Overtime Pay Calculator (Time and a Half)
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Related: all finance calculators
How to use the overtime pay calculator
- Enter your hourly rate — base rate before any premiums.
- Enter regular and overtime hours — federally, OT starts past 40 hours in a workweek.
- Pick the multiplier — 1.5× is the federal standard; 2× applies in some states (California past 12 hrs/day) and union contracts.
- Read the premium line — the extra money above straight time is what an OT shift is really "worth" to you.
Time and a half, without the myths
Overtime pays 1.5× your regular rate past 40 hours in a workweek - $24/hr becomes $36, and an 8-hour OT Saturday grosses $288, of which $96 is the premium. The persistent myth is that OT is "taxed more": it isn't. Withholding on a fat check runs higher, but at filing time OT dollars are taxed exactly like regular dollars, and the difference reconciles in your refund.
Who gets overtime
Hourly (non-exempt) workers, always. Salaried workers are exempt only if they pass both the salary threshold and a duties test (genuine executive/professional/administrative work) - a "manager" title on a stocking job doesn't kill your OT rights, and misclassification claims recover years of back pay. Daily-OT states (California: over 8 hrs/day, 2× past 12) layer on top of the federal weekly rule.
For employers: OT as a cost signal
Chronic overtime above ~5% of hours usually means understaffing or schedule shape - and at 1.5× loaded rates it's expensive relief. Compare the OT premium you're paying monthly against the true cost of another hire; the crossover comes faster than most managers assume. Track the pattern in the labor cost calculator.
Related tools
Compute a full week with lunches in the time card calculator; freelancers pricing "overtime" into contracts should start from the billable hours calculator instead - you don't get 1.5×, you get what you negotiate.
Standards and references
Overtime calculation follows the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): 1.5x the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek for non-exempt employees. Regular-rate calculation for salaried non-exempt workers is defined in 29 CFR 778.113. Some states (California, Alaska, Nevada) require daily overtime after 8 hours; those state rules are noted but the FLSA is the federal floor.
How overtime pay is calculated
Overtime rate = hourly rate × multiplier (1.5 or 2.0)Regular pay = hourly rate × regular hoursOvertime pay = overtime rate × overtime hoursOT premium = (overtime rate − hourly rate) × overtime hoursOvertime edge cases the calculator flags but cannot resolve
The calculator computes gross overtime pay only. It does not account for weighted-average overtime, required when an employee works two or more jobs at different rates in the same workweek. Under 29 CFR § 778.115, the regular rate must be recalculated as total straight-time earnings divided by total hours worked. An employee earning $18/hr for 30 hours and $22/hr for 15 hours has a blended regular rate of $19.33, not $18, before the 0.5x premium applies to hours over 40.
Bonuses complicate the rate further. A non-discretionary bonus - production bonuses, attendance incentives, shift differentials - must be folded into the regular rate before overtime is calculated. A $200 weekly production bonus spread over 44 hours adds $4.55/hr to the regular rate and raises the overtime premium accordingly. Discretionary bonuses are excluded, but misclassifying a production bonus as discretionary is one of the most common FLSA audit triggers.
The fluctuating workweek method (29 CFR § 778.114) is a legal alternative for salaried non-exempt employees whose hours genuinely vary. The employer pays a fixed salary for all hours, then adds only 0.5x - not 1.5x - of the effective hourly rate for overtime hours. At a $700 weekly salary over 50 hours, the effective rate is $14.00/hr and the OT premium is $7.00/hr × 10 hours = $70, not $210. This method is not captured in a standard time-and-a-half calculator.
State daily overtime thresholds
Federal FLSA triggers overtime at 40 hours per workweek. Several states impose daily thresholds on top of that. California requires overtime after 8 hours in a single day and double-time after 12 hours in a day or after 8 hours on a seventh consecutive workday. Alaska triggers daily overtime after 8 hours. Nevada requires daily overtime after 8 hours only when the employee earns below 1.5× the state minimum wage ($13.25/hr as of 2024). An employee in California working five 9-hour days accumulates 5 daily overtime hours even though total weekly hours equal 45, producing a different gross than a simple weekly calculation.
Track daily splits with the time card calculator before feeding totals into this tool to catch state-level daily triggers.
What the 1.5× multiplier does not cover
Overtime pay is pre-tax gross. Federal income tax withholding on supplemental wages - which overtime qualifies as - uses a flat 22% withholding rate for amounts under $1 million when paid separately from regular wages (IRS Publication 15, Section 7). Social Security tax (6.2%) and Medicare (1.45%) apply as normal. An employee earning $300 in overtime gross takes home approximately $208 after federal withholding alone, before state income tax. The net figure requires a payroll tool, not an overtime calculator. For employer-side cost including FICA, FUTA, and workers' comp loading, the employee cost calculator covers the full burden rate.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is time and a half on $20 an hour?
$30/hour. Ten OT hours add $300 gross — $100 of it premium above straight time.
Is overtime taxed at a higher rate?
No — OT income is taxed like all wage income. Bigger checks trigger heavier per-check withholding, which reconciles at filing.
Do salaried employees get overtime?
Only if non-exempt: below the salary threshold or failing the duties test. Job titles don't decide exemption; actual duties do.
When does double time apply?
No federal requirement — it comes from state law (California past 12 hrs/day or the 7th consecutive day) and union/employer policy.