How this calculator works
Enter your hourly rate and the hours you worked in one week, and the calculator splits the week at the overtime threshold: hours up to it are paid at your regular rate, hours past it at the overtime rate. The threshold defaults to the federal 40 hours but is yours to change, and hours paid at double time can be set separately. It works on one workweek by design — federal regulation takes “a single workweek as its standard and does not permit averaging of hours over 2 or more weeks” — so the biweekly, monthly and yearly figures are labelled projections, not payroll. The rest of the finance calculators pick up where gross pay ends.
The time-and-a-half formula
Overtime rate = Hourly rate × 1.5
Regular pay = Hourly rate × Hours up to 40
Overtime pay = Overtime rate × Hours over the threshold
Gross pay = Regular pay + Overtime pay
Substituted: at $12.00 an hour for 46 hours, the overtime rate is $18.00, so gross pay is 40 × $12.00 + 6 × $18.00 = $588.00 — the same figures the Department of Labor works through in 29 CFR § 778.110.
Worked examples
Example 1 — the regulation's own numbers
- Hourly rate:
- $12.00
- Hours worked:
- 46
- Regular pay: 40 h × $12.00 = $480.00
- Overtime rate: $12.00 × 1.5 = $18.00
- Overtime pay: 6 h × $18.00 = $108.00
Gross weekly pay: $588.00
This is the Department of Labor's own worked example in 29 CFR § 778.110(a), reproduced by the calculator's arithmetic.
Example 2 — a 50-hour week with some double time
- Hourly rate:
- $20.00
- Hours worked:
- 50
- Of which at double time:
- 4 h
- Regular pay: 40 h × $20.00 = $800.00
- Overtime pay: 6 h × $30.00 = $180.00
- Double-time pay: 4 h × $40.00 = $160.00
Gross weekly pay: $1,140.00
Double time is never a federal requirement — it models an employer policy or a state rule such as California's 12-hour day. The double-time hours replace time-and-a-half hours; they do not add hours to the week.
Reference data
The first table applies the statutory formula to common wages — find your rate, read across. The second states the two rule sets this page names: the federal weekly standard, and California's daily one, the widely known state exception.
| Hourly rate | Overtime rate | 45-hour week | 50-hour week | 60-hour week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15.00 | $22.50/h | $712.50 | $825.00 | $1,050.00 |
| $18.00 | $27.00/h | $855.00 | $990.00 | $1,260.00 |
| $20.00 | $30.00/h | $950.00 | $1,100.00 | $1,400.00 |
| $25.00 | $37.50/h | $1,187.50 | $1,375.00 | $1,750.00 |
| $30.00 | $45.00/h | $1,425.00 | $1,650.00 | $2,100.00 |
| Rule | Overtime starts | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Federal (FLSA) | After 40 hours in a workweek | At least 1.5× the regular rate |
| California § 510 | After 8 hours in a workday, 40 in a workweek, or on a seventh consecutive workday | 1.5× — rising to 2× beyond 12 hours in a day |
Key facts
- 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1) requires overtime pay of not less than one and one-half times the regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek.
- A workweek under 29 CFR § 778.105 is a fixed, regularly recurring 168 hours — seven consecutive 24-hour periods — and it need not coincide with the calendar week.
- Federal law does not generally require overtime pay for hours beyond eight in a day, or for weekend or holiday work as such (29 CFR § 778.102) — state law or an employment contract can require more.
- Overtime is determined one workweek at a time: 29 CFR § 778.104 does not permit averaging hours across two or more weeks, so 30 hours one week and 50 the next is 10 overtime hours.
Who should use this and when
Reach for it before agreeing to extra shifts, when checking a payslip against the hours you actually worked, or when a job offer quotes an hourly rate and you want to know what the realistic week pays. The projections show what regular overtime amounts to over a month or a year — the number that matters before taking on a loan repayment or sizing a 401(k) contribution. It applies to employees entitled to overtime; whether a particular job is exempt is a legal determination this page does not make.
Tips and common pitfalls
- Do not average weeks. A quiet week never cancels a heavy one — each workweek stands alone, whatever the payroll cycle.
- Exempt or non-exempt is not a feeling. Salaried does not automatically mean no overtime. The determination has legal tests; the Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division is the authority, not a calculator.
- Check your state's rules. This page computes the federal standard. States can be stricter — California's daily thresholds are the well-known case — and where they are, the stricter rule governs.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate overtime pay?+
Multiply your hourly rate by 1.5 to get the overtime rate, then apply it to every hour over 40 in the workweek. At $20.00 an hour, a 48-hour week pays 40 hours at $20.00 plus 8 at $30.00 — $1,040.00 gross.
What is time and a half for $20.00 an hour?+
$30.00 an hour — the regular rate multiplied by 1.5. Federal law sets that as a floor, not a ceiling: 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1) requires "not less than one and one-half times the regular rate", so an employer may pay more but never less for overtime hours.
Is overtime after 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week?+
Under federal law, 40 hours in a workweek — 29 CFR § 778.102 states the Act does not generally require overtime for hours beyond eight in a day. Some states add a daily threshold: California Labor Code § 510 requires 1.5× pay beyond 8 hours in a workday.
Is working weekends or holidays automatically overtime?+
Not under federal law. 29 CFR § 778.102 says the Act does not generally require overtime pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular days of rest as such — those hours count toward the weekly threshold like any others. Weekend or holiday premiums come from employer policy, a contract, or state law.
Is double time required by law?+
Not federally — the FLSA floor is 1.5× and nothing in it requires 2×. Double time comes from employer policy, a union contract, or state statute: California Labor Code § 510 requires twice the regular rate beyond 12 hours in one workday and beyond 8 hours on a seventh consecutive workday.
Does overtime use just my base hourly wage?+
Not always. The overtime rate applies to the "regular rate", which can be higher than the base wage: 29 CFR § 778.110(b) works an example where a weekly production bonus raises a $12 base rate to a $13 regular rate before the overtime multiplier is applied. If you earn nondiscretionary bonuses or commissions, your true overtime rate is higher than base × 1.5.
Does this calculator show take-home pay?+
No — every figure here is gross pay, deliberately. Take-home pay depends on federal, state and local tax withholding, which this calculator does not model and will not estimate. Your payslip or a payroll service is the place for net figures; this page answers what your overtime hours earn before deductions.
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Estimates & assumptions
- Every figure this page outputs is gross pay. It applies no tax withholding of any kind and produces no take-home estimate — that depends on facts this calculator does not ask for.
- Whether a specific job is exempt from overtime is a legal determination that depends on duties and salary tests. This page does not make it; the US Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division publishes the governing rules.
- State overtime law can be stricter than the federal standard, and where it is, it governs. Only California's rule is noted here, as a sourced example — this page does not maintain per-state rule sets.
This calculator is for estimation and education only and is not financial, tax, or legal advice. Statutory citations are to the fetched editions named in each source line; your employer's policy or contract may provide more than the statutory floor.