How to use the overtime pay calculator
- Enter your regular hourly rate. The OT calculator works out your time and a half and double time rates from it.
- If only the weekly total matters to you, keep Weekly total and type the hours you worked that week, as a decimal (45.5) or hours and minutes (45:30).
- If your state or employer pays daily overtime, choose Day by day, type the hours for each day of the workweek and pick the rule: over 40 per week, over 8 per day, or California.
- Read the time and a half rate, the overtime hours and the gross pay. Double time appears when the California rule is selected.
Need hours from clock-in and clock-out times first? Fill in the time card calculator, which applies the same overtime rules to your punches.
The federal rule: time and a half after 40 hours
The Fair Labor Standards Act requires covered, non-exempt employees to be paid at least one and one-half times their regular rate for every hour over 40 in a workweek (29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1)). The workweek is a fixed, recurring 168-hour period chosen by the employer (29 CFR 778.105), and each workweek stands alone: hours cannot be averaged over two or more weeks (29 CFR 778.104). A 50-hour week followed by a 30-hour week still has 10 overtime hours, even though the two weeks average 40.
Federal law does not require overtime just because you worked a weekend, a holiday or a long day; it is the weekly total that counts (U.S. Department of Labor: Overtime Pay). Some salaried and other employees are exempt, and the overtime rules in the statute have exceptions, so check your status with your employer or the Department of Labor.
Time and a half calculator: pay by hourly rate
| Regular rate | Time and a half | Double time | 45-hour week |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15.00 | $22.50 | $30.00 | $712.50 |
| $18.00 | $27.00 | $36.00 | $855.00 |
| $20.00 | $30.00 | $40.00 | $950.00 |
| $25.00 | $37.50 | $50.00 | $1,187.50 |
| $30.00 | $45.00 | $60.00 | $1,425.00 |
California overtime calculator rules
California adds daily overtime and double time on top of the weekly rule (California Labor Code § 510; see also the California DLSE: Overtime FAQ):
- 1.5× for hours over 8 in a workday, up to 12 hours;
- 2× for hours over 12 in a workday;
- 1.5× for hours over 40 in the workweek that were not already daily overtime;
- on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek, 1.5× for the first 8 hours and 2× after 8.
These daily rules do not apply in the same way to an alternative workweek schedule adopted under the Labor Code (for example four 10-hour days approved by an employee vote), or to employees who are exempt from overtime.
Example: a five-day week of 10, 8, 13, 8 and 8 hours (47 hours) at $24 an hour. Under the California rule the 10-hour day has 2 overtime hours and the 13-hour day has 4 overtime hours plus 1 hour of double time, so the week is 40 regular, 6 overtime and 1 double-time hours: $1,224.00 gross. Under the federal weekly rule alone the same hours pay $1,212.00, with 7 overtime hours. Switch the calculator to Day by day to try your own week.
Double time pay and daily overtime
Double time is twice the regular rate. Federal law never requires it; it comes from state law, such as California's 12-hour and seventh-day rules above, or from a union contract or company policy. The Over 8 hours per day or 40 per week option is for employers and states that pay time and a half after 8 hours in a day but no double time. It counts each overtime hour once, so a day's overtime is not counted again toward the weekly 40.
Holiday pay and time and a half
Holiday time and a half is a common policy, but it is not a federal requirement: the FLSA does not require pay for holidays not worked (U.S. DOL: Vacation and Holiday Pay), and working on a holiday does not by itself create overtime (U.S. Department of Labor: Overtime Pay). If your employer pays a holiday premium, add it with the hours and pay calculator, which also handles shift differentials.
What counts as the regular rate?
Overtime is 1.5 times the regular rate (29 CFR 778.107), and the regular rate is not always the base hourly wage. Night shift differentials must be included in it (29 CFR 778.207(b)), and an employee who works at two rates in one week gets a weighted average of them (29 CFR 778.115). This calculator uses the single hourly rate you enter; if your pay includes differentials, the hours and pay calculator works out the blended rate.
Results are gross pay estimates before taxes, not legal or payroll advice. Your employer, contract or state law may set higher standards.