips.
Overtime and Holidays
Seasonal workers 16 and older who put in more than 40 hours in a week are generally entitled to overtime at 1.5 times their regular rate.8U.S. Department of Labor. Seasonal Employment / Part-Time Information Federal law does not require premium pay for working holidays like the Fourth of July. Any holiday bonus or time-and-a-half for a holiday is company policy, not a legal requirement.9U.S. Department of Labor. Holiday Pay If an employer promises holiday pay in a handbook or offer letter, that promise can be enforceable, but the FLSA itself doesn’t mandate it.
When a Summer Internship Can Legally Go Unpaid
Not every summer position that calls itself an internship can be unpaid. For for-profit employers, the Department of Labor uses a seven-factor “primary beneficiary test” to decide whether an intern is really an employee entitled to at least minimum wage. The factors look at whether the training resembles what you’d get in an educational setting, whether the internship is tied to academic credit, whether it displaces paid workers, and whether both sides understand there is no promise of pay or a job at the end.10U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 71 – Internship Programs Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
No single factor decides the question. But if you’re doing the same tasks as paid employees, receiving no academic credit, and the company is the clear beneficiary of your work, you’re likely an employee and owed wages. “It’s for the experience” doesn’t override federal pay law.
Documents to Have Ready Before Day One
Employers need a handful of things before your first shift.
- A work permit, if you’re under 18 and your state requires one. Get the form from your school or state labor department and collect the employer and parent signatures before your start date.
- Documents to complete Form I-9, which proves you’re authorized to work in the United States. A U.S. passport alone works, or a combination like a state-issued ID plus an original birth certificate. Your employer can’t dictate which documents you use so long as they’re on the approved list.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-9 Acceptable Documents
- Your Social Security number, needed for payroll and tax reporting. If you don’t have one, apply through the Social Security Administration before job hunting.
- A completed Form W-4, which tells your employer how much federal income tax to withhold. You enter your name, address, and filing status, and can adjust for a second job or extra withholding.12Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate
How Taxes Work on a Summer Paycheck
A few minutes of attention to your W-4 upfront prevents a surprise bill or an unnecessary refund chase later.
You Might Owe No Federal Income Tax
For 2026, the standard deduction for a single filer is $16,100.13Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 If your total income for the year stays below that, you generally won’t owe federal income tax. Plenty of summer workers land in that zone. Federal law lets you write “Exempt” on your W-4 if you had no income tax liability last year and expect none this year.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 3402 – Income Tax Collected at Source Claiming exempt means no federal income tax comes out of your paychecks. If you don’t claim it and end up earning under the standard deduction anyway, you’ll get that money back at tax time, but you’ll be waiting months for your own money.
Social Security and Medicare
Even if you owe zero income tax, your employer will still withhold Social Security tax at 6.2% and Medicare tax at 1.45% from every paycheck. These FICA taxes have no minimum income threshold for traditional employment. One narrow exception: students employed by the school, college, or university where they’re enrolled and regularly attending classes may be exempt from FICA on that specific job.15Internal Revenue Service. Student FICA Exception Working at the campus dining hall qualifies. A summer retail job off campus does not.
Freelance or Gig Work
If your summer income comes from freelancing, lawn care, tutoring, or gig platforms that treat you as an independent contractor, no employer withholds anything for you. You owe self-employment tax, covering both the employee and employer shares of Social Security and Medicare, on net earnings of $400 or more.16Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 554 – Self-Employment Tax That $400 threshold is far lower than the income tax filing threshold, and it surprises a lot of teens.
Being Claimed as a Dependent
A summer job almost never disqualifies you as your parents’ dependent. The IRS qualifying child test looks at age (under 19, or under 24 if a full-time student), relationship, and whether you lived with your parents for more than half the year. There is no earned income cap for qualifying children. You can file your own return to recover withheld taxes and still be claimed on your parents’ return.
What to Do If Your Employer Breaks the Rules
Employers who ignore the age, hour, or hazardous-work rules face steep penalties. The civil penalty for a child labor violation is up to $16,035 per affected employee. When a violation causes the death or serious injury of a worker under 18, the maximum climbs to $72,876 per violation, and that figure can double for repeat or willful offenses.17eCFR. 29 CFR Part 579 – Child Labor Violations – Civil Money Penalties The Department of Labor can also pursue criminal prosecution in the most serious cases. If something at your job feels unsafe or wrong, you can file a complaint with your local Wage and Hour Division office, and the law protects you from retaliation for doing so.