Calculate Your Overtime Pay
Enter your work hours, rate, and overtime rules to get a full breakdown.
How the Overtime Calculator Works
Four simple steps to compute your overtime earnings.
Enter Hours Worked
Type the total hours you worked during the pay period. This includes both regular and potential overtime hours.
Set Your Rate
Enter your hourly rate and choose the overtime multiplier — 1.5×, 2×, or a custom value based on your employment rules.
Define Threshold
Set the overtime threshold — the number of hours after which overtime kicks in. The FLSA standard is 40 hours/week.
View Breakdown
Get a full breakdown of regular pay, overtime pay, OT rate, and total earnings — all calculated instantly.
What Is an Overtime Calculator?
Understanding overtime pay rules and how they apply to your paycheck.
Overtime pay explained
An Overtime Calculator determines how much extra compensation you earn when you work beyond the standard number of hours. In the US, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) mandates that non-exempt employees receive at least 1.5× their regular rate for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek.
The formula is simple: OT Pay = OT Hours × (Hourly Rate × OT Multiplier). If you earn $20/hour and work 48 hours, your 8 overtime hours are paid at $30/hour (20 × 1.5), giving you $240 in overtime pay on top of your $800 regular pay.
Daily vs weekly overtime
Some states like California have daily overtime rules: anything over 8 hours in a single day qualifies for 1.5× pay, and hours beyond 12 get double time (2×). Federal law only requires weekly overtime at the 40-hour threshold.
Who qualifies for overtime?
Non-exempt employees under the FLSA qualify for overtime pay. Exempt employees — typically salaried workers in executive, administrative, or professional roles — do not receive overtime under federal law. Track the shift patterns behind those hours with the shift calculator.
When to Use an Overtime Calculator
Common scenarios where overtime calculations save you time and money.
Paycheck Verification
Verify your overtime pay matches what your employer calculated. Cross-check regular hours and OT hours to ensure you're paid correctly every pay period.
Payroll Processing
HR teams and payroll managers use overtime calculators to compute employee earnings accurately. Calculate overtime for entire teams across different pay rates and thresholds.
Budget Planning
Estimate your weekly or monthly earnings including overtime. Plan your finances by calculating how much extra you'll earn by working additional hours.
Labor Law Compliance
Ensure compliance with FLSA overtime rules, state regulations, and union agreements. Calculate the correct overtime multiplier and threshold for your jurisdiction.
Manufacturing & Shifts
Factory workers and shift employees often exceed 40 hours/week. Calculate overtime for rotating shifts, weekend work, and holiday double-time pay.
Freelance & Contract Work
Freelancers can use overtime rules to set premium rates for rush jobs. Calculate what to charge when clients need work done beyond your standard contracted hours.
Quick Overtime Calculation Examples
Common overtime scenarios and their results.
Standard 48-hour workweek
48 hours at $20/hr with 1.5× OT after 40 hours: Regular pay = $800 + OT pay = $240 = $1,040 total.
Heavy overtime week
55 hours at $25/hr with 1.5× OT: 40 regular hours ($1,000) + 15 OT hours at $37.50/hr ($562.50) = $1,562.50 total.
Double-time weekend
50 hours at $18/hr with 2× OT: 40 regular hours ($720) + 10 OT hours at $36/hr ($360) = $1,080 total.
Part-time with overtime
Some contracts set lower thresholds. 35 hours at $22/hr with OT after 30 hours: 30 regular ($660) + 5 OT at $33 ($165) = $825 total.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough
Watch a 47-hour week separate into two pay bands, and see exactly where the premium is earned.
A machinist works 47 hours in a week. Their base rate is $24.00/hour, overtime starts after 40 hours, and the multiplier is 1.5.
Test the total against the threshold
47 > 40 → overtime appliesNo premium is owed until the threshold is crossed. If the week had come in at 39.5 hours, every hour would price at the base rate and the calculation would stop here.
Running totalOvertime applies
Split the hours into two bands
Regular = min(47, 40) = 40 Overtime = 47 − 40 = 7The threshold is a ceiling on regular hours, not a discount on the total. All 47 hours are paid — 40 of them at the base rate and 7 at the premium.
Running total40 regular + 7 overtime
Work out the overtime rate
$24.00 × 1.5 = $36.00/hourTime-and-a-half means the whole hour is paid at 1.5×, not the base rate plus a half-rate bonus on top. The two phrasings sound similar and give the same figure — but only if the multiplier is applied once.
Running total$36.00 per overtime hour
Price each band
Regular: 40 × $24.00 = $960.00 Overtime: 7 × $36.00 = $252.00Two separate multiplications, then one addition. Any attempt to blend the rates into a single average before multiplying makes the result depend on hours worked in a way that is hard to audit.
Running total$960.00 + $252.00
Add the bands for gross earnings
$960.00 + $252.00 = $1,212.00The 7 overtime hours contributed $252 where 7 regular hours would have paid $168 — a premium of $84 for the week.
Running total$1,212.00 gross
A 47-hour week at $24.00 with time-and-a-half after 40 pays $1,212.00: 40 regular hours at $24.00 plus 7 overtime hours at $36.00.
Common Mistakes and Pro Tips
Mistakes that quietly corrupt your numbers
Paying overtime hours at 0.5 × the base rate, treating the premium as the whole payment.
Pay the full 1.5 × rate for each overtime hour: $24.00 becomes $36.00, not $12.00.
Why it matters: The half is a premium on top of the hour, not a replacement for it. Paying only the premium delivers a third of what is owed, and the error survives review easily because $12 is a plausible-looking number next to $24.
Subtracting overtime hours from the total so the week pays for 40 hours only.
Keep all 47 hours: 40 at base rate plus 7 at the overtime rate.
Why it matters: The threshold caps how many hours qualify for the base rate — it never removes hours from the total. Treating it as a cap on paid time deletes seven hours of work from the payslip entirely.
Averaging two weeks so that 47 hours and 33 hours become 40 and 40.
Assess each week separately against the threshold: the 47-hour week owes 7 hours of overtime.
Why it matters: Overtime is usually calculated per defined work week and cannot be smoothed across periods. Averaging conveniently erases every premium hour, which is exactly why the practice is restricted in most jurisdictions.
Including paid holiday or sick hours in the total before testing the threshold.
Test the threshold on hours actually worked, then add paid-leave hours separately.
Why it matters: Eight hours of holiday plus 36 worked hours is a 44-hour payslip but a 36-hour work week — no overtime is due. Counting leave as worked time manufactures a premium that was never earned.
Pro tips
Fix your work week and never move it
Overtime is measured against a defined seven-day period. Whether it runs Monday–Sunday or Sunday–Saturday matters less than keeping it fixed — a shifting boundary changes which hours qualify.
Know your multiplier before you start
1.5× is the common default, but 2.0× double time appears on public holidays, Sundays and beyond a second threshold in many agreements. Check the contract rather than assuming.
Do not stack multipliers
An hour that is both overtime and a holiday is normally paid at the higher single rate, not at 1.5 × 2.0. Compounding multipliers is rarely what an agreement means.
Watch the blended rate trap
Where an employee works two roles at different rates, overtime may be owed on a weighted average of the two, not on whichever rate happens to apply that hour.
Record approval, not just hours
Many policies require overtime to be authorised in advance. Logging who approved it alongside the hours turns a payroll argument into a lookup.
Sanity-check the premium
The premium alone should equal overtime hours × base rate × (multiplier − 1). For this example, 7 × $24 × 0.5 = $84. If that does not match the difference between your total and a flat-rate total, the split is wrong.
Overtime Pay at Common Rates and Multipliers
What one overtime hour is worth across typical base rates, and the weekly premium on top of a 40-hour baseline.
| Base rate | Time-and-a-half (1.5×) | Double time (2.0×) | Premium on 5 OT hours (1.5×) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15.00 | $22.50 | $30.00 | $37.50 |
| $18.00 | $27.00 | $36.00 | $45.00 |
| $20.00 | $30.00 | $40.00 | $50.00 |
| $22.50 | $33.75 | $45.00 | $56.25 |
| $24.00 | $36.00 | $48.00 | $60.00 |
| $27.50 | $41.25 | $55.00 | $68.75 |
| $30.00 | $45.00 | $60.00 | $75.00 |
| $35.00 | $52.50 | $70.00 | $87.50 |
| $42.00 | $63.00 | $84.00 | $105.00 |
No rows match that filter.
The final column is the extra earned versus paying those five hours at the base rate — useful when comparing the cost of overtime against hiring additional cover. To turn clock readings into the hours total this table assumes, use the work hours calculator.
Overtime Rules Worth Understanding
Where the arithmetic is simple but the rules decide the answer.
Daily versus weekly thresholds
Two threshold styles exist and they are not interchangeable. A weekly threshold — most commonly 40 hours — asks only about the total. A daily threshold asks about each shift, so four 10-hour days produce 8 overtime hours even though the week totals only 40.
Some jurisdictions and agreements apply both and pay whichever is greater; they are almost never simply added together, as that would count the same hours twice.
Set the threshold in this calculator to match the rule you are actually working under, and run the daily and weekly tests separately if both apply.
Who is eligible for overtime at all
Overtime rules typically distinguish between employees who are covered and those who are exempt, and eligibility usually turns on the nature of the role and how the person is paid rather than on job title alone.
A salaried employee is not automatically exempt, and calling a role "manager" does not by itself remove the entitlement. The tests vary considerably between countries and states.
This calculator computes what the hours are worth if the premium applies. Whether it applies is a legal question — check the rules for your jurisdiction, or take advice, before relying on the figure.
The blended rate for multiple pay rates
When someone works two roles in one week at different rates, the overtime premium is often calculated on a weighted average rather than on the rate in force during the overtime hours.
For 30 hours at $20 and 15 hours at $26: total straight-time pay is $990 over 45 hours, giving a blended rate of $22.00. The five overtime hours then attract a premium based on that blended figure rather than on either original rate.
The mechanics differ by jurisdiction, but the principle is consistent — the premium follows the average value of the work, not whichever task happened to fall last in the week.
Time off in lieu instead of pay
Some agreements allow overtime to be banked as time off rather than paid. Where that is permitted, the time off is normally accrued at the same multiplier: seven overtime hours at 1.5× become 10.5 hours of leave, not 7.
Accruing hour-for-hour quietly converts a premium into a discount, which is why the practice is regulated in most places and often prohibited outright in the private sector.
To work out what banked time is worth, run the hours through this calculator first — the overtime hours figure is what the multiplier should be applied to.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the Overtime Calculator.
How is overtime calculated?
Overtime is calculated by subtracting the overtime threshold (usually 40 hours/week) from total hours worked. Any hours above the threshold are multiplied by the overtime rate (typically 1.5× your regular hourly rate).
What is the standard overtime threshold?
In the United States, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets the standard overtime threshold at 40 hours per workweek. Hours worked beyond 40 are paid at 1.5× the regular rate. Some states have daily overtime rules (e.g., California at 8 hours/day).
What does 1.5x overtime mean?
A 1.5× overtime multiplier means you earn one and a half times your regular hourly rate for every overtime hour. If you earn $20/hour, your overtime rate is $30/hour (20 × 1.5 = 30).
Can overtime be 2x pay?
Yes. Double-time (2×) pay applies in some states and industries. In California, hours worked beyond 12 in a single day qualify for double-time pay. Some union contracts also specify 2× rates for holidays or weekends.
How do I calculate weekly overtime pay?
Add up all hours worked in the week. Subtract the overtime threshold (e.g., 40). Multiply regular hours by your hourly rate, then multiply overtime hours by your rate × the OT multiplier. Add both amounts for total pay.
Is this overtime calculator free?
Yes, free with no account required. Pay rates and hours are sensitive data, so nothing you type is uploaded — the entire calculation runs locally in your browser.
Is overtime paid at 1.5 times the rate, or the rate plus 0.5?
Both phrases describe the same amount. Each overtime hour is paid at 1.5 times the base rate in total — for a $24.00 rate that is $36.00 per hour. Paying only the extra $12.00 delivers a third of what is owed.
Do paid holiday and sick hours count towards the overtime threshold?
Usually not. The threshold is normally tested against hours actually worked, so 36 worked hours plus 8 hours of holiday is a 44-hour payslip but not an overtime week. Check your specific rules, as some agreements differ.
Can two weeks be averaged to avoid overtime?
Generally no. Overtime is assessed against a fixed, recurring work week, so a 47-hour week owes 7 overtime hours even if the following week is only 33 hours. Averaging across periods is restricted in most jurisdictions.
What multiplier should I use for a public holiday?
Double time (2.0) is common for public holidays and Sundays, but it is set by contract or local law rather than by a universal rule. Where an hour qualifies under two premiums, the higher single rate normally applies rather than both multiplied together.
Is this calculator legal advice?
No. It performs the arithmetic accurately for the threshold and multiplier you enter, but overtime eligibility and rules vary by country, state and contract. Confirm the rules that apply to your situation before relying on the figures for payroll.